Gozleme!! Crispy, golden Turkish flatbreads stuffed with all sorts of tasty fillings. Choose from Spinach and Feta, or spiced Beef or Lamb. I want them all!
Like everybody’s favourite Easy Flatbreads recipe, the Gozleme pastry requires no yeast, just 3 ingredients (no yogurt) and is very easy to work with. You’re going to fall in love with this recipe!
Gozleme recipe
Weekend markets wouldn’t be the same without Turkish Gozleme stands. Sturdy Turkish Mamas with powerful arms rolling out the dough, and pretty young ladies front of house, smiling charmingly at customers.
Total stereotype there. But it’s a very effective marketing strategy!! 😂
If you’re new to Gozleme, all you need to know is this: they are olive oil flavoured flatbreads stuffed with all sorts of fillings. The most popular ones are Spinach and Feta, spiced ground lamb / beef (mince), and potato (carb on carb 👌🏻).
Pan fried until golden and crispy, then cut into grabbable-size pieces with lemon wedges on the side, there’s a reason why Gozleme stands often have the longest lines at weekend markets – because everybody loves them!!!
The Gozleme dough
Gozleme pastry is possible the easiest flatbread in the world because:
it’s traditionally made without yeast;
only requires 4 ingredients: flour, olive oil, salt and water
“dump and mix” job using a stand mixer or food processor
the dough is very easy to work with – easy to roll out (unlike rock hard fridge-cold Quiche pastry!), to pull and stretch into the shape that you want, and patch up accidental tears. 🙂
“If you’re new to making your own flatbreads, this is a great one to start with! The gozleme dough is very forgiving and easy to handle when rolling out.”
I typically make 4 Gozlemes from each batch of dough, though it can easily stretch to 5.
Gozleme Fillings
I’m sharing two fillings today:
Spinach and Feta, and
Lamb or Beef spiced ground meat filling. Though chicken, pork and turkey could be used too.
Just a note: I stuff my Gozleme way more generously than the Turkish Mamas at the Gozleme stands. I figure if we’re going to the effort of making our own, we shouldn’t skimp on fillings!!
Spinach and Feta Filling for Gozleme
The Spinach and Feta filling has nothing ground breaking in it. Egg for binding, garlic for flavour and pepper. (Ignore the salt in the photo, it’s not required!!)
The one little trick I’ve adopted over the years is to scrunch the spinach to wilt it down slightly. It makes it much easier to stuff the flatbread when the spinach is compacted down. Trying to enclose a huge pile of green fluffage with thin pastry is not fun.
Lamb or Beef Gozleme Filling
I told you I like to be generous with my fillings….. so while the traditional minced meat Gozleme usually has just a very thin scattering of meat with little more than a bit of onion, I like to fill mine out with all sorts of extras.
Increase the volume, more texture, add colour and more flavour!
Wrapping & cooking
Don’t be intimidated by this part! It’s really not difficult – and as I said, we’re working with a friendly dough here. The step photos below are fairly self explanatory, but here are a few tips:
Don’t make them too big – just because the Turkish Mamas at the gozleme stand make theirs the size of extra large pizzas, doesn’t mean you should! Large gozleme = difficult to transfer to skillet and flip. Remember, they’ve been doing it for 40 years….
Press out air pockets = no trapped heat ballooning = flatter = crispier
Transfer to skillet – slide onto a pizza paddle or similar, then slide into the skillet. Once cooked, it’s crisp enough to scoop up with a spatula – you’ll see in the recipe video!
Make sure they fit comfortably in the skillet! I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve had half a gozleme hanging out of the pan…. 😂
Don’t skimp on oil – if you want the crispiest, most golden pastry, now is not the time to be counting calories! (Besides, remember that olive oil is better for you!)
Though traditionally served with lemon wedges, hand on heart, I have never used them. (And I’ve had my fair share of Gozleme in my life time!). They are great as they are, hot off the stove.
In my world, these are a summertime BBQ favourite. Terrific to cook these on the flat side of the BBQ – plus there’s more space than a skillet so you can cook multiple gozlemes at the same time.
And the extra bonus (because we all secretly love this part😈) – everyone is always so impressed. It’s just not something that most people think about making at home.
I’ve used the word “crisp” alot in this post. So I’m going to leave you with this image. Crispy crispy juicy stuffed Lamb Stuffed Gozleme.
Or – wait. Was it beef?? There’s been a lot of gozleme around here in recent weeks. So I’m not sure. But it doesn’t matter. BOTH are equally delicious!!~ Nagi x
Gozleme recipe
Watch how to make it
Note: I forgot to press record when putting water into the dough, oops! Follow written recipe below.
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Gozleme!!
Ingredients
Gozleme pastry:
- 2.5 cups (375g) flour , plain/all purpose (GF Note 4)
- 1/3 cup (85ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup (185ml) water
- 1/2 tsp salt
Choose ONE Filling (Note 1)
Spinach & Feta:
- 300g / 10oz baby spinach
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 300g / 10 oz Danish feta (soft feta, Note 2)
- 2 cups (200g) shredded mozzarella cheese (Note 3)
Spiced Lamb or Beef:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 500g / 1 lb beef or lamb mince (ground)
- 1 capsicum / bell pepper , chopped
- 90g / 3 oz baby spinach
- 1.5 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne (adjust spiciness to taste)
- 3/4 tsp each salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp water
- 120g / 4 oz Danish feta (Note 2)
Cooking / Serving:
- 1 – 1.5 tbsp olive oil , per gozleme
- Lemon wedges (optional)
Instructions
Pastry:
- Fit stand mixer with dough hook. Combine flour, oil, salt and water in the stand mixer bowl. Mix for 2.5 minutes on medium high speed 7 until smooth (see video for before & after). (Note 4) Dough should be a pliable, smooth ball, not sticky.
- Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle work surface with flour. Cut dough into 4 pieces.
- Roll out into 35cm/14″ x 20cm/8″ rectangle.
Filling:
- Make EITHER the lamb / beef Filling, or Spinach & Feta (or make 1/2 batch of both!).
Lamb or Beef Filling:
- Heat oil in large skillet over high heat.
- Cook garlic and onion for 1 minute. Add capsicum, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add beef and cook until it changes from pink to brown, breaking it up as you go.
- Add cumin, paprika, cayenne (if using), salt, pepper and water. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add spinach, stir until wilted.
- Cool before using.
Spinach Feta Filling:
- Place spinach, garlic, egg and pepper in a bowl. Scrunch with hands to reduce volume and make spinach “floppy”.
- Add feta and stir through.
Making Gozleme:
- Spread Filling on half the pastry, pushing to the edge. Sprinkle Lamb/Beef Filling with crumbled feta. Sprinkle Spinach Feta with mozzarella cheese, if using.
- Fold other side of pastry over to cover Filling. Press down edges, pressing out excess air pockets trapped inside as you go. Use water if needed to seal well.
- Sprinkle flour on a round pizza paddle (or similar). Slide gozleme onto paddle.
Cooking:
- Heat 1.5 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. (I usually get 2 pans going)
- Slide gozleme into skillet. Cook, lightly pressing down (including edges), until deep golden and crispy – about 3 minutes. Flip and cook, pressing down lightly, until crispy.
Serving:
- Transfer to cutting board. Cut into 6 or 8 pieces.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
- Cooked gozleme should be eaten asap while hot and crispy!
- Dough can be kept for 3 to 4 days in fridge
- Do not keep filled uncooked gozleme in fridge – inside sweats and makes underside of dough soggy
- Best way to keep warm while you keep cooking is in 120C/250F oven ON A RACK not on a baking tray (hot gozleme sweats and underside gets soggy)
- Cooked gozleme can be frozen or kept in fridge – cool, wrap, put in container
- Reheat either by pan frying or on tray in oven at 180C/350F for 7 minutes or so
Nutrition Information:
More tasty things stuffed between crispy bread
Life of Dozer
Dog treat. Everybody say together – “That’s sooooooo Asian!”
Another 5 star recipe! I made this while yapping on the phone, and completely forgot to add the eggs to the spinach and feta mixture. Still turned out great. Will make this every week through the summer. Thanks for yet
another incredible recipe, Nagi!
That’s awesome Michelle, I’m so happy it still worked and you loved it!
I attempted this midweek and could not belive how easy it was and omg how delicious it was. We did lamb and didn’t change a thing, this was amazing… pretty much like every other recipe we have tried. I used to hate cooking but now am excited at your next new recipe, thank you!,,,
That’s awesome!
Hi Nagi, I made this tonight and it tastes delicious but looks like a monstrosity! It all fell apart and was extremely watery – I noticed the recipe said two eggs but the pic and video only have one. Did I use too many eggs? I’m determined to give it another go and get it right!
Hi Kate, I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you!! The video only shows one because I did a half batch of each filling – but it’s definitely two eggs. What kind of spinach did you use? Did you use fresh? – N x
I used fresh! I think I made the critical error of making them too big! I tried a second time with two smaller ones and it worked much better – going to try and perfect for round 3 tonight! It also worked a lot better with an actual rolling pin rather than a wine bottle! Thank you for being my recipe guardian angel, I’ve been using your recipes for about a year now and not once have I cooked anything less than delicious!
Made this for dinner tonight with the meat filling. I blitzed the onions and peppers into a puree, because if the kids see chunks of peppers in their food they stop eating it. 🙂 The gozleme were a hit. My older son wolfed his down, and my younger son (the harsher food critic in the household) ate most of his and pronounced it “good.” I have not seen Turkish Mamas at our farmer’s markets selling these, so it was a new food for us, but one we all enjoyed and one I will make again. Thanks also for providing the manual instructions for the dough, I don’t have a stand mixer, so that took away some of the guesswork. And I got a good arm workout. 🙂
I’m so glad you all loved them Margie!!!!
Hello, Nagi! God bless you! Tonight I made gozleme with meat. Delicioous! But it reminded me about something and I found in my memories its taste. Is about Suberek, a meat pie from the Romanian seaside of Black Sea, our border with Turkey. But they use yogurt instead of water and fry in a pan full of oil, to float. But the taste is the same finally. I will try also with yogurt to see how will be the dough. Some mushrooms and parsley plus thyme with the meat next time. Thanks again and all the best from Romania!
Sounds divine Razvan!
Whipping this one up for tonights dinner, stuffing it with home made buttered mushrooms, bit tropical in North Qld so this is perfect for a light dinner
Hello, Nagi! Thanks for the recipe. With your permission I must tell everybody do not use spinach from the freezer. It has too much water and delay the pastry to rise. Also, the dough it need to be thin, not thick. Spray oil in the pan when you turn the dough on the other side. Anyhow, it was a very good meal this afternoon. Thank you again and best wishes from Romania.
Made this this afternoon with the spinach and feta filling just because it looked good. It is fantastic. Tried it with and without Mozzarella and both were delicious. I can see why there’s long lines down there waiting for these goodies. Now I have to experiment with all kinds of fillings. Thanks Nagi!!!
I made this recipe last night, followed the recipe to a T and it was delicious! The pastry was perfection – Golden and crunchy and the spinach and feta filling was so good. I have already shared with the girls at work 🙂 Will be making this again and again.
Can’t move sooooo full omg these were amazing!
So glad you enjoyed them Nancy (even if maybe a little too much!) 😂😂
YUMMY that was ace. They did go down flatter with some persuasion and that pastry is divine.
Dearie me, possibly a bit too much filling, mine are like calzones! Haven’t eaten yet still cooking.
Hello, can you confirm the amount of flour for the pastry?
I can’t get it to bond at all!
Kind regards
Christine
Hi Nagi. What number would you class as medium on your Kitchenaid? I have the exact same stand mixer and it wasn’t looking anything like your dough after 2 1/2 minutes (on 5)
Hi Ben! I classify medium as 5 – 6. Possible I use 6, maybe 7! Sorry, let me update that 🙂 N x
Thank you Nagi! Great recipe as always.
Nagi, these gozleme are the best. Thank you.
I did run out if spinach mix but that’s my fault for not reading the quantities properly but I did however have left over pork carnita and mexican rice mix so used that, and now the family think I’m a total masterchef – 🤣.
After dividing the dough into 4 pieces, could I freeze 2 pieces for another day as there are only two of us?
Hi Linda – I feel like I HAVE frozen this dough but I can’t remember for sure. But based on my dough freezing experience, I am 99.9% sure this will freeze great! 🙂 PS Plus we don’t have to worry about rise here. 🙂 N x
Hello Nagi.
In the post you say it could have a potato filling. I would really like to try the potato filling because I really like potatoes, lol. Do you have an recommendations and directions on how I would make it with that filling?
Thanks!
Hi Alexandria! Boil potato pieces then lightly crush / dice but don’t totally mash. Then cook onion and garlic per the lamb filling, then add spices then just toss potatoes through. Optional to stir through wilted spinach. Then add feta and/or cheese. That’s it! N x
Nagi, I have tried several of your recipes which were all good, and todays (which sounds delicious) is one that I plan to use for a casual dinner party. However, only today did I explore the changing number of servings! Wow, you are not only a fab cook, but you “do” computer things as well. I really enjoy your blogs, and love Dozer. He looks like the sweetest boy. Keep them coming.
Oh no, that’s not me!! It comes with the thing that I use to write up recipes!! I could NEVER create code like that – ha ha ha – N x
What to eat for dinner? Oh look! Nagi has posted a dish that seems to sound like Guzzle Me! We made the beef version with the only variation that a bread maker was used on the dough cycle. They were fabulous, especially with the lemon juice on them. We enjoyed the leftovers for lunch today. Cannot wait to try other versions!
“seems to sound like Guzzle Me” <--- message of the day!!!
Ahh, what’s for dinner? Nagi posted something that seems to sound like guzzle me? Yes, that will do! Another winner. We made the beef version and followed your directions exactly except I made the dough in my bread maker dough cycle since I do not have a stand mixer. Cannot wait to try the spinach version as I am already a huge fan of spanakopita. Both of us loved the lemon juice on them, and the leftovers made a wonderful lunch today. Thanks!!