How to make gözleme or Turkish crepes ?

Today I will explain how to prepare gözleme, which we can compare in some respects to crepes. In Turkey they are widespread and very popular. There are many types, the classic ones are with minced meat or with spinach and beyaz peynir (cheese similar to Greek feta), while the more “modern” ones have many different ingredients inside.

The dough must be worked out with a rolling pin. In Turkey, oklava is used, which is a long rolling pin, since the dough must be finely spread and extended.

I also add that the real gözleme was made without yeast (my mom, an expert in starchy food, didn’t use yeast and made incredible gözleme). I will propose you a simpler recipe to prepare, which you can make right away. In the same way, you will eat a gözleme as good as those made in Turkey.

Ingredients for gözleme dough

Below are the ingredients for the dough.

• Half a bag of dry yeast
• 250 grams of milk
• 400 gr of strong flour (for bread or pizza)
• 10 gr of salt
• 15 grams of sugar
• 40 gr soft butter
• Ingredients for the filling
• 200 gr of chopped
• half chopped onion
• half a bell pepper, diced (green or yellow)
• parsley
• Grated cheese (for me Emmenthal or cheddar, any cheese with an intense taste)
• Salt
• Oil

And melted butter for the final touch….

How to make gözleme

The first stage obviously concerns the preparation of the dough. We must mix the warm milk with the yeast and sugar that must dissolve. We wait a couple of minutes and add the soft butter, the flour and finally the salt. We knead well (with the mixer set 3 minutes) to obtain a smooth dough that does not stick. Then, cover the dough and let it rise.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling, brown the onion in a pan, add the minced and diced pepper. We let it cook. We add salt, pepper and parsley. We let it cook. As soon as the mince is cooked, we let it cool.

After the rising time, we divide the dough. I divided it into 6 parts (balls) of medium size, rolling out each ball as thinly as possible. Obviously, it is not a challenge to those who roll dough out the most, but everyone can roll it out according to their abilities.

If you can’t create a nice round and fine shape, spread out as much as you can and then cut the shape with a flat plate, this way, it will also be nice and round. When I used this trick as a child, my mom got angry, because she claimed that this trick would prevent me from learning how to roll out the dough properly.

Once she has rolled out all the dough balls, we need to stuff half of the gözleme. Then, we put a generous spoonful of chopped on one half, add some grated cheese and close the gözleme. I advise you to twist the edge on itself in order to seal it well.

We proceed to cooking in a non-stick pan. We need to cook each side of the gözleme for 5 minutes, over a low heat, as being thin they burn quickly. As a gözleme is being cooked, we place it on a serving dish, to pass melted butter on both sides. We proceed in this way for all gözleme. The goal is to eat it hot!

Curiosity

Gözleme are delightful treats that we Turks can eat for breakfast or even for snacks, with frozen ayran, a cold savoury yogurt-based beverage.

When I was a child, at home, gözleme was eaten exclusively for breakfast, with a different filling. In fact, my mom, she made them with spinach and beyaz peynir (the spinach was cooked and browned with onion) or with potatoes and Emmenthal cheese.

I remember that in France, the Turkish women of the community organized “breakfasts” once a week, where they showed off their skills in preparing the specialties of their regions. A marvel of gluttony and calories, because even if they were called breakfast, they were really full course meals. During these “breakfasts”, specialties never seen before were discovered, from the remotest areas of Turkey.

Afiyet olsun! Bon Appetit! Enjoy your meal!