Sfiha

4.80 from 15 votes

A pizza like dish from the levant area. Sfiha also called “ Lahm bi ajin” which means meat with dough. You can find versions of it in Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey and Armenia. Here is my Palestinian’s fried recipe.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Rising time1 hr

Total Time2 hrs 30 mins

Course: Appetizer, lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: levant, Mediterranean

Servings: 8" Sfihas

Calories: 423.7kcal

Author: Amira

Ingredients

For the dough:

2 teaspoons active dry yeast.
1 teaspoon granulated sugar.
1 cup (240ml) warm water.
3 cups (405g) all purpose flour.
2 Tablespoons dry powdered milk. Note1
1 teaspoon salt.
¼ cup olive oil.

For the meat mixture:

1 (300g) Large onion, quartered.
2 (280g) medium tomato, quartered.
1 (200g) green bell pepper, chopped.
1 Tablespoon tomato paste.
1 Tablespoon pepper paste.
2 Tablespoons pomegranate molasses.
1 teaspoon salt.
½ teaspoon 7-spice blend. Note2
½ teaspoon black pepper.
2 Tablespoons olive oil.
1 pound ground beef. Note3

Instructions

Make the dough:

In your mixer bowl, combine yeast, sugar and half a cup of the warm water. Stir to combine and leave it to proof for 10 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, dry milk and salt.
After the 10 minutes add oil and flour then start kneading adding the water little by little until a nice consistent dough is formed.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise on you countertop until it doubled in size or for 1 hour depending on your kitchen temperature.

Make the filling:

In you food processor, add the first 3 ingredients and pulse until the desired consistency. Note4.
Add the next 7 ingredients and pulse to combine.
In a deep bowl, pour above mixture then add the meat and mix well.
Preheat oven to 400F. Place one oven rack in the upper third and one in the lower third.
Line two large baking sheets ( enough to hold two 8inch sfiha) with parchment paper.
Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough in, divide the dough into 8 equal balls.
Work with one ball at a time and cover the rest with plastic wrap .
Roll the dough ball into a 8inch circle, lightly dust with flour while rolling so it will not stick to the work space.
Place the rolled dough on your baking sheet and work with another one then place it on the same baking sheet.
With a fork make some holes in each circle, scoop about ⅛th of the meat mixture and level to make an even layer.
Bake on the lower rack for 12-15 minutes or until the bottom is lightly browned. Lift the bottom with a knife or anything to check it. Move the baking sheet up to the upper third and broil on high for 2-3 minutes.
Take the baking sheet out and let it cool down for a minute so you can handle it.
Place you baked sfihas on a tray and cover with plastic wrap while hot so it will stay soft and not get hard.
Continue with all the dough balls until you are done.
Store any leftover sfiha in a zip lock bag in your fridge or freezer for longer storage.

Video

Notes

Note1: Adding dry milk to the dough makes it softer, highly recommended but you can certainly do without.

Note2: you can use any meat spice blend that you like or simply substitute allspice. Note3: Use lamb, beef or a combination.

Note4: I like finely chopping my ingredients for my kids’ liking. Many people like to make it roughly chopped.

Serve with: tahini dip, slices of tomato and cucumber or try this easy Mediterranean salad.

Values based on pink salt and using 80% lean beef.

Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.

Nutrition