Lahmacun

Instant yeast, ground lamb or beef and tomato come together in this Turkish beef — 70 minutes, 7 steps, and the kind of result worth repeating. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for oven and baking tray. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.
What you'll need
Shopping list (4)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Mix the flour, yeast and a pinch of salt, then add the warm water and knead for about 8 minutes into a smooth soft dough; cover and leave to rise for 1 hour until roughly doubled.
- Finely chop or pulse the onion, tomato, red pepper and parsley to a coarse paste, then combine with the ground meat, tomato paste, cumin, pepper flakes, olive oil and salt to make a loose spreadable topping.
- Preheat the oven to its highest setting, ideally 250°C, with a baking tray or stone inside to get screaming hot.
- Divide the dough into four pieces and roll each one out very thinly on a floured surface into a large oval or round, almost paper-thin.
- Spread a thin even layer of the meat mixture right to the edges of each base, pressing it down so it cooks into the dough rather than sitting on top.
- Bake one or two at a time for 6 to 8 minutes until the edges are crisp and the meat is browned and cooked through with no pink remaining.
- Scatter with extra parsley, squeeze over lemon juice, then roll up and serve hot.
You'll use: Oven · Baking tray
Ingredient substitutions
- Lemon
- lime · 1 tbsp white wine vinegar per lemon
What to serve with Lahmacun
- Corba Side
- Kumpir Side
- Turkish rice (vermicelli rice) Miscellaneous
- Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki Lamb
Tips & common questions
How long does Lahmacun take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 14 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of lemon?
Try lime. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Lahmacun is an original Turkish recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Acılı Lahmacun.jpg by Garrett Ziegler, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.







