Meliz Cooks Kıbrıs Pidesi - Cypriot Pitta Bread

Summary

In this engaging cooking tutorial, Mellie demonstrates how to make Cypriot-style pizza bread pockets, known for their soft, fluffy texture. The video guides viewers through the process of preparing the dough, including mixing yeast with warm liquid, kneading, and letting it rise. After portioning and rolling out the dough, she shares tips on baking techniques, emphasizing the importance of a hot oven for the perfect puff. With a focus on family involvement, Mellie highlights how these delicious pockets can be filled with various ingredients, making them ideal for any meal or barbecue.

Takeaways

• 😀 The recipe features Cypriot-style pizza bread pockets that are light, fluffy, and perfect for filling.
• 🍞 Begin by mixing salt, sugar, and yeast in warm liquid to activate it before combining with flour.
• 👐 Knead the dough by hand for about 10-12 minutes, ensuring it's smooth and elastic.
• 🌡️ Let the dough rise in a greased bowl covered with cling film in a warm place for about an hour.
• ✂️ After the first rise, portion the dough into equal pieces and let them proof again for 20-30 minutes.
• 👩‍🍳 Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, aiming for bubbles for a better rise during baking.
• 🔥 Preheat the oven to its highest setting, placing an upturned baking tray at the bottom for effective cooking.
• 📏 Shape the dough into long, oval forms, approximately 20 cm long and 10 cm wide for optimal filling.
• 💡 You can freeze the dough balls for later use, either defrosting them in a toaster or naturally.
• 🥙 Fill the baked pockets with a variety of fillings, such as chicken kabobs, for a delicious meal.

Q & A

What is the main recipe demonstrated in the video?

The video demonstrates how to make Cypriot-style pizza bread pockets filled with ingredients like chicken.

What ingredients are added to the liquid mixture at the start?

Salt, sugar, and yeast are added to the liquid mixture and stirred until dissolved.

How long should the dough be kneaded by hand?

The dough should be kneaded by hand for about 10 to 12 minutes until it is smooth.

What is the purpose of letting the dough rise?

Letting the dough rise allows the yeast to ferment, creating a light and fluffy texture in the finished bread.

What temperature should the oven be set to for baking the bread?

The oven should be preheated to the highest setting, around 260 degrees Celsius for a fan oven.

How are the dough balls prepared for the second rise?

The dough is portioned into equal-sized balls, covered with cling film, and allowed to rise again for 20 to 30 minutes.

What is a recommended method for rolling out the dough?

The dough should be rolled out on a lightly floured surface to prevent sticking, ensuring a nice shape with bubbles.

What special kitchen equipment is mentioned for baking the bread?

An upturned baking tray should be placed at the bottom of the oven to help create a hot environment for the bread to puff up.

What can be done with leftover dough balls?

Leftover dough balls can be frozen and defrosted later for use, making them convenient for future meals.

What is the final step after the bread is baked?

After baking, the bread should be wrapped in cling film to keep it soft and warm before serving.

Outlines

00:00

🍞 Making Cypriot Style Pizza Bread

In this segment, Mellie introduces the recipe for Cypriot-style pizza bread pockets, highlighting their light and fluffy texture. She begins by preparing the dough, mixing salt, sugar, and yeast into a liquid mixture, allowing it to foam. After incorporating olive oil, she gradually adds the liquid to the flour, opting for hand kneading for about 10-12 minutes until smooth. The dough is then formed into a ball, placed in a greased bowl to rise for an hour. The importance of the dough's reaction and gluten development is emphasized as she explains the next steps of portioning and preparing for the second proofing.

05:02

👩‍🍳 Shaping and Prepping the Dough

Mellie showcases the next stage of the pizza bread preparation, emphasizing the dough balls' second rise. After letting the balls proof for another 20 to 30 minutes, they are puffy and ready to be rolled out. She involves her children in the rolling process, highlighting the joy of cooking together. Mellie stresses the need to preheat the oven to the highest setting and place an upturned baking tray inside for optimal puffing. As she rolls out the dough into long, thin shapes, she mentions the traditional Cypriot basket woven tray used for placing the pastries before baking, ensuring that the dough doesn’t have too much flour to prevent burning. The segment concludes with the excitement of popping the prepared dough into the oven.

Keywords

💡Cypriot

Cypriot refers to anything related to Cyprus, an island in the Eastern Mediterranean known for its rich culinary traditions. In the context of this video, the term emphasizes the unique style of cooking and the specific cultural influences in making the pizza bread pockets, showcasing how traditional recipes can be adapted and enjoyed in different settings.

💡Dough

Dough is a mixture of flour, water, and other ingredients that is kneaded to create a pliable substance for baking. In the video, the dough is central to the recipe, as it forms the base for the pizza bread pockets. The process of kneading and allowing the dough to rise is highlighted, showing its importance in achieving the desired texture of the final product.

💡Kneading

Kneading is the process of working dough by hand or with a mixer to develop gluten, which gives bread its structure and chewiness. In the video, the host mentions kneading for 10 to 12 minutes, emphasizing its role in making the dough smooth and elastic. This technique is crucial for the dough to rise properly, ensuring the final bread pockets are soft and fluffy.

💡Proofing

Proofing is the process of allowing dough to rise, typically by resting it in a warm environment, which activates the yeast and helps develop flavor and texture. The host describes proofing the dough for an hour, showcasing how this step is vital for creating airy, light bread pockets. This stage is repeated after dividing the dough, further enhancing the final product's quality.

💡Yeast

Yeast is a microorganism used in baking that ferments sugars, producing carbon dioxide and alcohol, which causes dough to rise. In the video, the host combines yeast with the liquid mixture and allows it to foam, indicating that it is active and ready to leaven the dough. This step is essential for achieving the soft and fluffy texture of the finished pizza bread pockets.

💡Olive Oil

Olive oil is a staple ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, known for its rich flavor and health benefits. The host adds olive oil to the liquid mixture and greases the bowl for proofing. This ingredient not only contributes to the dough's flavor but also helps in keeping the bread pockets soft and moist during baking.

💡Rolling Out

Rolling out refers to the process of flattening the dough with a rolling pin to achieve a uniform thickness, which is essential for baking. The video demonstrates how to roll out the dough balls into longer shapes before placing them in the oven. This technique is important for ensuring even baking and allows for better filling of the pizza pockets.

💡Baking Tray

A baking tray is a flat, rectangular metal tray used for baking various foods in the oven. The host emphasizes the importance of preheating an upturned baking tray to create a hot surface for the dough, which helps the bread pockets rise properly in the oven. This detail illustrates the importance of temperature and equipment in achieving the desired texture and appearance of the baked goods.

💡Kabobs

Kabobs are skewered pieces of meat, often grilled or roasted, popular in many cuisines, particularly Middle Eastern and Mediterranean. The host plans to fill the pizza bread pockets with chicken thigh kabobs, showcasing how versatile the finished product can be. This context highlights the adaptability of the recipe, allowing for various fillings to suit different tastes.

💡Cling Film

Cling film, also known as plastic wrap, is used to cover food to keep it fresh and prevent it from drying out. In the video, the host uses cling film to cover the dough during the proofing stages, emphasizing its role in creating a warm, moist environment for the dough to rise. This practical tip is essential for ensuring the success of the recipe.

Highlights

Introduction to Cypriot-style pizza bread pockets, emphasizing their fluffy texture and delicious filling potential.

The process begins with dissolving salt and sugar in warm water, alongside adding yeast for fermentation.

The yeast mixture is allowed to foam, indicating successful activation before adding it to the flour.

The dough is kneaded for 10-12 minutes by hand or 8-10 minutes using a stand mixer to achieve smoothness.

The dough is placed in a greased bowl, covered, and allowed to rise for one hour in a warm environment.

After the first rise, the oven is preheated to a high temperature (260°C) to ensure optimal baking conditions.

Dough is portioned into equal pieces and allowed to proof again for 20-30 minutes, increasing in size.

The dough balls are rolled out into long ovals, approximately 20 cm in length and 10 cm in width.

An upturned baking tray is used to bake the dough, which helps in achieving the desired puffiness.

Encouragement to involve children in the cooking process, making it a family-friendly activity.

The dough should have visible bubbles when rolled out, indicating good fermentation and texture.

Cooked pockets should be stored wrapped in a clean towel to maintain softness and warmth.

Highlighting the versatility of filling the pockets with various ingredients like chicken kabobs.

The dough can be frozen for later use, allowing for convenient meal preparation.

Emphasis on the joy of watching the pockets puff up in the oven, enhancing the cooking experience.

The recipe showcases traditional Cypriot culinary techniques and the importance of family traditions in cooking.

Transcripts

this is Mellie's cook and today I'm

going to be showing you how to make cook

the spaghetti Cypriot style pizza bread

pockets try saying that after a night

out but puff up beautifully in the up

and they are soft light and fluffy ready

to be sliced open I'm cooking some chick

think about today and I can't wait to

put them in there okay the first thing

you need to do is just pop your salt and

sugar into the liquid mixture and stir

that so it dissolves and I've also put

the yeast in here too so for the

introduce into the liquid I'm just going

to give it a little stir I'm gonna let

that foam up for a few minutes so that I

can see that it's reacting and then it's

ready to add to the flour okay so now

that the yeast has reacted with your

liquid and have popped the olive oil in

that mixture - so that all your liquid

ingredients are together and I've made a

well in the center of my bowl I'm gonna

gradually very carefully stir in the

liquid mixture and bring it all together

now if you have a stand mixer you can

absolutely use that to make your dough

and bring your dough together I'm old

school I don't so I'm going to do it all

by hand so about 8 to 10 minutes in your

stand mixer ten to twelve if you're

going to do it by hand so bring it all

together and then once you've brought it

all together then you can get your hands

involved

so as you need really push out the dough

away from you so you can get all the

ingredients starting to react stretching

it all that gluten get any yeast

reacting to which obviously will happen

as the dough proves

okay so now that you've been kneading

your dough about ten to 12 minutes it

should be lovely and smooth so what you

need to do just roll it up into a smooth

butt ball and just tuck kind of sides

under I've got myself a big bowl here

that I've greased with some olive oil so

that as the dough Rises it doesn't stick

pop your dough in there cover the bowl

with cling film and let it prove okay so

I'm going to cover it with the thing

fill leave somewhere warm room

temperature not anywhere cold and just

let that proof for an hour now okay so

the dough has now risen it's been

proving for just over an hour I've just

put my oven on to the highest setting it

goes - I think mine's about 260 degrees

centigrade and it's a fan oven and what

I'm going to do now is I'm going to

portion off the dough into equal sized

pieces and then they're gonna prove

again and keep this cling film we can

put that over the dough while it crews

for the second time and then they're

ready to roll out and to go into the

oven so just roll them into nice balls

and then what you can do is just tuck

that under so nice and smooth when you

roll them out just pop them down

they can't see them but I will show you

again

tuck under a little roll nice and smooth

next one this actually freeze really

well as well so you can pop them in the

freezer and then when you're ready to

use them you can either just defrost

them in your toaster using the defrost

setting if you're going to have them you

know kind of for lunch but if you want

them with your barbecue then you'll need

to let them defrost kind of naturally

take them out a couple of hours before

and then you can just pop them on the

monger and they will just reheat

beautifully perfect to just cut open and

fill with all those lovely barbecue

delights if you want to stuff them with

we're actually gonna have some tonight

with some chicken thigh kabobs that I'm

making keeping it simple but I'm excited

to fill these with the chicken kabobs

tonight and cypriot pedir of a lovely

kind of long oval shaped ones because if

you can make them small if you want to

make 6mp they're out of the recipe

that's absolutely fine they'll be

fluffier but make them along make them

big so that you can cut them in half and

feel half with your and you know you've

your kabob whatever you're going to fill

it with and you know don't make them too

kind of small and not long enough

otherwise you've all get a very very

very puffy peter which is lovely but if

you want to slice it open and fill them

up they need to be nice and long and

i'll tell you the exact measurements

when I do them okay so these and I

rolled into ball I'm gonna use the cling

film that I use to cover the bowl with

I'm going to cover them again and I'm

going to let them prove now again for

another twenty to thirty minutes you'll

see them puff up again and then they're

ready to roll out and get into the oven

so make sure your oven is preheating now

to the highest setting it can go the

highest heat

I'm excited for these okay so the pity

balls have now risen so those dough

balls are nice and puffy again now ready

to roll out do you to roll them out on a

clean surface have it lightly floured

I'm gonna get the kids involved now so

because they love making video with me

and then they are ready to go into that

hot oven and you can watch them puff up

and rise that is the kids favourite bit

actually so I'm excited to show you that

now see me too very lightly dust your

surface my eldest is now showing how to

roll them out yeah so basically you have

to try and get bubbles because it means

really good because it pops up and it

has to be in a really nice shape you

have to make sure they're all exactly

the same

nice and long we dress up like a

and then till they see some bubbles

won't we put it in the UH turn it it

comes up rises up

so when you start to pre-heat your oven

make sure you put an upturned baking

tray at the bottom because that is what

you're going to cook your PJs on so the

PJs lay straight onto that overturns

baking tray and they start to puff up

after a couple of minutes so that needs

to be baking hot as hot as the oven for

the process to work for them to rise so

I'm just going to just roll out the last

couple of Peter the children have done

the other ones let me get these going

you can either just flour the the balls

of dough or you can lightly flour your

surface it's up to you I'm making these

ones slightly longer and thinner they're

roughly kind of 20 centimeters long I

would say and about 10 centimeters are

the kind of the biggest the center in

terms of its width not oval so I'm

popping them on this lovely traditional

tray that was my mother's from

grandmother and great-grandmother a very

traditional Cypriot basket woven tray

that when pastries were prepared and

cooked they were placed on the tray

before they want put in the outdoor wood

oven or clay oven you don't want too

much flour on the peer di the way they

can burn in the oven so don't over flour

overflow them and if you think they've

got too much on them just give them a

little dusting

last one is almost ready make it a

little bit wider and then we are good to

go I mean now I never completely uniform

and that is the beauty really I'm going

to pop these in the oven now

[Music]

here they are these absolutely gorgeous

cook miss Podesta when you're Peter come

out of the oven make sure you'll pop

them straight under a clingy town keep

them wrapped up they stay lovely and

soft and warm

beautiful soft fluffy ready for you to

rip open open up and fill up with

whatever you like over

you