24-hour cold-proved lamb lahmacun

Method

1. Mix the bread flour and yeast in a bowl, add the cold water and stir, then add the salt and olive oil and knead for 10 min, until a small piece stretches into a membrane thin enough to let light through without tearing. Put it in an oiled lidded box, leave at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate for 24 hours. Slow-proved dough stretches easily and bakes up with more flavour and big blisters.

   Add in this stepStrong bread flour 200 gCold water 125 mlInstant dried yeast ¼ tspSalt (dough) 4 gExtra-virgin olive oil (dough) 2 tsp

2. Take the dough out 1 h before baking, divide it into 4 pieces and shape them into tight balls. Space them out on a tray, cover with cling film and leave at room temperature; cold dough refuses to stretch, so don't skip this.

3. Chop the onion, tomatoes, red pepper, green peppers and garlic very finely with a knife. Toss them in a bowl with half the topping salt and leave for 10 min, then wrap in muslin or a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. This concentrates the topping and keeps the base from going soggy.

   Add in this stepOnion ½Ripe tomatoes 1Red bell pepper ½Long mild green peppers 1Garlic cloves 1Salt (topping) 0.4 tsp

4. Put a pizza stone or steel (or an upturned baking tray) on the second shelf from the top and heat the oven to maximum for at least 45 min (oven). Meanwhile, knead the lamb with the squeezed vegetables, half the parsley (chopped), the pepper paste, isot, cumin, allspice and the remaining topping salt for 2 minutes until sticky and paste-like, then chill it. Wash your hands and tools straight after handling raw meat.

   Add in this stepMinced lamb shoulder (about 20% fat) 160 gFlat-leaf parsley 10 gTurkish red pepper paste (biber salçası) 2 tspIsot pepper (Urfa biber) 1 tspGround cumin ¼ tspGround allspice 1 pinchSalt (topping) 0.4 tsp

   oven

5. On a floured worktop, roll one ball into a very thin oval about 28 cm long and 1.5–2 mm thick. Lay it on a floured board or pizza peel, add about 40 g of topping and spread it thinly to the edges with wet fingertips. Bake one at a time and prepare the next while the first bakes.

   Add in this stepFlour for dusting 2 tbsp

6. Give the board a little shake to make sure the dough slides, then shoot it onto the hot stone in one confident movement and bake for 5 min (oven; 250 °C ×4: temperature × total number, one at a time). If your oven has a grill (broiler), switch it on for the last minute to char the edges in spots. Take it out when the rim is puffed and golden and the meat shows no pink, then stack under a tea towel. The stone and oven door are extremely hot: wear gloves.

   oven

7. Slice the red onion paper-thin, soak in cold water for 5 minutes, drain and toss with the sumac, the remaining parsley and the pomegranate molasses. Squeeze lemon over each lahmacun, add the salad, roll up and serve.

   Add in this stepRed onion (to serve) ½Sumac 1 tspFlat-leaf parsley 10 gPomegranate molasses 1 tspLemon 1