Cheese and Potato Gözleme for #BreadBakers

I almost forgot that today's the posting day for #BreadBakers. I'm glad that I checked Facebook to see our lovely Host, Anshie's post about the event, otherwise I would have totally forgotten about it. So thank you Anshie for reminding and also for being such a gracious host.

Our theme for this month is 'Griddle breads' and I almost wanted to make an Indian bread. But then as I was looking through my Pinterest boards, I found these Turkish Gözleme that I had pinned a while back.
Gözleme is a traditional Turkish savory flatbread that is filled with either meat or veggie stuffing and cooked over a griddle. They are popular street food in Turkey. The name of the dish comes from Turkish word göz which means 'compartment' in reference to the pocket of dough in which the various fillings are stuffed, sealed and cooked. Fillings vary by region and personal preference, and include a variety of meats (beef, lamb, seafood etc.), vegetables (spinach, zucchini, leek, chard, peppers, etc.), cheeses (feta, Turkish white cheese etc.) as well as eggs, herbs and spices.

There are quite a few different ways of making the dough or pastry for these gözleme. Some used yeast in the dough, some didn't, some even used sourdough to make the dough. But I found this recipe on Ozlem's Turkish Table and since it's coming from a Turkish blogger I knew it must be an authentic recipe.
I stuffed my gözleme with cheese, potato and spinach because my kids love this combination. I used Turkish red pepper paste to give some spiciness to the filling, but it can be easily substituted with some red pepper flakes. I loved how flaky and soft the final pastry ended up being. These are great to serve as snack with some tea or as a light meal with a salad.

Recipe adapted from here:

Cheese & Potato Gözleme

Ingredients:

• 1½cups Wholewheat flour
• 1½cups All purpose flour (if not using wholewheat flour, use 3 cups of all purpose flour)
• 2¼tsp Instant Yeast
• 1tsp Sugar
• 1tsp Salt
• 2tbsp Yogurt
• 1~1½cups Water
• 3 Medium Potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1cup Frozen chopped Spinach, thawed (or 3~4cups fresh chopped spinach, cooked)
• 1~2tsp Turkish Red Pepper paste (or substitute with 1~2tsp red pepper flakes)
• ½cup Feta cheese
• ¼cup Parsley, finely chopped
• 2tbsp Olive oil
• To taste Salt & Pepper

Method:

1. Make the dough: Combine the flour(s), yeast, sugar, salt and yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add enough water to make a soft, pliable dough. Knead for 4~5 minutes. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise for 1 hour or until it doubles in volume.
2. Make the filling: In the meantime, combine the mashed potatoes, spinach, red pepper paste (or red pepper flakes), feta cheese, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
3. Make the Gözleme: Once the dough is doubled, then gently deflate the dough and divide it into 8~10 pieces.
4. Take a piece and roll it out as thin as you can. Sprinkle some dry flour to help you out with the rolling.
5. Fold the left and right sides of the dough so that they meet in the edges meet in the middle.
6. Spread about 2~3tbsp of the filling into the middle of the folded sides. Then fold the top and bottom edges over the filling making sure to cover it completely. Press the edges gently to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
7. Heat a griddle or a non-stick pan on medium heat. Brush one side of the gozleme with olive oil and place oil side down in the pan and cook for 2~3 minutes or until golden brown. Brush the other side with oil and cook for another 2~3 minutes.
8. Repeat with the remaining gozlemes.
9. Cut the gozlemes into quarters or halves or serve as is.

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Check out what my Griddle Breads that my fellow bakers have made for you:

• Amaranth (Rajgira) Paratha from Herbivore Cucina
• Cheese and Potato Gözleme from Cook's Hideout
• Corn Pancakes from Magnolia Days
• Cornmeal Griddle Cakes from Noshing With The Nolands
• English Muffins from La cocina de Aisha
• Fruity Hemp Seed Pancakes from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Griddle Scones from Hostess At Heart
• Homemade Corn Tortillas from Kylee Cooks
• Lachha Paratha - Indian Layered Flatbread from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Masala Poli - Spicy Potato Masala Stuffed Poli from I Camp in my Kitchen
• Masala Roti from Sneha's Recipe
• Paneer Kulchas - Griddle Fried Cottage Cheese Flatbread from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Paruppu Poorana Poli from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Peanut Butter and Apple Griddle Cakes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Phool Makhana Parathas (Puffed Lotus Seeds Parathas) from Seduce Your Tastebuds
• Saffron Unleavened Bread from Kidsandchic
• Satpadi - Spiced Griddle Bread from Spiceroots
• Scallion Pancakes from A Shaggy Dough Story
• Sourdough English Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spicy Loli - Breakfast Flatbread from Food Lust People Love
• Spinach and Feta Gözleme from Spill the Spices
• Stacked Apple Arepas from The Schizo Chef
• Staffordshire Oatcakes with a Bacon & Cheese Filling from Ruchik Randhap
• Stove-Top Muffins (Diphaphata) from Wholistic Woman
• Swedish Polar Bread from G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Vitumbua (Coconut Rice Pancake Balls) from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Welsh Cakes from Passion Kneaded
• Yeast Raised Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes from Pastry Chef Online