Lahmajun — Thin-Crust Meat Flatbread

Thin, crispy flatbread topped with a bright-red paste of ground meat, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs,
baked until the meat just cooks through and the crust blisters. Known as "Armenian pizza" but
beloved throughout Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and the Antiochian diaspora. Fold and eat with your hands.

FASTING LEVEL: Non-Fasting (lamb or beef)

SERVINGS: 6 (makes 12 flatbreads)
TIME: 2 hours 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
For the dough:
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 250 ml warm water
- 7 g instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt

For the topping:
- 500 g ground lamb or beef
- 1 medium onion, finely grated or very finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 3 large tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped (or 200 g canned tomato, drained)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon red pepper paste (biber salçası) if available
- 1 large bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ground sumac
- 1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper (or paprika + pinch of cayenne)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and black pepper

For serving:
- Lemon wedges
- Fresh parsley
- Pickled chillies

METHOD:
1. Make dough: mix warm water, yeast, sugar. Let foam 10 minutes. Add flour, oil, salt. Knead 8 minutes. Cover and rise 60-90 minutes until doubled.
2. Make topping: combine all topping ingredients in a food processor and pulse to a coarse paste (not smooth). Taste for salt and lemon. The mixture should be punchy.
3. Preheat oven to 250C (475F) with a baking stone or heavy baking sheet inside.
4. Divide dough into 12 pieces. Roll each as thin as possible on a floured surface — aim for 20 cm circles, 1-2 mm thick. Dough should be paper-thin.
5. Spread a thin, even layer of topping on each, going right to the edges. The topping layer should be thin — as it cooks it meets the crust in layers, not chunks.
6. Transfer to the hot baking stone (work in batches of 2-3). Bake 4-6 minutes until the crust is crisp and meat is just cooked.
7. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges and parsley. To eat: squeeze lemon over, roll up, eat with hands.

NOTES:
- Thin is everything. Traditional lahmajun is almost cracker-like. If your rolled dough is too thick, it is bread with meat on top, not lahmajun.
- Red pepper paste (biber salçası) is an important note of flavour. Available at Middle Eastern grocers. Without it, add 1 extra tablespoon tomato paste and more Aleppo pepper.
- Homemade dough is best, but in a pinch, flour tortillas can be used. Top and bake 5 minutes at the highest oven temperature.
- Leftover topping keeps 3 days in the fridge. Make twice as much — lahmajun disappears fast.

NUTRITION (per 2 flatbreads, approximate):
Calories: 420 | Protein: 22 g | Carbohydrates: 52 g | Fat: 14 g | Fibre: 3 g