Saliha
Well-known member
To make the dough
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup water
To make the stuffing
500 grams ground beef
1 medium onion chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon Tahini(optional)
1 tablespoon labaneh(optional, you can replace it with sour cream)*(See Note)
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
Salt to taste
1/2 tablespoon dried mint
Proof the yeast by mixing the yeast, salt and water and waiting for the yeast to foam and bubble. (if it doesn’t bubble you need to discard it and start over with new yeast)
In a bowl whisk together the flour and salt till combined
Add the oil and then rub it into the flour mix with your fingertips
Add the water/ yeast mixture and knead the dough untill it forms a smooth soft ball that doesn’t stick to your hands (a tip from a bakery owner I know, lift the dough and slam it into the table 7-10 times during kneading. That will give your baked goods that fluffy cotton like interior)
Cover a bowl with a little olive oil,place your dough it and cover the dough with a clean towel or plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place untill it doubles in size (If you are short on time, heat your oven to 200 C and place the rack in the middle. Turn it off. Place a clean towel on the rack and place the bowl with your covered dough on the towel and leave it in the closed oven. It will double in size in 10-15 minutes)
Cut the dough into egg sized balls and cover them with a clean towel and allow them to rest for 10 minutes.
To make the stuffing saute the onions in the olive oil untill translucent.
Add the ground beef and spices and stir untill it is half done.
Add the molasses, tahini,labaneh and mint. Stir to combine.
To assemble the sfeeha
Oil your baking sheets.
Center your oven rack
Heat your oven to 270 C (or the highest setting or temperature your oven can get to )
Roll the dough ball into a small circle, place the stuffing in the center.
Wet 1 cm of the dough circumference with water using a brush or your finger.
Take two sides of the dough circle and seal them together by pinching them between your finger and thumb
Repeat that with the other sides of the circle untill you get 4 corners.
Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
If you are making a big amount make sure you cover the meat pies with a clean cloth while they are resting or the surface will dry and crack once you bake them.
When the whole amount is ready re-pinch the sealed dough margins together to make sure they are sealed tight.
Brush the dough with some Powdered milk dissolved in a little water (you want it to be of thick consistency). You can use an egg wash but I personally hate the smell of eggs that the egg wash leaves.
Bake your meat pies for 10 minutes or untill the under side is golden. (They will buff up as they bake so don’t place them too close to each other on the baking sheet)
Place them under the broiler untill the tops are golden brown
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
-------------------------------------------------------
*Note: Labaneh/Labneh - Lebanese cream cheese:
Some call it yogurt cheese, others call it the Lebanese cream cheese but it is most commonly known as labneh. It is a staple on any breakfast menu, on dips, makes a wonderful sandwich with a few mint leaves or some pitted olives. To put it simply labneh is strained yogurt, it is super easy to make and very tasty and the best part is, you can flavor it any way you like. Mint, oregano, sumac, olives, chili flakes, your imagination is the limit, better yet why not try a combination of flavors and make a middle eastern dip that is all your own.
Compared to cream cheese, labneh is much healthier and lighter in calories, you can make it using regular yogurt or fat free yogurt but the best labneh is the one you make out of homemade yogurt. Another major plus to making labneh is that it is really easy to preserve, regular labneh lasts 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
1 Kg Yogurt (greek, regular or fat free)
1 teaspoon salt
Place a piece of doubled cheesecloth or soft cotton fabric (preferably undyed and clean) in the colander and place the colander over a deep bowl
Stir the salt into the yoghurt then spoon the yoghurt in the center of a piece of the cheesecloth.
Leave to drain for 3-5 hours . (if the weather is hot allow it to drain in the fridge).
You can also pull the corners of the cheese cloth up and tie them tightly and then suspend from a stationary object over a bowl (to collect the whey) . Again if the weather is hot do this in the fridge.Let the labneh hang overnight,when well drained it will be the consistency of cottage cheese.
Remove from the cloth and store covered in the refrigerator until needed.
Notes
If your labneh is still too thin in consistency, you have two options to make it thicker
Fold the cheese cloth around the labneh and then place a weight over the labneh (think heavy bottle or a bag of rice or sugar, something 3-5 kg in weight). The weight will help draw out the whey.
Leave the labneh to strain the fridge, get a clean white fabric and wrap the labneh in it and place it in the fridge in a colander over a bowl to collect the whey. Change the fabric two times a day for 2-3 days and the labneh should become very thick as the fabric will draw the whey out of it
Flavors: You can mix in fresh or dried herbs, minced garlic, pepper flakes or any other flavoring you like.
Cheese cloth The purpose of “cheese cloth” is to separate the curds from the whey by allowing the whey to drain while holding the curds and preventing them from passing through. What most people think of as “cheese cloth:” the very wide weave material is often useless for this purpose unless you double it over itself 4 or 8 times . I recommend using either a large plain white cotton handkerchiefs, or white non-terry cotton dish towels, something clean that you dedicate for cheese making and make sure it is a fabric with fine weave
If you don’t have a cheese cloth try using unbleached coffee filters lining a fine sieve to strain the yogurt
To Serve Labneh:
Spread it evenly over a medium-sized plate. Sprinkle with fresh seasonal herbs like mint or dill – or place a few olives around the center of the plate. Drizzle a thread of olive oil over all. Serve with pita or other fresh bread
Use it as a spread to make a sandwich, plain or with some mint on top.
Serve it as a dip with cucumber, carrots or celery sticks.
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup water
To make the stuffing
500 grams ground beef
1 medium onion chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon Tahini(optional)
1 tablespoon labaneh(optional, you can replace it with sour cream)*(See Note)
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
Salt to taste
1/2 tablespoon dried mint
Proof the yeast by mixing the yeast, salt and water and waiting for the yeast to foam and bubble. (if it doesn’t bubble you need to discard it and start over with new yeast)
In a bowl whisk together the flour and salt till combined
Add the oil and then rub it into the flour mix with your fingertips
Add the water/ yeast mixture and knead the dough untill it forms a smooth soft ball that doesn’t stick to your hands (a tip from a bakery owner I know, lift the dough and slam it into the table 7-10 times during kneading. That will give your baked goods that fluffy cotton like interior)
Cover a bowl with a little olive oil,place your dough it and cover the dough with a clean towel or plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place untill it doubles in size (If you are short on time, heat your oven to 200 C and place the rack in the middle. Turn it off. Place a clean towel on the rack and place the bowl with your covered dough on the towel and leave it in the closed oven. It will double in size in 10-15 minutes)
Cut the dough into egg sized balls and cover them with a clean towel and allow them to rest for 10 minutes.
To make the stuffing saute the onions in the olive oil untill translucent.
Add the ground beef and spices and stir untill it is half done.
Add the molasses, tahini,labaneh and mint. Stir to combine.
To assemble the sfeeha
Oil your baking sheets.
Center your oven rack
Heat your oven to 270 C (or the highest setting or temperature your oven can get to )
Roll the dough ball into a small circle, place the stuffing in the center.
Wet 1 cm of the dough circumference with water using a brush or your finger.
Take two sides of the dough circle and seal them together by pinching them between your finger and thumb
Repeat that with the other sides of the circle untill you get 4 corners.
Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
If you are making a big amount make sure you cover the meat pies with a clean cloth while they are resting or the surface will dry and crack once you bake them.
When the whole amount is ready re-pinch the sealed dough margins together to make sure they are sealed tight.
Brush the dough with some Powdered milk dissolved in a little water (you want it to be of thick consistency). You can use an egg wash but I personally hate the smell of eggs that the egg wash leaves.
Bake your meat pies for 10 minutes or untill the under side is golden. (They will buff up as they bake so don’t place them too close to each other on the baking sheet)
Place them under the broiler untill the tops are golden brown
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
-------------------------------------------------------
*Note: Labaneh/Labneh - Lebanese cream cheese:
Some call it yogurt cheese, others call it the Lebanese cream cheese but it is most commonly known as labneh. It is a staple on any breakfast menu, on dips, makes a wonderful sandwich with a few mint leaves or some pitted olives. To put it simply labneh is strained yogurt, it is super easy to make and very tasty and the best part is, you can flavor it any way you like. Mint, oregano, sumac, olives, chili flakes, your imagination is the limit, better yet why not try a combination of flavors and make a middle eastern dip that is all your own.
Compared to cream cheese, labneh is much healthier and lighter in calories, you can make it using regular yogurt or fat free yogurt but the best labneh is the one you make out of homemade yogurt. Another major plus to making labneh is that it is really easy to preserve, regular labneh lasts 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
1 Kg Yogurt (greek, regular or fat free)
1 teaspoon salt
Place a piece of doubled cheesecloth or soft cotton fabric (preferably undyed and clean) in the colander and place the colander over a deep bowl
Stir the salt into the yoghurt then spoon the yoghurt in the center of a piece of the cheesecloth.
Leave to drain for 3-5 hours . (if the weather is hot allow it to drain in the fridge).
You can also pull the corners of the cheese cloth up and tie them tightly and then suspend from a stationary object over a bowl (to collect the whey) . Again if the weather is hot do this in the fridge.Let the labneh hang overnight,when well drained it will be the consistency of cottage cheese.
Remove from the cloth and store covered in the refrigerator until needed.
Notes
If your labneh is still too thin in consistency, you have two options to make it thicker
Fold the cheese cloth around the labneh and then place a weight over the labneh (think heavy bottle or a bag of rice or sugar, something 3-5 kg in weight). The weight will help draw out the whey.
Leave the labneh to strain the fridge, get a clean white fabric and wrap the labneh in it and place it in the fridge in a colander over a bowl to collect the whey. Change the fabric two times a day for 2-3 days and the labneh should become very thick as the fabric will draw the whey out of it
Flavors: You can mix in fresh or dried herbs, minced garlic, pepper flakes or any other flavoring you like.
Cheese cloth The purpose of “cheese cloth” is to separate the curds from the whey by allowing the whey to drain while holding the curds and preventing them from passing through. What most people think of as “cheese cloth:” the very wide weave material is often useless for this purpose unless you double it over itself 4 or 8 times . I recommend using either a large plain white cotton handkerchiefs, or white non-terry cotton dish towels, something clean that you dedicate for cheese making and make sure it is a fabric with fine weave
If you don’t have a cheese cloth try using unbleached coffee filters lining a fine sieve to strain the yogurt
To Serve Labneh:
Spread it evenly over a medium-sized plate. Sprinkle with fresh seasonal herbs like mint or dill – or place a few olives around the center of the plate. Drizzle a thread of olive oil over all. Serve with pita or other fresh bread
Use it as a spread to make a sandwich, plain or with some mint on top.
Serve it as a dip with cucumber, carrots or celery sticks.
Last edited: