Why this formula works
The topping is a thin raw meat-and-vegetable paste, not cooked mince piled on pizza. Seeding tomato and draining the processed vegetables keep 180 g lamb spreadable without making the 200 g base soggy. Cumin, paprika, pul biber, parsley and two pastes build depth; sumac and 30 g lemon juice brighten the finished flatbread.
Honest timing
| Active preparation | 30 min |
| Hydration / proof / preheat | 1 h |
| Cooking / baking | 8 min |
| Elapsed total | 1 h 38 min |
Ingredients
- mature lean pizza dough ball200 g (7.1 oz)
- ground lamb, kept below 4°C / 40°F180 g (6.3 oz)
- ripe tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped120 g (4.2 oz)
- red bell pepper, roughly chopped80 g (2.82 oz)
- yellow onion, roughly chopped80 g (2.82 oz)
- garlic cloves12 g (0.42 oz)
- double-concentrated tomato paste25 g (0.88 oz)
- mild Turkish red-pepper paste20 g (0.71 oz)
- flat-leaf parsley, leaves and tender stems30 g (1.06 oz)
- extra-virgin olive oil15 g (0.53 oz)
- ground cumin2 g (0.07 oz)
- sweet paprika2 g (0.07 oz)
- pul biber or Aleppo-style chili flakes2 g (0.07 oz)
- ground sumac2 g (0.07 oz)
- fine sea salt4 g (0.14 oz)
- fresh lemon juice30 g (1.06 oz)
Equipment
- food processor
- fine sieve
- instant-read thermometer
- pizza steel or stone
- pizza peel
- digital scale
- separate raw-meat utensils
Exact method
- 1. Preheat the chosen baking surface as shown below. Keep lamb refrigerated while preparing vegetables and reserve separate utensils for raw meat.
- 2. Pulse tomato, pepper, onion and garlic to fine 3–4 mm pieces, not liquid purée. Drain in a fine sieve for 10 minutes and press only lightly.
- 3. Pulse drained vegetables with tomato paste, pepper paste, 20 g parsley, oil, cumin, paprika, pul biber, 1 g sumac and salt until evenly chopped.
- 4. Fold the cold lamb through the vegetable mixture just until homogeneous. Return it to the refrigerator immediately; wash processor, hands and surfaces before touching ready-to-eat ingredients.
- 5. Open the 200 g dough to a very thin 30 cm round with only a narrow 5–8 mm rim. Move to a lightly dusted peel and confirm it slides.
- 6. Spread the raw lamb mixture edge to edge in a uniform 2–3 mm layer. Break up every thick mound; an even thin layer is essential for safe, synchronized cooking.
- 7. Bake with the matching setup below. On steel, use 5–8 minutes and rotate once. Verify several topping spots reach 71°C / 160°F before removing.
- 8. Rest 60 seconds. Finish with remaining 10 g parsley, remaining 1 g sumac and all 30 g lemon juice in fine droplets.
- 9. Cut into wedges or roll loosely while warm. Discard any raw mixture that stood above 4°C / 40°F for more than two hours.
How to know it is ready
- The meat layer reaches 71°C / 160°F in several locations.
- No pink wet paste remains and no clear vegetable water surrounds it.
- The thin base bends and rolls without a raw gum line.
- Lemon, parsley and sumac taste bright after the warm spices.
Troubleshooting
- Wet topping: seed tomatoes, drain processed vegetables and keep the layer at 2–3 mm.
- Meat dark outside but raw inside: topping was too thick or uneven; do not solve it with more flame.
- Pale bland mixture: use both concentrated pastes and the complete spice weights.
- Cross-contamination: reserve raw-meat utensils and clean before preparing parsley and lemon finish.
How to adapt the base recipe
- For a beef-lamb blend, use 90 g ground lamb and 90 g ground beef; the same 71°C / 160°F endpoint applies.
- For extra heat, increase pul biber to 3 g but keep paprika and sumac unchanged.
- For two smaller 24 cm flatbreads, divide dough and topping exactly in half and shorten the bake by roughly 1 minute while still verifying 71°C / 160°F.
Storage and food safety
Serve immediately. Refrigerate within 2 hours for up to 2 days and reheat until the meat topping reaches 74°C / 165°F. Add fresh parsley, sumac and lemon after reheating.
Allergens
Gluten (wheat) Depending on the selected product, may also contain: Sulphites.
Always verify every label and cross-contact risk; brand formulations can change.