Sally shows you how to bake your own Turkish bread and stuff it with a variety of fillings.

 3 cups plain flour

3 teaspoons dried yeast

1½ teaspoons salt

1½ teaspoons sugar

1½ tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

1¼ cups warm  water, approximately

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

¾ cup grated tasty cheese, approximately

 (See below for suggested fillings)

Place the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl and mix well.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil and 1 cup of the water. Mix to a soft dough, adding the extra ¼ cup water if needed.

Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to rise until about doubled (approximately 1 hour).  Turn the dough over with a spoon and allow to rise again for 30 minutes.

Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes.

Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape each into a rectangle 10cm x 8cm approximately.

Place 2 large teaspoonfuls of the filling in the centre of each. Dampen one edge of each rectangle.

Bring the dough over in the middle to meet, pinching edges together well (dry edge to damp), then pinch dough together at each end.  The parcel should look  like a pastie with two open sections on the top through which the filling will show.

Place on trays, allowing room for spreading and leave to rise, loosely covered with a tea towel, for 20 minutes.

Whisk egg and water together and brush over the dough part of each parcel.

Sprinkle with grated cheese, then bake for 20 minutes until golden.

Five minutes before the end of baking time, check to see if any of the parcels have opened out during baking.  If so, sprinkle the filling part with extra grated cheese and bake 5  minutes more.

Fillings

 Spinach and Feta

1½ cups milk

3 teaspoons cornflour mixed to a paste with ¼ cup extra milk

½ cup grated tasty cheese

1 tablespoon grated parmesan

90g feta, crumbled

Bring the milk to the boil and whisk in the cornflour paste to thicken.

Stir in the cheese and parmesan.  Allow to cool, then mix in the feta.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato, Bacon, Olive and Onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

60g diced bacon

1 small onion, diced

375g tomatoes, diced

¼ to ½ cup diced black olives

11/2 cup grated tasty cheese

Heat the oil over medium heat and then sauté the bacon and onion until the bacon begins to crisp.  Add the tomatoes and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the mixture forms a paste-like consistency (not too dry).  Add salt and pepper to taste and allow to cool.  Mix in the cheese.