This is another dish from my childhood. This is not well known around the country, it is baked generally in the Southern part of Turkey. And I haven’t met a better cook than mom baking this snack. I remember that we would always have biberli in the kitchen and whenever we feel hungry, we had a few slices.
None of my friends here knows this tasty pastry and when I make it, I always hear this “Mmmm” sound. They say that the ingredients are so simple and ordinary, but the taste of it is certainly extraordinary. Most of my friends think that it’s very similar to pizza, but I think it’s definitely more delicious. Then they take the recipe from me and it becomes a traditional snack in their kitchen too. And here is the famous recipe of mom.
Biberli
Ingredients
• 4 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 4 onions, chopped
• 4 tbsp sesame
• 1 tbsp pepper paste
• ½ cup olive oil
• salt
For its dough:
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tbsp yeast powder
• Salt
• ½ cup warm water
Sift the flour in a large bowl. In a small cup mix yeast powder, salt and warm water, and pour this mixture in the flour. Combine them well. To have a softer dough, add yogurt and knead the dough by adding some warm water little by little. Knead it very well until it doesn’t stick to your hand. Then make a big ball from this dough and cover it with a wet piece of cloth. Put it in a warm place and wait at least one hour so that it rises well.
Meanwhile you can prepare the mixture you’ll spread on the dough. Combine all peppers and onions in a bowl. Add sesame, olive oil, pepper paste and salt in it. Mix them well.
After the dough rises enough (after at least one hour), preheat the oven to 180 C (350F). Oil the oven tray and take the dough on this tray. Now it’s time for your hands to work more. Lay the dough on the tray equally. The dough should be still as a whole, do not pick any pieces from it. When you finish laying it, spread the pepper mixture on the dough with your hands.
Before putting it into the oven, cut it as squares. If you do so, it will be easier to remove them from the tray after it’s cooked.
Now you can place it into the oven and cook it for 40 minutes. And be cautious, neighbors might start to ring the doorbell because they start to crave for biberli when they feel its scrumptious smell.
You can serve it at any time of day as a kind of snack or in the morning as a part of breakfast.
This pastry with peppers sounds absolutely delicious! Wonderful recipe!
Looks fantastic! I like the sesame seeds with the red pepper, and the dough sounds great.
I love to come visit your blog. Everytime you have some interesting recipe.
Zerrin, this looks so tasty!! MMMM… I will make it tomorrow!! Thanks!!
Ok, I’ll have to try this recipe too! I love the use of sesame seeds for the topping and yogurt for the dough. Wonderful post Zerrin!
What is pepper paste? Is it made from chili peppers or sweet peppers? If I can’t find it to buy, can I make it easily myself?
Maggie – pepper paste is like tomato paste, either from chili or sweet red bell peppers. Peppers are cleaned from their seeds, then they are mashed and mixed with salt and dried under sun for at least a week. In Turkey, they are done in large amounts in Summer and people sell it to others who don’t have a chance of doing it. If you have enough sun light there, you can do. If you can’t, this red pepper loaf can be made without paste as well. Just add a few more red bell peppers into its filling.
Can you make this dough with fresh yeast, and if so, how much should I use? Here in Poland yeast powder is available, but fresh is more popular.
Monika – I’m sure it can be done with fresh yeast, but I’ve never used it. I find using yeast powder easier.
Few questions about the recipe: How much salt should I be mixing in with the yeast? Also, if adding the yogurt, should more than 2 cups of flour be used to compensate? Or does the kneading step imply adding enough flour to make the dough not stick? Using the listed proportions, I don’t think there is any way for the dough not to stick to your hands, or am I doing something very wrong?
Josh – 1 tsp salt is enough for this dough. The yogurt I use is thick enough, so 2 cups flour is fine. But if the yogurt is too juicy, we should add extra flour(little by little) until it doesn’t stick your hand. Thank you so much for these questions. I hope it’s clear enough.
Do you have any idea of several nice recipes for pizza dough without yeast?