Lebanese Sfiha Baalbakiya with Minced Meat
Baalbeki filling is deliberately sour — pomegranate molasses and tomato are what set it apart from Turkish lahmacun. The dough is thin and the filling thick, not the other way round. Drain the tomato and onion, because their water makes the filling run and the base soggy.
- Prep
- 90 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 105 min
- Calories
- 210
Sfiha baalbakiya comes from Baalbek in Lebanon and is square, unlike the round versions made elsewhere. Thin dough under a rich, sour meat filling. Eaten hot with yogurt or laban.
Method
-
1
Make the dough
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water for ten minutes, knead with the remaining dough ingredients for ten minutes, then cover for an hour until doubled.
⏱ 82 min -
2
Drain the vegetables
Chop the tomato and onion very finely, salt them lightly and leave them in a sieve for twenty minutes, then squeeze them dry. Their water is what makes a sfiha filling run and the base go soggy.
⏱ 22 min -
3
Mix the raw filling
Combine the mince with the drained tomato and onion, pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, spices, salt and tahini. The filling goes on raw, never pre-cooked.
⏱ 8 min -
4
Taste for sourness
The filling should read as clearly sour — that is the Baalbeki signature. If it does not, add another spoonful of pomegranate molasses.
⏱ 2 min -
5
Shape the squares
Divide the dough into small balls, roll them thin, about three millimetres, into squares, spread a spoonful of filling across the surface, and fold the four sides slightly inward to form an open square.
⏱ 25 min -
6
Bake hot and fast
Bake in an oven preheated to 230°C for ten to twelve minutes only. The short bake cooks the meat while leaving the dough soft.
⏱ 14 min -
7
Serve
Serve them hot with a bowl of yogurt or laban alongside, and a squeeze of lemon over the top.
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Tips that actually matter
- Drain the tomato and onion. Their water makes the filling slide and the base wet.
- The filling cooks in the oven. Pre-cooking it dries the meat out before it ever reaches the dough.
- Pomegranate molasses is the difference between baalbakiya and any other meat pie. Do not go light on it.
- Hot oven, short bake, so the dough never has time to dry.
People also ask
How is it different from Turkish lahmacun?
Baalbakiya is sour from pomegranate molasses, square in shape, and thickly filled. Lahmacun is far thinner, lightly topped, much less sour, and rolled up after baking.
My filling is runny — what now?
The tomato and onion were not drained. Squeeze them in a cloth, and a spoonful of tahini or breadcrumbs will bind what is left.
Can I prepare them in advance?
Shape and freeze them raw on a tray, then bag them. They go into the oven straight from frozen with three extra minutes.
Cook mode
Lebanese Sfiha Baalbakiya with Minced Meat
-
1
Make the dough
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water for ten minutes, knead with the remaining dough ingredients for ten minutes, then cover for an hour until doubled.
-
2
Drain the vegetables
Chop the tomato and onion very finely, salt them lightly and leave them in a sieve for twenty minutes, then squeeze them dry. Their water is what makes a sfiha filling run and the base go soggy.
-
3
Mix the raw filling
Combine the mince with the drained tomato and onion, pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, spices, salt and tahini. The filling goes on raw, never pre-cooked.
-
4
Taste for sourness
The filling should read as clearly sour — that is the Baalbeki signature. If it does not, add another spoonful of pomegranate molasses.
-
5
Shape the squares
Divide the dough into small balls, roll them thin, about three millimetres, into squares, spread a spoonful of filling across the surface, and fold the four sides slightly inward to form an open square.
-
6
Bake hot and fast
Bake in an oven preheated to 230°C for ten to twelve minutes only. The short bake cooks the meat while leaving the dough soft.
-
7
Serve
Serve them hot with a bowl of yogurt or laban alongside, and a squeeze of lemon over the top.
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