Ispanaklı Pide

Ispanaklı Pide (Spinach) in a Pizza Oven

Name: Ispanaklı Pide (Spinach) in a Pizza Oven
Yield: 4 pide
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 500 g strong white or 00 flour; 310 g water (62% hydration); 10 g salt; 2.5 g instant yeast; 15 g olive oil; 5 g sugar; 320 g fresh spinach, roughly chopped; 240 g tulum or feta, crumbled; 80 g onion, finely diced and sautéed; 4 egg (cracked in last 2 minutes); Salt, black pepper, pul biber, to taste

Nationwide · open boat

Ispanaklı pide appears on every single Turkish pide restaurant menu and never gets old. Fresh spinach, squeezed dry and mixed with crumbled tulum or feta and sautéed onion, fills an open boat. The combination of wilted greens and tangy cheese is simultaneously fresh and deeply savory. The traditional finishing touch — a whole egg cracked into the center 2 minutes before the end of the bake — means every bite has some yolk running through the greens. Butter on the rim when it leaves the oven completes it.

What sets it apart — Vegetarian without feeling like a concession — the salty cheese, wilted spinach and egg center make it as satisfying as the meat versions. The egg-and-spinach combination is universal for a reason.

How many pides?

makes 4 × 210g balls
840 g total dough

The dough · baker’s %

Flourstrong white / 00500 g
Water62% hydration310 g
Salt10 g
Instant yeast×1.25 active-dry · ×3 fresh2.5 g
Olive oil15 g
Sugarfeeds the yeast5 g

Bake

320-370°C · 600-700°F6-9 min

Standard open boat. Crack the egg into the center in the last 2 minutes so the white sets but the yolk stays runny.

Serving ritual

Eat immediately while the yolk is still warm. Tear the rim and dip it into the egg. A squeeze of lemon over the top is always welcome.

Ferment & prep: Mix, bulk-ferment 1.5–2 h until doubled, ball, rest 20 min before shaping.

Filling — scaled for 4

Fresh spinach, roughly chopped320 g
Tulum or feta, crumbled240 g
Onion, finely diced and sautéed80 g
Egg (cracked in last 2 minutes)4
Salt, black pepper, pul biberto taste

Ispanaklı · Spinach and white cheese

Squeeze excess moisture from the spinach, or wilt briefly in a dry pan. Mix with crumbled cheese, sautéed onion and seasoning — taste for salt, the cheese is already salty. Fill the boat, bake, then crack the egg into the center 2 minutes before pulling. The yolk should still wobble when it hits the table. Brush the rim with butter.