Gözleme — pan plano relleno turco a la plancha

Gözleme is a traditional Turkish stuffed flatbread: a thin, hand-rolled dough filled with savoury ingredients — most classically spinach and white cheese, or spiced minced meat, or potato — folded into a parcel and cooked on a hot griddle (sac) until golden and crisp. It's a popular street and village food across Turkey, often made fresh to order by hand at markets and roadside stalls. Thin, warm and satisfying, it's eaten folded or cut into pieces, and is a favourite quick savoury bite, especially with tea.

The most iconic is spinach with crumbled Turkish white cheese (beyaz peynir, similar to feta), often called ıspanaklı. Other classics are kıymalı (spiced minced lamb or beef with onion), patatesli (seasoned mashed potato), and peynirli (just cheese and parsley). Fillings are spread thinly so the gözleme stays thin and cooks through. You can mix and adapt — the constant is a thin dough and a not-too-wet, well-seasoned filling sealed inside before griddling.

Gözleme dough should be rolled very thin — almost translucent, like yufka pastry — which is what gives the finished flatbread its characteristic thin, crisp texture. Rest the dough well first (so the gluten relaxes and it rolls without springing back), use a little flour to stop sticking, and roll patiently from the centre outwards, turning the dough, until it's as thin as you can get it. A long thin rolling pin (oklava) helps. If it tears slightly, just patch it; thin is more important than perfect.

Traditionally gözleme is cooked on a sac — a large, slightly domed metal griddle heated over a flame — which gives lots of thin, even surface to cook the big rounds. But you don't need one: a large flat heavy pan, a cast-iron griddle, or even an inverted wok works well. Just get it hot, brush lightly with butter or cook it mostly dry, and cook the gözleme until golden and blistered, turning once or twice. The key is a hot, flat surface big enough for the thin flatbread.

Yes — make the dough with oil instead of yogurt (it's often just flour, water and salt anyway), choose a plant-based filling like the seasoned potato (patatesli) version or spinach with a vegan cheese or none, and cook it on a dry or oil-brushed griddle instead of with butter. A spiced potato or spinach gözleme is naturally satisfying and traditional-tasting without dairy. The technique stays exactly the same — thin dough, sealed filling, hot griddle.