Bazlama
This Turkish bazlama uses yeast, plain yogurt and olive oil for a soft dough cooked in a skillet. Shape it into twelve small or six larger rounds, flip as bubbles appear, and wrap the breads to keep them soft.
Modern adaptation
Gözleme (spinach and feta)
Gözleme · gozleme · Ispanaklı peynirli gözleme · Spinach and cheese gözleme
A yeast-and-yogurt dough is rolled into a large thin sheet, filled with spinach, onion and feta, folded closed, then cooked on an oiled griddle. This is Özlem Warren’s spinach-and-cheese family-style version.
One documented family version
Özlem Warren describes gözleme as a Turkish street food and breakfast food, and recounts learning its thin, folded form from local cooks near Şirince. Her 2013 family-style recipe makes about five spinach-and-feta parcels. It uses yeast and yogurt in the dough and an uncooked spinach, onion, oil, pepper and feta filling. Those choices define this page's version. Gözleme is also made with fillings such as potato or minced meat, and Warren published a separate 2011 spinach-and-cheese formula with an unleavened dough and a filling cooked in a flour-and-milk sauce. The two recipes are not interchangeable: this page follows the later yeast-and-yogurt method and keeps the earlier cooked filling out of its instructions.
Sources for this section
Dough and shaping
The dough uses plain flour, instant dried yeast, a pinch of salt, olive oil, plain yogurt and warm water. The first 150 ml water is used with the yeast and salt; the remaining water is mixed into the flour. Warren divides the kneaded dough into five balls and rests them under a damp cloth for about 30 minutes or until doubled. The rest lets this yeast-raised dough expand and relax before it is rolled. Roll each piece into a thin round about 40 cm across, keeping the unused balls covered. Fold the left and right sides inward to meet, add roughly 2 1/2 tablespoons filling, then fold the top and bottom over it and press the edges shut. The sealed parcel is large and flat; spreading the filling in the centre and pressing the seams helps keep it inside when the bread is turned.
Sources for this section
The spinach and feta filling
This selected filling is not cooked separately. Wash and dry the baby spinach, chop it, and mix it with finely chopped onion, olive oil and optional Turkish red pepper flakes or paste. Working the greens and onion by hand softens them. Stir in crumbled feta, then portion about 2 1/2 tablespoons into each parcel. The blog's method leaves the mixture raw when it is folded into the dough; do not replace it with the separately cooked spinach-and-milk filling in Warren's 2011 recipe without also changing the method. For safe handling, keep the feta refrigerated until assembly and choose cheese made with pasteurized milk. Wash the spinach under running water, dry it with a clean towel, and use clean hands and utensils. Cook the parcels soon after filling; the source cooks each side about 2–3 minutes until golden but gives no measured pan temperature or internal endpoint. Serve hot, and do not treat browned patches as a thermometer reading.
Serving, storage and scope
The author brushes the cooked parcels with a little olive oil to keep them moist and serves them rolled or cut into halves or quarters, with Turkish tea or ayran. The 2013 source also describes fillings of potato and cheese or minced meat, but this page stays with the spinach-and-feta batch and does not give meat handling instructions. The cooked parcels and assembled filling are perishable: serve them promptly and refrigerate leftovers within two hours, or within one hour when the surrounding temperature is above 90°F (32°C). No recipe-specific storage duration is claimed. The source page supports a country-level Turkish association and contemporary breakfast and street-food context; it does not date the practice's earliest evidence or prove a single birthplace.
Sources for this section
History
Özlem Warren calls gözleme a Turkish street food and part of Turkish breakfast and documents local preparation near Şirince. Her page does not date a first attestation or establish a single birthplace. This recipe is one family-style spinach-and-feta version.
Ingredients
Yield 5 gözleme · Scaling: source batch only
454 g1 lb as recorded
Source also gives 3 cups.Instant dried yeast
8 g
1 sachet as listed.SaltA pinch in the dough.
Amount not stated
No filling salt amount is specified.60 mL
45 ml for the dough and 15 ml for the filling; extra for brushing and the pan is unspecified.Plain natural yogurt
30 mL
2 Tbsp; whole-milk yogurt preferred by the author.Warm waterUse about 150 ml with the yeast and the remaining 110 ml in the dough.
260 mL
Source rounds this to 9 fl oz.Baby spinachWash, dry, and roughly chop.
200 g
7 oz as listed.OnionFinely chop.
1 medium
Source gives no weight.Turkish red pepper flakes (optional)
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Optional; the source offers 2 tsp Turkish red pepper paste instead.Turkish red pepper paste (optional)
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
Optional alternative to the red pepper flakes.Feta cheeseCrumble.
230 g
8 oz as listed; choose feta made with pasteurized milk.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour dough
The flour is uncooked during mixing and shaping; raw dough should not be tasted and can contaminate ready-to-eat foods.
Hazard sourceFresh spinach and ready-to-eat cheese filling
The filling is assembled from uncooked spinach, onion and feta before being folded into the dough; produce and refrigerated cheese need clean handling.
Hazard sourceUnpasteurized dairy
The recipe uses feta; choosing feta made with pasteurized milk avoids the additional risk from raw milk cheese.
Hazard sourceHot griddle and oil
The parcels cook on a heated pan brushed with oil, which can burn or splatter.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw dough. Keep it separate from ready-to-eat food and wash hands, utensils and surfaces after handling.
Control sourceRinse spinach under running water, dry it with a clean towel, and use clean hands and utensils when making the filling.
Control sourceUse refrigerated feta clearly labelled as made with pasteurized milk; keep it chilled until the filling is assembled.
Control sourceCook the formed parcels promptly and serve them hot. Refrigerate filling or leftovers within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if the room is above 90°F (32°C).
Control sourceStay by the stove while cooking and use suitable tools around the hot pan.
Control sourceThis selected version folds raw spinach, onion and feta into the parcel; it does not use minced meat or the separate cooked spinach-sauce filling from the author's 2011 method.
The source specifies about 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown but no measured pan temperature or internal endpoint. Colour is the source's cooking cue, not a validated thermometer reading.
Contains wheat and dairy. No recipe-specific storage duration is claimed.
- Stir the yeast and a pinch of salt into about 150 ml of warm water. Cover and leave in a warm place for about 5 minutes, until bubbles form.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well. Add the yeast mixture, 45 ml olive oil, yogurt and the remaining warm water. Draw the flour in and knead until a soft dough forms.
- Divide the dough into five pieces, knead each piece briefly and shape into balls. Set them on a floured surface, cover with a damp cloth and rest for about 30 minutes, or until the dough doubles.
- Wash and dry the spinach, then chop it roughly. Combine it with the finely chopped onion, 15 ml olive oil and the optional red pepper flakes or paste. Mix by hand to soften the onion and distribute the seasoning. Stir in the crumbled feta.
- Keep the dough balls covered. On a lightly floured surface, roll one into a thin round about 40 cm (16 inches) across. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work.
- Fold the left and right sides of the dough inward so their edges meet near the centre. Place about 2 1/2 tablespoons filling in the middle, then fold the top and bottom edges over it. Press the seams together to enclose the filling.
- Heat a griddle or nonstick pan. Brush one side of the parcel lightly with olive oil and place it oil-side down. Cook for about 2–3 minutes, until golden brown. Brush the upper side with oil, turn, and cook the other side for about 2–3 minutes until golden brown.
- Brush both cooked sides lightly with olive oil. Cook the remaining parcels in the same way. Serve hot, rolled or cut into halves or quarters. The source gives no measured pan temperature or internal endpoint.
Conditions
Yield5 gözleme
Fermentationfrom 0.5 h
Places
Turkey
Documented preparation · Country evidenceÖzlem Warren identifies gözleme as Turkish street food and a Turkish breakfast food, and documents a local preparation near Şirince. This supports a country-level association, not a single origin.
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Sources
Özlem’s Turkish TableMethod · Identity · Geographic context
Ispanakli & Peynirli gozlemeThis family recipe makes about five gozleme with 1 lb flour, 8 g instant yeast, a pinch of salt, 45 ml olive oil, 30 ml plain yogurt, and 260 ml warm water.
The spinach filling combines 200 g spinach, onion, optional Turkish pepper, 230 g feta and 15 ml olive oil; the author kneads spinach, onion, oil and pepper, then adds feta without first cooking the filling.
The dough is rolled to about 40 cm; about 2 1/2 tablespoons filling is enclosed and sealed. The parcel cooks on an oiled nonstick pan or griddle about 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown.
The author identifies gözleme as Turkish street food and part of Turkish breakfast, and mentions local preparation near Şirince.
Cited in: One documented family version; Dough and shaping; The spinach and feta filling; Serving, storage and scope
Özlem’s Turkish TableVariation
Anatolian Flat Breads with Cheese and Spinach – GozlemeA separate 2011 method uses an unleavened flour-water-oil dough and cooks a spinach-onion filling with butter, flour and milk before adding cheddar or mozzarella; this differs from the selected 2013 yeast-and-yogurt, raw spinach-feta method.
Cited in: One documented family version
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Selecting and Serving Produce SafelyWash fresh produce thoroughly under running water; washing reduces but does not eliminate bacteria.
Cited in: The spinach and feta filling
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
The Dangers of Raw Milk: Unpasteurized Milk Can Pose a Serious Health RiskChoose milk and cheese made from pasteurized milk.
Cited in: The spinach and feta filling
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Are You Storing Food Safely?Refrigerate perishable fillings and leftovers within two hours, or one hour when the surrounding temperature is above 90°F.
Cited in: Serving, storage and scope
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowDo not taste uncooked flour dough; prevent cross-contamination and wash hands and surfaces after handling.
Health CanadaSafety
Cooking safetyStay in the kitchen while cooking and take care around hot stovetops and cookware.