Sfeeha (Lebanese Meat Pies)
Description
Sfeeha always satisfies, and eating them all day long would be wonderful—if only my waist would allow it! Their crispy exterior and steamy, tender meat filling make them one of my favorite comfort foods. You’ll find sfeeha at bakeries all over Lebanon. These delicious hand pies are portable, satisfying, and absolutely irresistible!
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 kg / 2 lb 4 oz all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ cup sunflower oil
- 2¼ cups whole milk
For the Meat Filling
- 500 g / 1 lb 2 oz minced lamb
- 2 small onions diced
- 4 medium-sized tomatoes chopped (no need to peel)
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
- ½ teaspoon seven-spice or allspice
- Chili flakes optional
Canola or sunflower oil, for greasing the baking sheets
Instructions
- Start making the dough: In a large bowl, mix the flour, active dry yeast, sugar, salt, and oil. Add the lukewarm milk and mix well.
- Knead the dough until it has a smooth, even texture. Slam it a couple of times onto the countertop before covering it with cling film. This will strengthen the gluten in the flour, resulting in a very light and fluffy dough. Watch the video!Set aside for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
- In the meantime, prepare the meat filling: Place the tomatoes and onions in a blender and blend until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender.
- Transfer the puréed tomatoes to a bowl. Add the minced meat, salt, spices, and chili flakes, if using. Stir well to thoroughly combine the mixture.
- Strain the filling to remove any excess liquid. This is a crucial step to prevent the sfeeha from unravelling while baking.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Place the rack in the center of the oven.
- When the dough has doubled in size, flour a countertop and divide the dough into equal-sized balls, roughly the size of a ping-pong ball.
- Stretch each piece of dough into a round circle about ½ cm thick using a rolling pin. Make sure to flour the countertop and rolling pin from time to time to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Place a tablespoon of the meat filling in the center of each circle of dough. Watch the video above to learn how to shape the dough. I’ve provided two ways to shape the sfeeha, so choose whichever method you prefer!The classic way is to pinch the two opposite ends of the round dough together, creating a square-shaped sfeeha.
- Another way to shape sfeeha is to crimp the edges around the filling, creating pleats as you go. Watch the video for a visual demonstration—it’ll make the process easier to understand!
- Lightly grease two large baking sheets with oil. Place the sfeeha on the greased baking sheets, making sure not to overcrowd them.
- Bake each sheet for about 12 minutes, until golden. Serve warm with a squeeze of lemon juice for an extra kick, or with some plain yogurt or Purslane Yogurt Salad on the side. Total joy!!
Video
Notes
If you make this recipe, share your pictures on Facebook! I would love to see your creations!Hashtag them #Hadia's Lebanese Cuisine
Check our Lebanese Meat Fatayer/ Lebanese Meat Turnovers
Another meat pie worth checking out Gaziantep Lahmacun
A great Lebanese appetizer worth learning about: Lebanese Cheese Sambusek!
Check our Lebanese Meat Fatayer/ Lebanese Meat Turnovers
Another meat pie worth checking out Gaziantep Lahmacun
A great Lebanese appetizer worth learning about: Lebanese Cheese Sambusek! Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!