Sfeeha (Lebanese Meat Pies)
Are you ready guys to make with me an extra ordinary Lebanese crowd-pleaser? I am guessing most of you have an idea about these Lebanese meat pies which we call in Lebanon sfeeha. They are served as part of the Lebanese mezze or as a main dish accompanied with plain yogurt, whether eaten as a snack or a main, sfeeha always satisfy and eating them all day long would be great if only my waist would allow it. Their crispy exterior with their steamy soft meat interior take them to the top list of comfort food! You will find sfeeha at all bakeries in Lebanon – these hand-pies are portable and delicious!
TO PIN IT
The best place to go for sfeeha is the city of Baalbek, also called the city of the sun, where the large archeological ruins of the Roman temples and monuments are surrounded, and a major touristic destination! If you visit Lebanon, keep Baalbek on your agenda and don’t miss these insanely decadent treats!
About the dough!
- The recipe may sound laborious since you will be making the dough from scratch!! I think the biggest obstacle for people is a fear of making yeast dough recipes like sfeeha, especially beginner bakers as they find working with yeast intimidating, but I guess the dough here is a good start even for beginners! Don’t be afraid to work with yeast!! It is a straightforward recipe for a foolproof dough.
- This is such a versatile dough, it can be used to make mini manakish, spinach fatayer, calzones, mini pizzas, and turnovers, so I guess it is pretty good to learn it and keep it in your repertoire.
- Use whole milk to make the dough and never use the skimmed stuff.
- When making the dough, milk should be lukewarm and never use hot milk. The hot milk will kill the yeast which guarantees your dough will never rise.
- Kneading the dough by hand is pretty simple; I love kneading all yeast dough by hand – I am an old school, but you can use a stand mixer fitted with a hook if you prefer! Slam the dough on a floured countertop a couple of times this will strengthen the gluten in the flour, resulting in a very light and fluffy dough. Watch the video!
About the filling!
- Traditionally sfeeha pies are made with lamb meat, but if you are worried about lamb meat being too strong for you, beef can be used instead – though my personal preference is lamb!! Fatty meat is advisable and not the lean stuff.
- A quick word about the filling: tomatoes and onions can be hand chopped, but I would prefer to throw them both (onions and tomatoes) in a food processor and blitz to a smooth blend – do not add the minced meat to the food processor!
- Some people add pomegranate molasses and tahini to the filling, I simply don’t! I need nothing to overpower the flavor of the lamb meat, I would only spice it up with a very small pinch of seven spice, cinnamon powder and chili powder.
- Strain the filling before shaping the sfeeha, to get rid of the excess liquid and to avoid unravelling the sfeeha while baking.
Shaping the sfeeha is an art and a skill!
Making sfeeha is an art form and a labor of love. It takes some skills and a little bit of practice to make them perfect. I guess the video will make easier for you to learn!! I have provided you with two ways to shape these little morsels,
the square shaped ones, are the classic found in most bakeries and where you have to pinch both opposing ends of the round dough, creating a square shaped dough.
The second shape, that I personally prefer, is the flower shaped sfeeha where you crimp the edges around the filling creating pleats as you go!
It takes some skills and a little bit of practice to make them perfect. I guess the video will make easier for you to learn!!
A few days ago, I was invited by the founder of “Ajyal” in Kinshasa and had the pleasure to meet some lovely ladies that were eager to learn about sfeeha. We finished the workshop with an interactive session of demonstrating and baking sfeeha. The ladies were able to shape the sfeeha brilliantly with few trials – I was thrilled and it was such a fun class. Many thanks Mrs. Khadija to you and your team. Watch the video to sneak the lovely atmosphere we had together and to learn how to make and shape the sfeeha!
Can you freeze sfeeha?
- The sfeeha freeze well which make them a quick dinner with some yogurt on a busy weeknight. They even make a great solution for unexpected guests or even parties and gatherings. Once the sfeeha is baked and cooled, wrap any leftover individually in with plastic wrap. They freeze beautifully for up to three months.
How to reheat frozen baked sfeeha?
- Reheating baked sfeeha, in the oven, far better than a microwave here, because microwave converts moisture to steam, softening them as they heat producing a soggy sfeeha. Lay the sfeeha on the grate in the oven at 200°C/400°F and warm a couple of minutes.
But let’s be honest and say that sfeeha are at their best when fresh out of the oven!! Your house will smell warm and welcoming. My family invade the kitchen as soon as I pull them from the oven, and I would all the time warn them “allow them to cool down a few minutes, so you don’t get burnt!” Most get eaten right away and rarely anything gets in the freezer! They are easy to make, don’t shy away from making sfeeha, it is a fun project! Happy eating!!
Reader's Praise: "I made these in ramadan and they were soooo good, not only taste authentic but look great too. I make them all the time since,i was surprised how easy the dough is. I wish I could post my pictures as they just look fantastic every time. You saved some hungry fasting people this year! Thanks." Elizabeth
Ingredients:
- For the dough:
- 1 kg. / 2lb 4 oz. all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ cup sunflower oil
- 2 + 1/4 cups whole milk
For the meat filling:
- 500 g. / 1 lb 2 oz, minced lamb meat
- 2 small onions, diced
- 4 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped, no need to peel the tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder, optional
- ½ teaspoon seven spice or allspice
- Chili flakes, optional
- Canola or sunflower oil to grease your baking sheets
Directions:
- 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 is of one texture. Slam it a couple of times on a countertop before you cover 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 it doubles in bulk.
- In the meantime, prepare the meat filling: Place the tomatoes and onions in a blender and blend until smooth, you may even use an immersion blender.
- Transfer the pureed tomatoes to bowl, add the minced meat, salt, spices and chili flakes if used. Stir well to homogenize the mixture.
- Strain the filling to get rid of the excess liquid, this is a crucial step to avoid unravelling the sfeeha 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 counter top and break off the dough into equal balls roughly the size of a ping pong ball.
- Stretch each dough with a rolling pin to a round circle ½ cm. thick, making sure to flour the countertop and the rolling pin every now and then to avoid sticking the dough.
- Place a tablespoon of the meat filling in the center of each circle dough. Watch the video above to learn how to shape the dough; I have provided you with two ways to shape the sfeeha, choose your preferable way! The classic way is to pinch the two opposing ends of the round dough, creating a square shape sfeeha. The other way to shape sfeeha is to crimp the edges around the filling, creating pleats as you go! Watch the video to make it easier to understand.
- Lightly grease two large baking sheets with oil and place the sfeeha on the greased baking sheets, don’t crowd the sheets.
- Bake each sheet for about 12 minutes to a golden color. Serve warm with a squeeze of lemon juice for an extra kick or some plain yogurt / Purslane Yogurt Salad on the side. Total joy!!
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!
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47 Responses to Sfeeha (Lebanese Meat Pies)
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August 21, 2019
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About Chef
Hadia Zebib
I am Hadia, the face behind Hadia’s Lebanese Cuisine. I grew up in Beirut Lebanon and I currently reside in Kinshasa, Congo with my husband and my three adorable sons, ...
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thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe! I can’t wait
to give them a try myself 😉
Thank you Diane! These are so satisfying and the dough is incredible! Xo xo!
Those look awesome.
Thank you Christine!
I love using allspice with the lamb… I love that this dough is simple ingredients and you use sunflower oil. I haven’t found 7 spices in ages i need to make it myself… these are a must make
Thank you Claudia, yes it is such a simple dough, yet so versatile, and lamb is my very favorite meat. Xo xo!
These Sfeeha look delicious and I love that you used lamb!
Thank you Julie, agreed lamb meat is far more flavorful here! Xo xo!
These look wonderful! Approximately how many sfeeha does this recipe make?
Thank you Dahlia, these are so good!The recipe makes about 45 pieces!
How many “cups” of flour do u use I’m from Canada ? Lol it says 1kg of flour
i just made these and they were delish. i cooked them on convection and they didn’t keep their shape, what do you think i did wrong..but again the meat filling was delish,,marie from canada
Marie. I am happy the sfeeha turned out delicious. As for retaining their shape, the filling should be well strained and the dough should not be so dry. Another important issue to consider is to bake the sfeeha on the middle rack of the oven to avoid unravelling while baking. This is really crucial. Don’t over stuff – the smaller you make the sfeeha, the better you are able to control shaping them, resulting a better looking sfeeha. I hope that helps!
My grandmother used to make these and I haven’t had them since she died in 1980’s. So happy to have found this. Thank you!
I hope you enjoy making them and eating them, this is such a fun projecy, Linda! Enjoy!
We’d inhale both a lamb and beef version! And I love working with dough, so would love to experiment with your sfeeha!
I bet the extra effort making the dough from scratch is totally worth it! I am excited to try these!
Thanks dear for the recipe.
I have a question. The dough was soooooo heavy I couldn’t knead it. Is it what it meant to be?
Thanks for helping.
My pleasure Yusra, the dough has to be malleable and easy to work with, you may need to add just a bit more milk or water, some flour brands absorb more liquid than others! Welcome Yusra!!
They were amazing, and not difficult at all!
Happy, you liked Sadia. Thank you for the feedback!
Wow your dough recipe was delicious ! I used it to make manakish and they turned out perfect. Can’t wait to try the sfeeha meat filling. Thank you for the wonderful recipe !
The dough is so versatile, and you can make endless options with it. I am happy to know you liked, Gizelle. XO XO
These look amazing! Sfeeha is one of my favorite Lebanese foods and I’ve had difficulty finding an authentic recipe, soooo glad I found your channel. After you shape the sfeeha, you don’t do a final rise/proof? Only asking Bc most bread/enriched dough that I’ve made I’ve had to do that step. Do you think it would be helpful? Only asking BC I’m still a newbie at working w dough and wanna get everything right. So glad I found your site 🙂
Hello Gabi, and happy to hear from you. No need a final proof after shaping the sfeeha. Don’t be afraid to experiment with dough. This ultimate dough can be used to make lots of things! Let me know how you like it. Welcome!
Hi, we bought these yesterday at an ethnic market not realizing they were meat pies. We left them on the counter overnight. Are they safe to eat now or did we just really blow it? They were not refrigerated at the store. We thought we were buying cute naan :). Thank you for your help!
Do you cook the meat before you bake it, or just bake it in the oven
I made these in ramadan and they were soooo good, not only taste authentic but look great too. I make them all the time since,i was surprised how easy the dough is. I wish I could post my pictures as they just look fantastic every time. You saved some hungry fasting people this year! Thanks
So happy to hear that, Elizabeth, and yes the dough is phenomenal. Thank you for taking the time and leaving your comment here. Have a lovely day.
I love the meat filling in this recipe. Sooo savory!
Absolutely, Diana. I love the deep flavor of lamb meat. Xo xo
The dough is so perfect. Tried it 3 times and the recipe never failed…احبک۔۔۔ 😊
Thank you, Waqas, for the feedbacks, so happy to know you liked, indeed it is a great dough. Xo xo
I ordered your book from Amazon and it arrived today but I was very disappointed that the recipes that you posted online for the different breads and especially the sheefa were either not in the book or very different. I really liked the posted recipes and will print and keep with your book.
Hi Ajia, Thank you for purchasing the book. I have mentioned to you before that 90 percent of the recipes that are in the book are not online, and by that I wanted the people ordering the book, to enjoy new recipes that I haven’t posted before. Here is a link about the book: https://hadiaslebanesecuisine.com/newsite/recipe-items/hadia-lebanese-style-recipes/ I tell you Ajia, give the recipes in the book a try, and I think you will definitely love them. These are my life recipes that I have collected over years, each recipe is a true labor of love that I shared with my family and loved ones. Xo xo
Hello Ajia,
My perception was very different from yours. In the sense that most of the blog’s recipies are an incentive to buy the book. Personally, I was lucky enough to receive this book and not being an expert in cooking I’m learning a little bit more about Lebanese cuisine. This book is magnificently well done and it shows that Hadia shares her passion with us and she does extremely well. I encourage you to try the recipies of the book. I’m pretty sure you will love them and feel the same passion that Hadia puts in her blog.
Thank you Hadia for what you do!
Floriane from Belgium
Hi Floriane. Let me tell you that I read your comment several times, simply because it touched me a lot, and I am so happy to see people relating to my book, and so happy too that you found it inspiring. All I want to tell you is thanks a bunch. Xo xo.
I tried your recipe today. Quite close to my grandmas, a bit easier! lol. The grandkids loved them so they are a sure Holiday gift for the neighbors this year!
Kathlene, so happy to know the kids loved, and thanks a bunch for taking the time to leave a comment here.
Question!
Just want to confirm that you don’t pre-cook the filling before baking for 12 minutes?
I’m not seeing that step in this recipe but wonder if 12 minutes will be sufficient!
Let me know!
Thanks,
No need to cook the filling before baking, and the baking time could be 12 minutes or even more, remember ovens are different. The end result of the sfeeha should have an even golden crust and top.
Amazing!
Thank you!
HI, just made sfeeha for Uttar using your steps and instructions so delicious. I used beef instead of lamb, the flavor was wonderful, even my fussy hubby loved them.and couldn’t have enough. I will be using the dough to make calzones.
That’s great to know, Katie, so happy you liked, indeed it sis a great recipe, and the dough is so versatile, and ideal too for calzones. Happy eating, and thanks a bunch for your review, much appreciated! Xoxo
Do you have the breakdown of the nutritional information for 1 Sfeeha?
How many cups is 2lb 4oz of flour?