Sfiha Baalbakieh
Small open-topped meat pies from Baalbek, the meat sharp with pomegranate molasses and tomato. Open, not sealed, and baked hot and fast so the topping stays juicy.
Photograph credit: Safeha, a Lebanese dish of Baalbek, 2017 by Bdx · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
What to Put on the Table With Sfiha Baalbakieh
- Plain yogurt
- Lemon wedges
- Pickled turnips
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Lebanese Cabbage Salad, Lebanese Garlic Potatoes.
How to Cook Sfiha Baalbakieh
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Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, work in the oil and water, and knead 8 minutes to a soft dough. Cover and leave 60 minutes, until doubled.
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Mix all the topping ingredients together thoroughly. It should be thick enough to sit on dough without running.
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Heat the oven to its maximum, at least 250°C / 480°F, with a heavy tray inside.
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Divide the dough into 24 pieces and flatten each into a 9 cm disc on a lined tray, leaving a slight rim.
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Spread a heaped tablespoon of the meat over each disc, right to the edge, in a thin even layer.
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Bake on the preheated tray 8 to 10 minutes, until the bases are crisp and the meat has just lost its raw colour. They should still look juicy.
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Serve hot with lemon and yogurt.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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A Few Notes
The oven must be at its maximum. A slow bake dries the meat.
Squeeze the onion dry or the topping steams.
Spread the meat thin. A thick layer will not cook in time.
Keeping What's Left
Refrigerated for 3 days; reheat 6 minutes at 220°C / 430°F. They freeze baked for 2 months.
Questions and Answers
How long does Sfiha Baalbakieh take to make?
45 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour of the dough rising, so allow 2 hours 5 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 8.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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