Gözleme

Gözleme is made from a thin, hand-rolled yufka dough, which is a simple mixture of flour, water, salt, and sometimes a little oil or yogurt. The dough is rolled extremely thin—almost translucent—on a round wooden board called an oklava board, using a long thin rolling pin known as an oklava. The thinness allows the gözleme to cook quickly and evenly on a griddle.

Gözleme is traditionally cooked on a sac (also spelled sač), a convex dome-shaped metal griddle heated over an open flame. The convex shape allows excess moisture to run off the edges, helping the flatbread stay crisp. In modern home kitchens, a large cast-iron skillet or crepe pan is a common substitute.

Popular savory fillings include beyaz peynir (Turkish white cheese) with parsley, seasoned ground beef or lamb, spinach with onion, and mashed potato. Sweet versions with crushed walnuts and sugar also exist. The filling is placed on one half of the rolled dough, which is then folded over and sealed before griddling.

Unlike bazlama, which is a thick, leavened round flatbread eaten plain as an accompaniment to meals, gözleme is specifically a thin, folded stuffed flatbread cooked on a griddle. Gözleme also differs from börek, which uses layered yufka and is baked rather than griddled. The name gözleme comes from the Turkish word göz, meaning eye, referring to the browned spots that form on the dough as it cooks.