Boat shaped Greek Pizza method (Peinirli or Peynirli)

Unlike the traditional Italian pizza or calzone, Peinirli is shaped like an open top boat with folded ends and its key elements deliciously melt in the middle! Components 400g flour (14 oz.) 235g milk at room temperature (8 oz.) 30ml olive oil (3 tbsps) 25g butter (1 oz.) 1 tsp of sugar 2 tsp of salt 8g dry yeast (2 1/2 tbsps) 400g kasseri cheese (15 oz.) or mix of mozzarella, edam, gouda or cheddar cheese 150g (5 oz.) bacon (optional) 1 green pepper (optional) Method To make this Greek pizza method (peynirli) start by preparing the dough first.

In the large bowl from an electric mixer add the milk (at room temperature), yeast and sugar and stir with a fork, so that the yeast dissolves completely. Into the same bowl, add the flour, butter,olive oil and salt. Use the dough hook to mix the ingredients in medium speed, for about 5-7 minutes.

The dough for this Greek pizza method should be smooth and elastic and easy to roll Coat lightly the dough with some olive oil, place the dough inside a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit in a warm place for at least 30 minutes, until it doubles it’s size. Take the dough for your Greek pizza out of the bowl and split in 6 evenly sized portions.

Stretch out the dough and shape in oval shaped, thin portions, like a pizza base. For the topping for this Greek pizza recipe, grate the cheeses on top of the stretched out dough and fold the dough corners to form its crust (see pictures below).

Make sure you squeeze the ends so that the dough sticks together and doesn’t unfold when baking. Secure the edges by pressing them firmly or sealing them with a bit of water. Start folding the upper edge in the same way you did for the bottom.

And lastly fold the two ends creating a boat-shaped pizza with secured edges. Add the bacon and peppers on top, spreading them evenly.

Preheat oven at 180C and bake the peinirli for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the peynirli cool for a few minutes.