Pide is Turkey’s answer to pizza: a long boat of soft yeast dough with the filling left open in the middle, while the edges bake golden around it. Here you get the classic kıymalı pide with fried minced beef, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, tomato purée, ground cumin and paprika under a layer of melted cheese.
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Pide in the air fryer makes good sense, because the powerful hot air bakes the dough through quickly and makes the base crisp, without you having to turn on the oven. The boats simply need to be shaped to fit the basket, and the filling must be dry and cooled before it goes on. Finally, you brush the hot edges with melted butter, so they turn glossy and soft.
Table of Contents
Why I love pide in the air fryer
I love dishes where the dough and the filling bake together, and pide is one of the most rewarding. The dough is an ordinary yeast dough made from wheat flour, yeast, lukewarm water, a little sugar, salt and olive oil, and the filling is fully cooked in the frying pan before it goes on. That leaves the air fryer with just one job: baking the dough golden and melting the mozzarella on top. The recipe makes four pides, one per person, and they work just as well as fast food in your hand as they do for dinner with a salad on the side.
Pide or lahmacun – what’s the difference?
The two are often confused, but they are built differently. Lahmacun is a paper-thin, round base with a thin layer of raw, spiced minced meat that is baked together with the dough. Pide is thicker and softer and is shaped like a boat: the long edges are folded in over the edge of the filling, and the ends are twisted so that they become pointed. Here the filling is fried beforehand and covered with cheese, which melts down between the meat and holds it in place.
My kitchen test of pide
I baked the pides in my Cosori Dual Blaze at 190 °C, as the recipe specifies. First they get 6 minutes on baking paper, until the dough has set and the edges begin to take on colour. Then I pull the paper out and give them 4 minutes more, so the base gets direct heat. That makes 10 minutes per batch. The heating elements at both the top and the bottom of the Dual Blaze gave an evenly golden top and a crisp base.
A large basket has room for two pides at a time without them touching each other, so the four pides become two batches. The whole recipe takes 95 minutes, but 45 of those are rising time, when the dough looks after itself while you fry the filling and let it cool.
Measure the bottom of your air fryer basket before you roll out the dough, and keep the ovals 2-3 cm shorter. That way you can lift the pides into the basket on the baking paper without squashing the edges.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
The most common mistake is a filling that is too wet or still warm. Then the base steams instead of baking, and the edges open up. So fry the filling until all the moisture has evaporated, and let it cool completely on a plate. The next mistake is edges that are not closed properly: press the folded edges down firmly, and twist the ends tightly so the boat keeps its shape. The third is leaving the baking paper in place for the entire bake. It shields the base from the heat, so trim the paper so that it sticks out only 1 cm beyond the dough, and pull it out after the first 6 minutes. If the edges are still pale after the 10 minutes, give them 1-2 minutes more.
How to serve pide
Cut each pide into diagonal pieces of 3-4 cm, and serve them warm. They taste best with something fresh and tangy:
- Lemon wedges to squeeze over the filling
- A salad of tomato, cucumber, red onion and parsley
- A bowl of yoghurt stirred with garlic
- A sprinkling of chilli flakes (pul biber) for those who want more heat
Storage and reheating
Baked pides can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat them in the air fryer at 170 °C for 4-5 minutes, until they are heated through and crisp at the edges again. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months; thaw them in the refrigerator overnight before you heat them.
Once you have shaped the first boat, the rest takes care of itself, and you end up with a pide with a crisp base, soft edges and spiced filling under melted cheese. If you want to vary it, you can swap half of the beef for minced lamb for a more traditional flavour.
FAQ
Yes. The 10 g of fresh yeast can be replaced with 1 tsp of dried yeast. The rest of the method is the same, and the dough must still rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, until it has grown to almost double its size.
Yes. Measure the bottom of the basket, and roll the ovals out so that they are 2-3 cm shorter than it. If there is only room for one pide at a time, you bake them one at a time for 10 minutes per batch and keep the finished ones warm under a clean tea towel.
Yes. Kaşar is the classic Turkish cheese for pide, and if you have it from a Turkish grocer, you use the same amount, that is 150 g. Mozzarella was chosen because it melts in the same way and is available in every supermarket.
Recipe
Pide in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
Keep the screen on and follow the recipe step by step while you cook.
Step 1:
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Step 2:
Start the guide and follow the recipe one step at a time.
Cost of the dish
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Our estimate is based on average food prices for the current year 2026.
Estimated price for the whole dish:
Airfryer size
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Recommended equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Kitchen scale
- 1 Measuring cup
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Kitchen towel
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Plate
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Small saucepan
- 1 Brush
- 1 Turner
Shopping list
Ingredients
- 200 g wheat flour (Plus a little extra for rolling out)
- 10 g fresh yeast (Or 1 tsp dried yeast)
- 125 ml water (Lukewarm, about 37 °C)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil (For frying)
- 300 g minced beef (8-12 % fat)
- 1 pcs onion (Finely chopped)
- 2 clove garlic (Finely chopped)
- 1 pcs red bell pepper (Small, cut into tiny cubes)
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika (Sweet)
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 pinch black pepper (Freshly ground)
- 150 g grated mozzarella (Replaces Turkish kaşar cheese)
For brushing
- 25 g butter (Melted, for brushing after baking)
How to make it
Dough
- Dissolve 10 g fresh yeast in 125 ml water in a mixing bowl, and stir in 1 tsp sugar. The water should be lukewarm, about 37 °C.
- Add 200 g wheat flour, 0.5 tsp salt and 1 tbsp olive oil, and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, until it is smooth and supple and comes away from the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a tea towel, and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, until it has almost doubled in size. Make the filling in the meantime.
Filling
- Finely chop 1 pcs onion and 2 clove garlic, and cut 1 pcs red bell pepper into very small cubes.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, and sauté the onion and bell pepper for 3-4 minutes, until soft.
- Add 300 g minced beef and the garlic, and fry for 5-6 minutes, breaking the meat into small pieces with a meat chopper, until it is cooked through.
- Stir in 2 tbsp tomato purée, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp paprika, 0.5 tsp salt and 1 pinch black pepper, and continue frying for 2-3 minutes, until all the moisture has evaporated and the filling is dry.
- Spread the filling out on a plate and let it cool completely. Warm or wet filling makes the base soggy.
Shaping
- Press the air out of the dough on a lightly floured surface, and divide it into 4 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece out with a rolling pin into an oval about 4 mm thick and about 20 x 12 cm, and place each oval on its own piece of baking paper. The oval should be 2-3 cm shorter than the bottom of your air fryer basket.
- Divide the cooled filling between the 4 ovals, leaving a 2 cm border all the way round, and sprinkle 150 g grated mozzarella over the filling.
- Fold the long edges in over the outer edge of the filling, and press them down lightly. Pinch the ends together and twist them half a turn, so each pide takes the shape of a boat with pointed ends.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 190 °C fan.
- Trim the baking paper so it sticks out only 1 cm beyond the dough, and lift 1-2 pides into the basket on the paper. They must not touch each other.
- Bake at 190 °C for 6 minutes, until the dough has set and the edges begin to take on colour.
- Bake the remaining pides in the same way at 190 °C: 6 minutes on baking paper and 4 minutes without.
Serving
- Melt 25 g butter in a small saucepan, and brush the edges of the pides with it as soon as they come out of the air fryer.
- Cut each pide into diagonal pieces of 3-4 cm, and serve them warm.
Our notes for the recipe
The filling must be both dry and completely cooled before it goes onto the dough. If it is warm or wet, the base steams instead of baking, and the edges open up. Measure the bottom of your air fryer basket before you roll out the dough, and keep the ovals 2-3 cm shorter. Press the folded edges down firmly and twist the ends tightly, so the boat holds its shape during baking. Air fryers bake differently: if the edges are still pale after 10 minutes, give them 1-2 minutes more. Cheese:
Kaşar is the classic Turkish cheese for pide. Mozzarella melts in the same way and is available in every supermarket. If you have kaşar from a Turkish grocer, use the same amount. Variation:
Replace half of the beef with minced lamb for a more traditional flavour, or stir 1 tsp chilli flakes (pul biber) into the filling if you want more heat. You can also brush the edges with a little water and sprinkle sesame seeds on before baking. Serving:
Serve the pides with lemon wedges, a salad of tomato, cucumber, red onion and parsley, and perhaps a bowl of yoghurt with garlic. Portion size:
The recipe makes 4 pides, one per person. A large air fryer can fit 2 at a time. If your air fryer is smaller, you can bake them one at a time for 10 minutes per batch and keep the finished pides warm under a clean tea towel.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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