Sfeeha
Non-vegetarian
صفيحة · ṣfīḥa
Small open pies of soft dough topped with minced lamb, onion, tomato and pine nuts seasoned with allspice and a squeeze of lemon, baked until just golden.
Sfeeha is a Lebanese savoury bake from Lebanon, ready in about 1 hour 50 minutes and made with ground lamb and allspice. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 50 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 626
Ingredients
Dough
Topping
Method
Step 1
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar (opens in a new tab) and salt, add the water and oil and knead to a soft dough. Cover and rise until doubled.
- 10 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 2
Mix the lamb with the onion (opens in a new tab), tomato (opens in a new tab), pine nuts (opens in a new tab), yogurt (opens in a new tab), lemon juice (opens in a new tab), allspice (opens in a new tab), cinnamon (opens in a new tab), salt and pepper (opens in a new tab). Keep chilled.
- 8 min
Food safety: Keep the raw meat topping refrigerated until needed.
Step 3
Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 220 °C. Divide the dough into 16 balls and roll each into a 10 cm round. Spoon on the topping and pinch the edges at four points to make a square with raised sides.
- 15 min
- 220°C
- Rolling pin (opens in a new tab)
Step 4
Bake on lined trays until the dough is lightly golden underneath and the meat cooked through.
Food safety: The topping must be cooked through with no pink.
About this dish
- Origin
- Baalbek, Lebanon · Commonly attributedMade throughout Lebanon and Syria; the square, pinched Baalbek style is especially well known.Also popular in Syria, Jordan, PalestineMore food from Lebanon
- Dish
- Lunch · Snack · Dinner · Pizza & savoury pies · Finger food · Appetizers & starters
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked
- Taste
- savoury, aromatic / warmly spiced, tangy, mild
- Diet
- High-proteinWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Non-vegetarian · Egg-free · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein - Good for
- Freezer-friendly · Portable / lunchbox · Make-ahead
- Cook more with
- Ground lamb · Allspice · All-purpose flour · Dried yeast · Sugar · Onion
- Techniques
- Baking · Kneading · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Milkfrom yogurt
- Contains: Tree nutsfrom pine nuts
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
626 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 281 g · recipe makes 4
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 14%
- Carbohydrate 41%
- Fat 44%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 626 kcal | 223 kcal |
| Protein | 22.5 g | 8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 64.6 g | 23 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 61 g | 21.7 g |
| Sugars | 3.9 g | 1.4 g |
| Added sugars | 1 g | 0.4 g |
| Fibre | 3.6 g | 1.3 g |
| Fat | 30.6 g | 10.9 g |
| Saturated fat | 9.3 g | 3.3 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 56 mg | 20 mg |
| Sodium | 1074 mg | 382 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 2.7 g | 1 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 436 mg
- Calcium
- 54 mg
- Iron
- 5.3 mg
- Magnesium
- 61 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 15 µg
- Vitamin C
- 8 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 1.8 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 269 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Serve with
- With plain yogurt or laban to drink, and lemon wedges.
Storage
- Keeps 2 days in the fridge or 2 months frozen.
Reheating
- Reheat in a 180 °C oven for 6–8 minutes.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
Structure
Dough
- All-purpose flour300 g
- Dried yeast4 g
- Sugar1 tsp · 4.2 g
- Salt1 tsp · 6 g
- Water, lukewarm170 ml · 170 g
- Olive oil2 tbsp · 27 g
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 35 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Bake · about 13 min at 220 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
- Start to finish: about 1 h 48 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | Flour | 300 g | 100% |
| Water | Water | 170 g | 56.7% |
| Olive oil | Fat | 27 g | 9% |
| Salt | Salt | 6 g | 2% |
| Sugar | Sugar | 4 g | 1.4% |
| Dried yeast | Yeast | 4 g | 1.3% |
- Total flour
- 300 g
- Hydration
- 56.7%
- With milk, eggs…
- 56.7%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
- Salt 2% — normal for bread.
If something goes wrong
Spreads flat / no oven spring
Likely causes
- Over-proofed
- Weak shaping (no surface tension)
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much water for the flour
What to do
- Shorten the proof; bake when the poke springs back slowly
- Shape tightly so the skin is taut
- Preheat fully (30+ minutes; with a stone or Dutch oven, 45)
- Lower hydration or use bread flour
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Crust too hard or thick
Likely causes
- Baked too long at too low a temperature
- No steam at the start
What to do
- Bake hotter for a shorter time
- Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
- Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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