Fatayer: Stuffed Baked Pastry

Ingredients

• For the dough
• 500 g plain flour
• 7 g dried yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 60 ml olive oil, for tenderness and flavour
• 300 ml warm water, approximately
• For the spinach-sumac filling
• 500 g spinach, cooked and squeezed completely dry
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp sumac
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• For the lamb filling
• 400 g ground lamb, spiced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 50 g pine nuts

Method

1. 1
   Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl, adding the salt on the opposite side of the bowl from the yeast so the salt does not slow the yeast before it has had a chance to hydrate. Add the olive oil and enough warm water to bring the mixture to a rough dough, then turn it onto a lightly floured surface and work until the dough is smooth and elastic — it should spring back when pressed with a finger.
2. 2
   Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and set aside in a warm place until doubled in volume, so the gluten relaxes and the dough becomes easier to shape without springing back. The surface should dome visibly and the dough feel airy and light when pressed.
3. 3
   Prepare the spinach-sumac filling: squeeze all moisture from the cooked spinach — pressing it well beyond what seems necessary — so that no residual water remains to steam the pastry from the inside and produce a soggy base that cannot be recovered in the oven. This is where the dish lives or dies: combine the thoroughly dried spinach with the onion, sumac, olive oil, and lemon juice, tasting for the sharp, fruity balance that sumac should give.
4. 4
   Prepare the lamb filling: combine the ground lamb with the chopped onion and pine nuts, working the mixture just enough to distribute the pine nuts evenly so they do not sink to one side and leave the filling unbalanced in the finished pastry. Keep the mixture loose — overworking lamb makes it dense and tight once baked.
5. 5
   Divide the dough into equal, roughly hand-sized pieces and flatten each into a round, keeping the edges slightly thinner than the centre so the pinched seam does not become too thick and doughy when folded. Place a spoonful of filling at the centre, draw up the edges, and pinch firmly shut — the seal should show no gap and hold when the fatayer is lifted, because any opening will allow moisture to escape and the pastry to split during baking.
6. 6
   Arrange the fatayer on a lined baking tray and bake in a hot oven until the pastry is golden on top and the underside sounds hollow when tapped, indicating that steam has escaped cleanly and the base has set through rather than remaining soft. Serve warm.