Baalbek Specialty · Open Meat Pie
Safiha Baalbakieh
Photo: Bdx / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
The dough is rolled so thin the meat topping bakes almost like a cracker — a technique of baking meat on dough instead of inside it that traces back to a recipe called 'Khubz Mushahha' in the 10th-century Arabic cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh.
A paper-thin round of dough is topped with seasoned minced lamb or beef, pine nuts, and a squeeze of lemon, then baked hot and fast until the edges crisp. Baalbek's bakeries, sitting on the old trade route between Damascus and the coast, are considered the dish's benchmark version.
Why it's made this way: Baalbek's position on a major Damascus-to-coast trade route helped its bakers build a reputation for this style of meat pie, distinct enough that Lebanese diners specifically seek out 'Safiha Baalbakieh.'
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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