Lahmajoun is sometimes called "Armenian pizza" — but that undersells it. It's thinner, crispier, and more intensely flavored. The topping is finely minced meat with tomatoes, peppers, parsley, and spices spread paper-thin over the dough and baked hot and fast until the edges crackle. Rolled up with fresh lemon and parsley, it's one of the most satisfying things you can eat, and it comes together faster than an actual pizza once the dough has rested.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¾ cup warm water (about 105°F)
- ½ lb ground lamb or beef (or a mix)
- 1 tomato, diced and well drained
- ½ red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 small onion, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp allspice
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- To serve: fresh lemon wedges, extra parsley, sliced tomatoes
Instructions
- Bloom the yeast. Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes, until it looks slightly foamy on top. If it doesn't foam, your yeast is dead — start over with a fresh packet.
- Make and knead the dough. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt, then add the yeast mixture and olive oil. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then knead on a floured surface for 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
- Let it rise. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour, until roughly doubled in size.
- Make the topping. While the dough rises, combine the ground meat, drained tomato, bell pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, tomato paste, cumin, paprika, allspice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix by hand until it forms a spreadable, well-combined paste — draining the tomato well beforehand is key, or the topping will make the dough soggy.
- Preheat the oven as hot as it goes. Set your oven to 500°F (or its highest setting) with a baking sheet or pizza stone inside to preheat. Lahmajoun wants a blast of high heat, not a slow bake.
- Divide and roll the dough. Punch down the risen dough and divide into 6 equal balls. Working one at a time, roll each ball out as thin as you can on a floured surface, into a rough oval or circle about 8–9 inches across.
- Top all the way to the edge. Spread a very thin, even layer of the meat mixture over each round, all the way to the border — an even, paper-thin layer bakes crisp; a thick pile of topping steams instead of browning.
- Bake hot and fast. Transfer to the preheated baking sheet or stone and bake at 500°F for 8–10 minutes, until the meat is fully cooked and browned in spots and the edges of the dough are deeply golden and crisp.
- Serve immediately. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over each hot lahmajoun, scatter with parsley, and roll it up tightly like a wrap. Eat right away, while the crust is still crackling — no fork needed.
Tips for the Best Lahmajoun
The biggest mistake is topping too thick — think of it as a thin smear, not a pizza's worth of toppings. If your oven runs cool or doesn't hold heat well, use a pizza stone or an inverted baking sheet preheated for a full 30 minutes to get that fast, crackling bake. And if you're making a big batch, keep unbaked rounds covered so the dough doesn't dry out while you work through the rest.