Closed Kavurma Pide

Kavurmalı kapalı pide is a closed Turkish pide: the yeasted dough is folded right over a filling of kavurma and sealed, so it bakes into a long, enclosed loaf that is cut into slices across the width. Kavurma is meat, usually beef or lamb, cut into cubes and cooked slowly in its own fat until the moisture has gone; in eastern and central Anatolia it was traditionally made in autumn and stored under its fat as a winter supply, known as kış kavurması. The closed format comes from the Black Sea tradition, where Bafra in Samsun province is best known for long, thin closed pides filled with mince or diced meat. Kavurma suits a closed pide better than an open one, because the meat is already cooked and dries out quickly in direct heat; sealed in dough, it reheats in its own fat. A version with kaşar cheese added is common on the same boards and is judged by the same standards.