Sfeha flatbreads are traditional Lebanese soft flatbread topped with highly seasoned meat. Sfeha are also commonly made into small open-faced square hand pies.

As with so many inventions, necessity is its mother.

My obsession with sfeha (SFEE-huh) began on my trip to Lebanon in 2012. I had not even sought out the world of Ba’albek sfeha. No, those little beauties found their way to my plate by way of the table of our hired driver’s sister, where he took us to taste “real” kibbeh nayeh. Consult my cookbook for a detailed account of that event.

Not one, not two, but multiple sfeha were all lined up in a row along the side of the plate. What mesmerized me was the perfection of their shape: little squares of dough pinched together at four corners, with spiced meat peeking out the top.

I set myself to replication. I included the Ba’albek sfeha in my cookbook, but you can instructing and describe all day—it does not mean I’ve succeeded in created box sfeha that holds its shape the way those did in Lebanon, or the way they do from bakeries I’ve frequented in these parts here.

Enter flat sfeha, which I did not invent, but I did shift to the flat mode in a fit of unrequited perfectionism on the squares. Flat sfea still have their own quirks to contend with, their own secrets to know, but the techniques are simple enough with requited love in the resulting look and of course, taste.

My sfeha are soft, chewy mini- or medium-sized flatbreads topped with a meat so incredibly flavorful with spices and seasonings. The flavor and beauty game doesn’t end there, though: finish with yet another layer of garnishes that are equally delicious and beautiful.

The Dough.

My basic fatayer dough works for these sfeha, but the stickiness that is essential to the shape of  fatayer is not a friend to the flat sfeha. The meat topping is heavy, too heavy for that dough. My sfeha dough is similar in that it is still sticky but a bit firmer, requires just one rise, and contains yogurt for even more tenderness in a slightly thicker roll out. The rolled dough is cut into 3-inch rounds or simply halved and rolled into two larger flatbreads.

The meat that will top the dough is far to heavy and pushed in far too deeply to transfer the topped dough from countertop to sheet pan. Instead, transfer the dough to the sheet pan right after the dough is rolled and cut (if cutting out circles). Top the dough with the meat after the dough is moved to the sheet pan.

To keep the baked flatbreads soft and prevent hardening, cover with a clean kitchen towel while still warm from the oven on the sheet pan while the sfeha cool before serving or storing.

The Meat Topping.

Sfeha are always topped with highly seasoned ground meat, beef or lamb. If vegetarian is your goal, that’s fine and delicious, but you aren’t making sfeha.

Use 85-15 or 90-10 lean-fat ratios, as a little fat is good here to keep the meat moist and to further season the bread beneath.

The problem with spreading meat on raw dough is the meat contracts when baked, so there is a ring left around meat on the top of the dough that is not going to win any beauty contests.

My solution? Spread the meat as far out to the edge of the dough as possible, pushing into the meat and dough with fingertips. At the same time, clear some areas of meat so you can see the dough through the meat. The meat will still contract, but it won’t form a thin burger-like look and the perimeter ring is just minor.

The Garnishes.

The meat-topped flatbread that is sfeha is so mouthwatering and delectable that the rather colorless look of it is easily forgiven. Yet…. We always want our food to look beautiful, especially for newcomers to this or that dish. Thankfully, garnishes on sfeha are tradition: toasted pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, finely chopped parsley or mint or a combination of the two. Color! Flavor! Joy!