If you’re been craving a homemade lahm bi ajeen that’s chewy, tangy, and packed with flavor, this recipe delivers. These crisp, thin, perfectly charred pies are brought to you by my cousin, Kris. His approach to food is part precision and part intuition. He’s spent years fine-tuning this recipe, balancing bold flavor with a dough that bakes up just right. And I’m so excited to be able to pass it along here.
Jump to the recipe if you’re ready to hit the pizza stone, or read on for a few tips and tricks.
What makes lahm bi ajeen special?
Lahm bi ajeen is often described as “Middle Eastern pizza,” but that comparison only gets you so far. Yes, both involve thin dough baked with toppings. But lahm bi ajeen flips the script.
Instead of layering on sauce and cheese, you mix the tomato base directly into the meat, skip the cheese entirely, and add bold ingredients like parsley, peppers, and the real game-changer: pomegranate molasses.
Why pomegranate is essential 🫡 (but also… how you can get away with substituting it 😳)
Pomegranate molasses is the heart of this dish. On its own, it’s shockingly tart, but when mixed into the meat, it adds a rich, sweet-sour brightness that cuts through the fat and deepens the flavor. It’s not a background note. It’s the thing that makes lahm bi ajeen taste like lahm bi ajeen.
And I’d say no substitutions, but I know some of you might want to make this without having pomegranate molasses on hand. While you can’t replicate the flavor without the real deal, you can do something similar by adding a drizzle of syrup like agave or maple and a dash of lemon juice. Is it pomegranate molasses? No. Does the resulting lahm bi ajeen taste 100% correct and exactly the same as if you used pomegranate molasses? Also no. But it adds a certain something similar, and it works do create something similar and good in a different way.
Where to find pomegranate molasses
If you’re going for it and making the recipe as written, you’re going to need to track down a bottle of pomegranate molasses. You’ll find it in the international aisle of some US supermarkets, although that can be hit and miss. Most Middle Eastern markets carry it, and it’s very easy to order online. While you can make your own, I recommend just buying it because homemade is usually much less tangy. And most recipes featuring pomegranate molasses are developed using the store-bought stuff.
The bottle should last for quite a while, but if you’re looking for ways to use it up (besides this recipe on repeat), here are some ideas:
- A sweet-and-sour boost in salad dressings or marinades
- Swirled into yogurt
- Drizzled over veggies after roasting
- As a marinade and glaze for grilled lamb
- In cocktails or mocktails as a deeper more molassesey substitute for simple syrup
- Drizzled over chocolate ice cream
Lahm bi ajeen shortcuts
- Kris’s dough recipe is excellent, but you can totally use store-bought pizza dough if you’re looking for ways to save time.
- Instead of chopping and mixing everything, you can use a food processor to chop the banana pepper, parsley, and onion, and then use it to bring the rest of the meat ingredients together.
- Use a stand-mixer to knead the bread dough if you’re going the homemade route.
Lahm bi Ajeen
For an easier recipe, try this alternative
- Total Time: between 4 and 26 hours
- Yield: 8 small pies
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 cups room temperature water, divided into 1 cup and 1/2 cup
- 12 ounces (2 cups) all purpose flour
- 5 ounces (1 cup) 00 flour (or substitute additional all purpose flour)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
For the meat mixture:
- 1 pound 5 ounces lean, ground beef
- 2 1/2 tablespoons pomegranate paste/molasses (see ingredient note preceding the recipe)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 banana pepper, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
- 1/2 small onion, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste, if you prefer)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
To bake the pies:
- Additional flour, for sprinkling
- Semolina or cornmeal, for sprinkling
- Ground meat mixture
- Risen dough
- Finishing salt
Instructions
- Make the dough: Proof the active dry yeast with the sugar and 1 cup of the water until the water looks a little foamy on top (about 5-10 minutes).
- Add the all purpose flour, 00 flour, and salt to a bowl (the bowl of a stand mixer, if you plan to knead by machine).
- Add the water/yeast/sugar mixture and stir until the dough starts to come together into a dry, shaggy mess.
- Gradually add a little of the remaining 1/2 cup of water at a time, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until the whole thing comes into a dough ball. Do not use all of the water, unless you need it. If you use too much water, compensate with a little more flour; likewise, if the dough looks too dry, add a little more water and let it sit for a few minutes to absorb. The dough ball should not be too sticky or dry (somewhere in between is best). It should look a tiny bit firmer than store-bought pizza dough.
- Knead until the dough ball passes the window pane test. It should come together into an elastic ball that has a smooth surface. Kneading should take about 5-15 minutes by machine with a dough hook, or 10-20 minutes by hand. Pay more attention to the dough’s consistency than the time you’ve spent kneading.
- Place the dough in a bowl, cover it, and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, and then in the refrigerator overnight. If you don’t have time to wait overnight, you can let it rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (resting it in the refrigerator will help it develop a better flavor and texture).
- Make the meat mixture: Combine the ground beef, pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, banana pepper, parsley, onion, salt, and pepper, being careful not to over-mix.
- Shape and bake the pies: Lightly flour a clean, food-safe work surface, use a knife or bench scraper to divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, and shape each chunk into a round ball.
- Place a pizza stone (or sheet pan) on the oven floor, move the oven racks up and out of the way, so you can easily access the pizza stone, and pre-heat the oven to 500° F.
- Roll each dough ball into a circle, about 1/8 inch thick. This is very thin, but not paper-thin (see above photos). To keep the round shape, rotate the disc about 90 degrees after each time you roll it out, and be sure to re-flour the surface every so often. Separate the discs with wax paper and let them rise for about 25 minutes.
- Divide the ground meat mixture into about 8 equal pieces.
- Sprinkle a pizza peel (or rimless sheet pan) with a tablespoon or two of semolina or cornmeal.
- Place a rolled-out disc of dough on the semolina/cornmeal.
- Put one of the pieces of meat on top of the dough disc. Work the meat into a thin, even layer over the dough, so that it doesn’t separate from the crust and shrink to the center as it cooks. Sprinkle with a little additional salt, if you’d like.
- Once the oven has preheated, use a quick motion to move the pie from the pizza peel onto the pizza stone. Bake for about 5-10 minutes, until the meat starts to brown and the bread is cooked through and starting to char. The dough should be crispy and chewy, like really good brick oven pizza.
- Repeat with the remaining 7 pies.
Notes
Kris’ dough recipe is phenomenal, but if you don’t have time and still want to make this recipe, feel free to use store-bought pizza dough. It won’t be quite the same, but it’ll still be delicious.
