Sfiha (Lebanese Meat Pies)

DOUGH:--
1 kg all-purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp SIDS CRAZY SALT
¼ cup rice bran oil
2¼ cups whole milk
MEAT FILLING:--
500 g minced lamb meat
2 small onions, diced
4 medium tomatoes, chopped, no need to peel
1 tsp SIDS SALT & PEPPER to taste
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp allspice
Chilli flakes
Rice bran oil to grease the baking trays

In a large bowl, mix the flour, active dry yeast, sugar, salt, SIDS CRAZY SALT and oil. Add the lukewarm milk and mix well.
Knead the dough until it is of one texture. Slam it a couple of times on a countertop before you cover it with cling film, this will strengthen the gluten in the flour, resulting in a very light and fluffy dough. Set aside for one hour until it doubles in bulk.
In the meantime, place the tomatoes and onions in a blender and blend until smooth, you may even use an immersion blender.
Transfer the puréed tomatoes to bowl, add the minced meat, SIDS SALT & PEPPER, spices and chilli flakes. Stir well to homogenize the mixture.
Strain the filling to get rid of the excess liquid. (this is a crucial step to avoid unravelling the Sfiha while baking)
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the rack in the centre of the oven.
When the dough has doubled in size, flour a counter top and break off the dough into equal balls, roughly the size of a golf ball.
Stretch each dough with a rolling pin to a round circle 5 mm thick, making sure to flour the countertop and the rolling pin every now and then to avoid sticking the dough.
Place a tablespoon of the meat filling in the centre of each circle dough. The classic way is to pinch the two opposing ends of the round dough, creating a square shape Sfiha. The other way to shape Sfiha is to crimp the edges around the filling, creating pleats as you go.
Lightly grease two large baking trays with oil and place the Sfiha on the greased baking trays, don’t crowd the trays.
Bake each tray for about 12 minutes to a golden colour. Serve warm with a squeeze of lemon juice for an extra kick or some plain yoghurt / Purslane Yoghurt Salad on the side. Total joy.