ReceptnaptárCheese burek
Every morning across the Balkans, the smell of fresh pastry drifts out of the bakeries. In Bosnia this curd cheese roll is known as sirnica, because the word burek is kept there for the meat version, whereas in Serbia it covers them all. Crisp, oily sheets and a salty, creamy filling give it its character, and it is at its best with yogurt or sour milk.
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Ingredients
Method
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- Preheat the oven to 200 °C (top and bottom heat) and grease a large baking tray of about 30x40 cm with oil.
- Mash the cheese with a fork in a bowl, add the 2 eggs, the sour cream and the salt and mix until smooth - the filling should be creamy but not runny.
- Unwrap the filo and keep it covered with a damp tea towel so it doesn't dry out while you work.
- Lay the first sheet in the tray so the edges hang over, brush it thinly with oil, then add another 2-3 sheets on top, brushing each one.
- Spread a third of the filling lengthways along the middle of the sheets, then roll the pastry up loosely like a loose coil or sausage and fit it against the side of the tray.
- Repeat with the rest of the pastry and filling until you have 3-4 rolls side by side in the tray.
- Brush the top with the rest of the oil and the melted butter so it bakes a nice golden brown.
- Bake at 200 °C for 30-35 minutes until the top is crisp and golden - if it browns too early, cover it with foil for the last 10 minutes.
- After baking, leave it in the tray for 5-10 minutes so the filling sets and doesn't run when you cut it.
- Serve lukewarm with sour cream or a glass of sour milk - the classic South Slavic breakfast pairing.
A Receptnaptár original recipe. Calories and protein are estimated.
Tips
- Keep the filo sheets under a damp tea towel, because they dry out within a few minutes and start to crack.
- The filling should be creamy but not runny: too soft a mixture leaks out of the rolls and leaves the bottom of the pastry soggy.
- If you are using feta, leave out the salt or add it only after tasting, because the cheese is very salty on its own.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between burek and pita?
In Bosnia, burek can only be made with meat: the curd cheese version is sirnica, the spinach one zeljanica and the potato one krompiruša, and together these are known as pita. In Serbia and Croatia the word burek is used whatever the filling.
How do I reheat it?
In the oven at 180 °C (160 °C in a fan oven) it regains its crispness in 10 minutes. In the microwave the pastry turns soft and chewy.
Similar recipes
- Gibanica (layered cheese and egg pie) · South Slavic
- Zeljanica (spinach and cheese filo pie) · South Slavic
- Banitsa (Bulgarian egg and cheese pastry) · South Slavic
- Peynirli börek (cheese and parsley filo pastry) · Middle East & Caucasus
- Pita krompiruša (Bosnian potato filo pie) · South Slavic
- Tiropita (cheese filo triangles) · Greek
More south slavic ideas
- Tikvenik (Bulgarian pumpkin filo pastry)
- Mesni burek (meat burek in a tray)
- Tikvenik light (pumpkin walnut filo pie with little sugar)
- Štrudla s jabukama (filo apple strudel with little sugar)
- Pita s višnjama (sour cherry filo pie with oats)
- Lenja pita s jabukama light (lazy apple pie with little sugar)
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