Burek

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gstrong white flour
• 300 mlwarm water
• 1 tspfine salt
• 2 tbspsunflower oil
• 1 tspwhite wine vinegar
• 150 mlsunflower oil, for stretching and brushing

Meat filling

• 500 gminced beef (or half beef, half pork)
• 2onions, very finely chopped
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• 100 mlcold sparkling water

Cheese filling (alternative)

• 500 gskuta or drained cottage cheese
• 1egg
• 100 mlsoured cream
• ½ tspsalt

To finish

• 50 mlsunflower oil, for brushing
• 100 mlplain yogurt or milk, for splashing
• 500 mldrinking yogurt, to serve

Directions

1. Knead the flour, water, salt, 2 tbsp oil and vinegar for 10 minutes into a very soft, smooth, elastic dough. Divide into 4 balls, coat each in oil, cover and rest 1 hour at room temperature; the gluten must fully relax or the dough will tear.
2. Mix the raw minced beef with onion, salt, pepper, paprika and the sparkling water until loose and almost spoonable. The filling goes in raw so that its juices steam the pastry from inside.
3. Cover a large table with a cotton cloth and dust it with flour. Roll one ball out, then work your oiled hands underneath and stretch it steadily outwards until the sheet covers the table and you can read print through it.
4. Trim away the thick rim, then drizzle the sheet generously with oil and let it stand 2 minutes so the oil sets the layers apart.
5. Spread a quarter of the filling in a 4 cm line along the long edge nearest you, then use the cloth to roll the sheet away from you into a long, loose rope. Loose is essential: a tightly rolled burek is dense and doughy.
6. Coil the rope into an oiled 30 cm round tin, starting at the centre. Repeat with the remaining dough, joining each new rope to the end of the last so the spiral grows outward.
7. Brush the top with oil and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 35–45 minutes, until deep bronze and crackling audibly.
8. Splash the hot burek with a few spoons of yogurt or milk and cover with a cloth for 5 minutes so the crust softens just enough to cut. Serve in wedges with cold drinking yogurt.

Technique

• Burek came to Slovenia with Bosnian workers and became the country’s late-night food; in Bosnian usage ‘burek’ means the meat one only, while Slovenes use the word for cheese, apple and spinach versions too.
• The dough is stretched, not rolled. A rolling pin cannot get thin enough, and the layered shatter comes from oiling paper-thin sheets, not from butter lamination.
• Room-temperature dough stretches; cold dough snaps. If it tears, patch it and carry on, but never chill it first.

Substitutions

• Short of time or table space, use 500 g shop-bought filo: brush every second sheet with oil and roll in the same way. The texture is drier but honest.
• Skuta can be replaced with a mix of ricotta and crumbled feta for the same salty-fresh balance.

Variations

• Sirov burek, the cheese version, the most popular in Ljubljana kiosks.
• Jabolcni burek, coiled with cinnamon-spiced grated apple and dusted with sugar.
• Pizza burek, a Slovenian invention with cheese, ketchup and sausage.

History

In Bosnia burek means only the meat-filled rolled pie; the cheese, potato and spinach versions each carry their own name.

Frequently asked questions

What is Burek?

Burek is a bread & pastry from Bosnia and Herzegovina: coiled hand-stretched phyllo filled with minced meat. In Bosnia burek means only the meat-filled rolled pie; the cheese, potato and spinach versions each carry their own name.

How long does Burek take to make?

Burek takes 50 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings (one 30 cm coil). It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Burek?

Yes, within limits. Short of time or table space, use 500 g shop-bought filo: brush every second sheet with oil and roll in the same way. The texture is drier but honest. Skuta can be replaced with a mix of ricotta and crumbled feta for the same salty-fresh balance.

What is the most important thing to get right in Burek?

Knead the flour, water, salt, 2 tbsp oil and vinegar for 10 minutes into a very soft, smooth, elastic dough. Divide into 4 balls, coat each in oil, cover and rest 1 hour at room temperature; the gluten must fully relax or the dough will tear.