Flia

Ingredients

Batter

• 500 gplain flour
• 900 mlwater, at room temperature
• 1.5 tspfine salt

Between the layers

• 250 gkajmak, or 200 g thick sour cream loosened with 4 tbsp milk
• 150 gbutter, melted
• 150 mlsingle cream, optional

To serve

• kajmak, thick yogurt, honey
• ajvar or pickled peppers

Equipment

• 1round shallow metal or clay pan, 35 cm
• 1saç, the domed metal lid, and a wood fire with plenty of embers

Directions

1. Whisk the flour, water and salt into a thin, lump-free batter, about the consistency of single cream, and let it stand 20 minutes.
2. Build a wood fire and burn it down to a deep bed of glowing embers. Heat the saç lid in the fire until it is too hot to approach, and grease the pan.
3. Pour or pipe the batter into the pan in concentric rings or radiating spokes, leaving gaps between them. That gapped pattern is what makes flia layered rather than a single pancake.
4. Cover with the hot saç and shovel embers over the whole lid. Cook 5–8 minutes until the batter is set and freckled brown.
5. Lift the lid, brush the cooked layer generously with melted butter or thinned kajmak, and pour the next set of rings into the gaps left by the first, so the pattern alternates.
6. Cover, re-cover with embers, and cook another 5–8 minutes. Repeat, alternating the pattern and brushing with butter and cream each time, for 10 to 20 layers.
7. Keep the embers topped up and rotate the pan every few layers. The heat comes from above, from the lid, which is the whole principle of saç cooking.
8. After about 2 hours the flia should be deep gold on top, tall and layered like a striped cake. Test with a skewer: it should come out clean and the layers should be distinct, not merged into a batter pudding.
9. Rest 10 minutes, cut into wedges from the centre, and serve hot with kajmak, yogurt and honey, or with ajvar and pickles for a savoury table.

Technique

• Flia (flija) is a communal dish and a whole afternoon’s work, made outdoors by women taking turns at the fire, for weddings, guests and the end of Ramadan across Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia.
• The alternating pattern is the technique. Each new layer of batter sits in the trough left by the last, which is why a cut wedge shows stripes rather than a solid mass.
• Fat between the layers is what separates them. Skimp on the butter or kajmak and they weld into one thick pancake.
• The heat is radiant and from above. A saç is not a frying pan lid; it is a small oven built out of a metal dome and embers.

Substitutions

• No saç or fire: pour the layers into a wide, shallow oven tray and cook each under a very hot overhead grill for 4–6 minutes, brushing between layers. It takes as long and works surprisingly well.
• No kajmak: use full-fat sour cream, clotted cream or a mix of butter and thick yogurt.
• A quicker weeknight version uses 8–10 layers instead of 20 and takes about an hour.

Variations

• Flia served sweet with honey and walnuts, or savoury with ajvar and pickled peppers.
• Flia me kajmak, where every layer is brushed with kajmak rather than plain butter, richer and softer.
• A version finished with a poured-over mixture of milk and cream in the last 10 minutes, so the top layers stay custardy.

History

Batter baked in layers under a saç, each brushed on and cooked in turn, an Albanian highland dish of shared hospitality.

Frequently asked questions

What is Flia?

Flia is a main from Kosovo: layered batter crepes baked under embers, eaten with honey, yogurt. Batter baked in layers under a saç, each brushed on and cooked in turn, an Albanian highland dish of shared hospitality.

How long does Flia take to make?

Flia takes 30 min of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Flia?

Yes, within limits. No saç or fire: pour the layers into a wide, shallow oven tray and cook each under a very hot overhead grill for 4–6 minutes, brushing between layers. It takes as long and works surprisingly well. No kajmak: use full-fat sour cream, clotted cream or a mix of butter and thick yogurt. A quicker weeknight version uses 8–10 layers instead of 20 and takes about an hour.

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

Pour or pipe the batter into the pan in concentric rings or radiating spokes, leaving gaps between them. That gapped pattern is what makes flia layered rather than a single pancake.