Uštipci

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 7 gdried yeast
• 300 mlwarm water or milk
• 1 teaspoonsugar
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 2 tablespoonsplain yoghurt
• 1 tablespoonoil

To fry

• neutral oil, for deep frying

To serve

• kajmak
• fresh soft cheese
• soured cream
• ajvar
• or honey and jam, for a sweet version

Directions

1. Warm the water or milk until it is lukewarm. Stir the yeast and sugar into it. Leave it for ten minutes until it froths. Put the flour and salt into a large bowl. Pour in the yeasted liquid, the yoghurt and the oil. Mix it with a spoon into a soft sticky dough. It should be much softer than a bread dough.
2. Beat it hard with the spoon for two minutes. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place. Let it rise for about an hour until doubled. It should be full of bubbles when ready.
3. Pour oil into a deep pan to about six centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil. Heat it to 175C and check with a thermometer. Too cool and they soak up oil and go heavy.
4. Keep a lid nearby in case of a fire. Never pour water onto burning oil. Pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a walnut.
5. Drop it straight into the hot oil. Some cooks use two wet spoons instead. Fry five or six at a time and no more. Turn them over as they colour. Fry them for about four minutes until deep golden.
6. Break one open to check the first batch. The inside should be light and hollow. Lift them onto a wire rack, not onto paper.
7. Let the oil come back up between batches. Serving them is done immediately while hot. Pile them into a bowl or onto a wooden board. Put kajmak and fresh cheese on the table. They collapse and go leathery within half an hour.

Technique

• Kajmak is a fresh clotted cream made across the Balkans and Turkey and is central to how ustipci are eaten.
• Similar fried doughs appear all over the region, including mekike in Bulgaria and langos in Hungary.

Substitutions

• Clotted cream with a pinch of salt is the closest substitute for kajmak.
• Feta mashed with a little soured cream stands in for the fresh soft cheese.

Variations

• Some households add crumbled cheese or bacon straight into the dough.
• A version made with mashed potato in the dough is heavier and richer.
• The sweet version served with jam is common for children’s breakfast.

History

Fried dough balls eaten with kajmak and fresh cheese, a breakfast and picnic food across Bosnia and the wider region.

Frequently asked questions

What is Uštipci?

Uštipci is a snack from Bosnia and Herzegovina: fried dough pillows eaten with kajmak, cheese. Fried dough balls eaten with kajmak and fresh cheese, a breakfast and picnic food across Bosnia and the wider region.

How long does Uštipci take to make?

Uštipci takes 20 minutes plus 1 hour rising of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 25 pieces. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Uštipci?

Yes, within limits. Clotted cream with a pinch of salt is the closest substitute for kajmak. Feta mashed with a little soured cream stands in for the fresh soft cheese.

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

Pour oil into a deep pan to about six centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil. Heat it to 175C and check with a thermometer. Too cool and they soak up oil and go heavy.