Region: The Balkans
Country: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia

Phyllo cheese pie

Phyllo Pie with white cheese

Burek sa sirom//Бурек сa сиром (Croatian, Serbian)
Sirnica (Bosnian)
Бурек со сирење (Macedonian)
Byrek me gjizë (Albanian)
Баница (Bulgarian)

Burek or not?

Burek with cheese, alongside its meaty counterpart, holds court as the Balkans’ ultimate pastry sensation. From the charming villages of North Macedonia to the bustling streets of Zagreb and Belgrade, this flaky delight is an everyday favorite.

In Bosnia, where tradition runs deep, burek with cheese is known as sirnica. While sirnica refers to other types of cheese pastries in Croatia and Serbia, the Bosnians stand firm in their belief that only phyllo pies with meat are to be called burek.

A regional favorite

The Balkans were introduced to burek by the Turks, who spread it across their empire. In Croatia, burek in its current form was introduced by North Macedonian and Kosovar Albanian bakers who started opening bakeries in Zagreb in the 1950s.

Soon after, burek became an integral part of Croatian cuisine, serving as a common snack often enjoyed for breakfast or as a snack. In this way, burek also gained popularity in Slovenia and the northern parts of Serbia.

In Bulgaria, this pastry is called banitsa. The way of preparing is identical, the main difference is that Bulgarian prefer to use yogurt instead of sour cream.

Take it easy

Now, let’s talk dough – phyllo dough. Bakeries showcase their creations mostly rolled into swirls (just like the recipe below) or layered as triangular pieces of pie. At home however, families gather around a tepsija – a large baking dish that caters the entire family for at least two breakfasts. For our home chefs with limited space and time, store-bought phyllo dough works super well with the tricks in the recipe below!

mealy tips

Start off with store-bought phyllo dough to learn how to work with this type of flaky pastry.

Store-bought phyllo (jufka/yufka) is dry and needs to be moistened to become foldable.

Wrap phyllo sheets in a damp cloth and keep refrigerated if not used immediately.

You can also roll the sheets of dough horizontally without making a swirl. This is an easier method because the dough is less likely to break.

mini phyllo pies with white cheese (burek with cheese) with store-bought dough

Recipe by Chef Franky BuzCourse: Breakfast, LunchCuisine: BalkanDifficulty: Difficult

Servings

6-8

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

300 gr. / 12.5 oz of store-bought phyllo dough (sheets) for 6-8 mini burek swirls
Filling:
250 gr. / 9 oz white cheese (“salad cheese”)
2 eggs
150 ml. / 1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
pinch of salt
Topping:
3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
5 tablespoons of milk

Directions

Beat the eggs and add to a bowl with white cheese, sour cream or yogurt to a bowl and mix evenly.

In the meantime preheat the oven on 365°F/180°C.
Prepare a mixture of milk and oil in a small bowl.
Roll the sheets of phyllo out on a wet cloth and brush them gently with the mixture of milk and oil, one after another. Don’t brush too roughly as phyllo easily rips.
Spread the cheese/egg mixture in lines
Roll up the phyllo sheet tightly along the length into a strip.
Form swirls/spirals by rolling the strip of the cheese stuffed dough.
Sprinkle the swirls with the remaining mixture of milk and oil and put into the oven (365°F/180°C) for 30 minutes.

Some online recipes advise using feta. Feta is a high-quality cheese that shines best in salads or as a topping. Additionally, feta tends to be more expensive than most creamy white”salad” cheeses made from cow’s milk, which are a lot more suitable.

Check this out as well!