Serbian Cheese Pita Recipes

EASY CROATIAN BUREK RECIPE

Steps:

• Take a large bowl and combine the flour and the salt
• Add the water bit by bit, mixing until the mixture forms a dough
• Knead the dough for around five minutes, until it turns quite stretchy
• Split the dough mixture into batches of four and press down to flatten
• You need to find a bowl or a pan which is large enough to hold the dough when it is piled up on top of each other
• Add a little bit of vegetable oil to the pan or bowl and put the first flattened piece of dough inside
• Add a bit more oil (not too much), and add another piece of dough - repeat until you've done the same with all four pieces
• Add more vegetable oil on top of the last piece and place to one side to rest
• Preheat your oven to around 200°C (390°F)
• Add a little vegetable oil over your work surface (a table is best) - just a little!
• Remove one piece of dough from the bowl and remove the excess oil
• Flatten the piece of dough until it reaches a thickness of no more than around half a centimeter
• Handle the dough and stretch it outwards, over and over, so that you pull it to around 1 meter in diameter - you might end up with a few holes but don't worry about it too much. By the end, you should be able to see through the dough
• Take one side of the dough disc and fold it over, towards the center
• Repeat this process until you have a shape that resembles a pentagon
• Repeat with the second piece of dough
• Add your filling (see below for the filling instructions) to the dough piece
• Add the first piece of stretched dough into the middle of the second one, and cut away the thick edge of the second piece - you can throw this away, you won't need it
• Fold over the edges of the dough, so that you get a pentagon shape once more, and put it into a baking pan or tray
• Put the pan in the oven and bake for around half an hour, until it is a golden color
• Remove from the oven and let it cool down
• Cut into 12 pieces
• Repeat the process with the rest of the dough
• Bake until the pastry turns golden, and serve while warm!
• Take a mixing bowl and add in both kinds of cheese, combining together
• Add the egg and combine once more
• Take a large pan and heat up the oil over a medium heat
• Add the onion and cook until soft
• Now, add the mince and cook for around 2 minutes, stirring regularly
• Now, add the potato, the rosemary, the garlic, and the paprika, and stir to combine
• Add the salt and continue to cook, ensuring the beef mince is cooked through
• Once cooked, drain the beef with a sieve to get rid of any excess oil and press down to dry it out

CHEESE PITA

Steps:

• thaw phyllo.
• preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• lay thawed phyllo on a flat surface and cover with damp tea towel.
• mix cheese, eggs and salt - set aside.
• on an 11" x 17" greased baking pan lay phyllo to cover.
• brush with melted butter.
• repeat until there are six layers.
• spread cheese filling evenly over phyllo, leaving about 1/2" around the edges.
• cover with phyllo brushed with butter.
• repeat until there are eight layers.
• tuck in egdes.
• brush top lightly with butter.
• bake until top browns, approximately 30 minutes.

YUGOSLAVIAN PITA

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo dough according to package directions. Prepare filling ingredients before removing from package.
• To prepare filling, mix eggs and all three cheeses.
• Melt butter.
• Remove dough from package, placing it on a clean cloth. Cover with a lightly moistened cloth. Everytime you remove sheets of dough, replace the top covering cloth so that your dough does not dry out.
• Spread some butter on pan. Place two sheets of dough on yet another cloth. Sprinkle butter on the sheets. Put two more sheets on top of it; sprinkle with butter again. Add fifth sheet of dough.
• At one end of sheets (length wise), about 3 inches from the long edge, place several scoops of the mixture in a log shape. Do not place cheese all the way to the sides; leave a couple inches bare. Roll up. Tucking side edges under the roll, place roll in pan, seam side down. Put more butter on top.
• Repeat process for more rolls. It works best if pan is filled with rolls. I use a pan typically used for single layer cakes.
• Bake at 375 degrees for anywhere from 30 - 60 min, until golden brown.
• Let them rest for a little before cutting.

SERBIAN CHEESE PITA

Steps:

• Oil 16"x8" (or so) baking pan. Put two layers of thick or 4 layers of thin dough leaves. Sprinkle oil in between leaves. Mix all of the above ingredients and place a layer over the leaves. Repeat layers (2 thick or 3 thin) until pan is full. Finish with leaves. Mix 1 egg and 1/2 cup of milk and pour over the pita. Prick with fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. NOTE: 1 package frozen chopped spinach can be added to cheese mixture after thawed and juice squeezes out.