Cheese Burek With Homemade Phyllo Dough Food

CHEESE BUREK WITH HOMEMADE PHYLLO DOUGH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the water a little at a time, mixing with your hand, until the dough comes together. You may not need all of the water.
• Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until soft and elastic. Divide into two and flatten to about 2½ cm or an inch.
• Take a bowl big enough to hold 2 pieces of dough when you stack them on top of one another .
• Pour a little vegetable oil into the bowl, place one piece of pastry into it, pour a little more oil over and put second piece over first. Pour enough vegetable oil over the top to virtually cover the stack of dough.
• Set aside for half an hour while you make the cheese filling.
• Place both cheeses into a mixing bowl and stir through the beaten egg.
• To prep the work surface you need to spread a thin layer of vegetable oil all over it, so make sure you are using something like a stone bench top or laminate. Don't go oiling up your wooden table!
• Take one disc of pastry from the oil, scrape off the oil, then place it onto your oiled work bench. With oiled hands, flatten the disc from the inside to outside until it is about 5 mm (0.2 inch) thick.
• Then place your fingers under the edge, gently grab, lift and stretch the dough outwards.
• Working your way around all of the edges, you're basically stretching the disc to a diameter of 1 metre.
• It is quite elastic so just make sure your nails don't pierce the dough otherwise it'll tear, but no drama if you have a few holes.
• The dough needs to be so thin that you can see through it. Once you reach the required diameter take one side of the large disc and fold it towards (and just over) the centre. Work your way around the disc, lifting and folding 4 more times to form a rough pentagon. Lift the folded pastry and set is aside as you make and stretch another disc just like the first.
• Once the second disc is stretched place the first folded one in the centre. Take a knife and cut the thicker edge of the second disc away, discarding it. Leaving the thick edge intact will give you clumps of dough in the cooked burek, which you don't want. Take the cheese filling and spread it over the folded dough in the centre.
• As you did with the first disc, fold the edges over the cheese mixture to form a rough pentagon. Gently work your fingers underneath the uncooked burek so you can lift it onto a baking pan.
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden. As soon as it comes out of the oven drizzle the top with a little water and oil then cover with a cloth. Allow it to sit, covered, until it cools a bit. To serve, cut the burek into 4-6 peices. Serve warm.

FETA CHEESE BUREK (PHYLLO DOUGH)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet lightly.
• Mix feta cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, and eggs together in a bowl. Whisk milk and oil together in a small bowl.
• Brush milk-oil mixture over 3 sheets of phyllo dough and stack together. Place some of the cheese mixture in a straight line on one end of the dough. Roll up tightly to form a spiral shape. Transfer spiral to the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining milk-oil mixture, phyllo dough, and cheese mixture.
• Bake burek in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 40 minutes.

" BUREK" OR FETA CHEESE PHYLLO PIE

Steps:

• FIRST - Let me explain the Feta. We have an Italian Market that sells fresh fruits and veggies etc. and they have a fresh cheese section. I always buy a block of French Feta Cheese. I use half for this recipe and the rest for omelets etc. You can use the prepacked Feta but if you want the full experience you'll need a lot. Also, you may use other variety of Feta (there's Hungarian, Bulgarian even a salt free one) The French is very salty which is why I add cottage cheese. It kind of balances out the saltiness abit. YOU JUST NEED 1 PACKAGE OF PHYLLO. Mine says 32 oz, buy the long box not the country (it's too thick).
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In large mixing bowl beat eggs, add 2 cups milk and mix well. Take your block of Feta and cut in half. Use one 1/2 and refrigerate the other. Crumble the Feta into the egg mix and add cottage cheese. Make sure you have nice chunks. Mix well, the mixture should be thick and very lumpy. If too thick add more milk (hence the extra milk).
• Take a large deep baking dish. Sprinkle oil on bottom only (dip your spoon into oil, take out and just drizzle slightly). Lay one sheet phyllo and drizzle with oil, continue until you have 4 sheets. When you add the last sheet place your hand flat on the phyllo sheets and GENTLY gather, without tearing by pulling the sides slightly toward center. (It should resemble a crumpled bed) :).
• Use 1 full Ladle of the egg/feta mixture onto the layer, you don't need to cover all the phyllo (TRUST ME) just don't leave the feta in one spot distribute.
• Layer another phyllo sheet and sprinkle with oil. Layer another sheet of phyllo and again crumple the center then sprinkle the oil (just a little). One Ladle of the egg/feta mix. Continue in this pattern (Don't forget to gather the center each time). If you see that you have alot of the egg/feta mix left you can start to add more than the 1 ladle. Your last layer should be 3-4 layers of phyllo. Don't sprinkle with oil yet. Take a soup spoon and with the handle, tuck in the sides. Now sprinkle with oil.
• Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the top is puffed and nicely browned.
• Your kitchen with smell wonderful. The Burek will puff high off the top of the pan but once cooled will drop. You must cool completely or you will nto be able to cut with out it falling apart.
• It's moist and a bit salty and goes great with a nice cold beer! You can serve as main meal with salad or as appetizer (cut into small squares).

CHEESE BUREK

Steps:

• For the dough, measure the flour and salt into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the water and mix, starting on low speed and then increasing to medium-low, continue to mix for a minute before adding the butter, then mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 7 minutes more. Wrap the dough in plastic and set on the counter to rest for 2 hours (or the dough can be made and chilled overnight, but let sit on the counter to warm to room temperature).
• For the filling, beat the cottage cheese to break it down a little (it will not be creamy) and stir in the eggs, garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
• Sprinkle your hands and work surface with a good dusting of cornstarch. Unwrap the dough and coat it with cornstarch to prevent sticking. Slowly start stretching the dough out and dusting with cornstarch when needed (this makes the dough handle very well and feel silky). Keep stretching the dough out to a thin sheet, so thin you could read this recipe through it, and don't worry if there is a small hole or two. Trim the edges of the dough (this can be re-rolled, after resting it) and cut the pastry into 4 or 8 square sheets.
• Brush the entire surface of the pastry squares with butter and sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs. Spoon the cheese filling in a small (1-inch/2.5 cm) line along one side of each square and roll up, stretching out the pastry and filling as you go. Spiral the pastry up and tuck under the end piece. Place the pastries onto the baking tray, brush with eggwash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake the bureks for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is a rich golden brown. Let the pastries cool for 15 minutes before enjoying, or cool to room temperature.

BOREK WITH CHEESE & SPINACH

Steps:

• Defrost spinach and squeeze all liquid out.
• Put cheeses, onion, eggs, cumin, nutmeg, and pepper in the food processor. Pulse till well mixed.
• Add spinach and pulse a few times.
• Cut puff pastry into 5x5 squares for a large breakfast or meal-size serving. For appetizer or snack, cut puff pastry into.
• 2 1/2x5 inch strips.
• Fill each square with approximately 2 tbsp filling in the middle. Fold pastry over to create a triangle. Pinch sides very well with your fingers, so that filling won't escape. For the smaller strips, use 1-2 tsp filling on bottom half of strip and fold strip over to make a square. Seal well.
• Brush each one with milk and sprinkle sesame.
• seeds over.
• Bake approximately 20 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet, or until browned & puffed up.
• Cool 5 minutes before serving.