You can’t miss trying burek when in the Balkans – and you’ll fall in love. So, here is an easy-to-make Croatian burek recipe.
I have made burek numerous times along with many of these other Croatian recipes. Although, I had never made burek from scratch as I was scared to try to make the phyllo dough.
I had always wondered how to make burek like a real Croatian while I was living in Australia. Burek is made here in Croatia and many other Balkan countries, plus many other parts of the world in its various forms, such as Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East.
Burek, also known as bourék, byurek, pita, bourekas, and cheese pie, can be formed into horseshoe shapes, coils, cylinders, or round pies, variously eaten as appetizers or as a main course. No matter what you call it (or dispute where it comes from), Croatian Burek is WAY better than any Australian pie I have ever had.
Burek, for those who do not know, is filo (phyllo) pastry filled with cheese, meat, potato, spinach, apple…. in fact, almost anything.
Burek is the food you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just as a snack. It’s not exactly very healthy, but on the upside, if you eat a big slice of burek, it is sure to fill you. That way, you can skip your next meal. I personally never skip meals, as someone once told me that’s bad for you (that’s my story, and I am sticking to it), so I always find room for the next meal. But that’s a good tip for those of you who can’t skip meals.
Please do not judge me, knowing I always purchased the store-bought phyllo pastry when I made burek.
I know, I know, it’s terrible – but it is oh-so-easy. While my cheese burek turns out great thanks to some great tips that Mr. Chasing the Donkey’s Baba (Grandmother) shared with me, it’s not anything like the REAL thing I buy here in Croatia.
The thought of making the filo pastry from scratch always seemed so impossible. Many Croats kept telling me just how ‘teško’ (hard) it is to make – so, needless to say, I avoided even trying it. But then, I stumbled upon an easy peasy way to make the filo pastry.
Okay, it’s not as easy as unwrapping the store-bought pastry, but he makes it look and sound so much better than that. As with all of the Croatian recipes I share, there are a gazillion ways to make the same thing, but this one, to me, is a standout!
And look, if the only difficulty you face is learning the technique of stretching and rolling the dough (or you are short on time), buy the phyllo dough – no one will know.
Easy Croatian Burek Recipe
You can't miss trying burek when in the Balkans - and you'll fall in love. So, here is an easy to make Croatian burek recipe.
Ingredients
Burek Dough:
- 500g all-purpose flour (3.5 cups)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 300-350mls lukewarm water (1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups)
- Vegetable oil
Burek Cheese Filling:
- 150 g cottage cheese (2/3 cup)
- 100 g crumbled feta cheese (2/3 cup)
- 1 large beaten egg
Meat And Potato Filling:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 medium, diced onion
- 300 g lean beef mince (10 oz)
- 1 potato, boiled cut into small cubes
- 2 grated garlic cloves
- Half teaspoon chopped rosemary, fresh is best
- Half tablespoon smoked paprika
- Half tablespoon salt
Instructions
How To Make Burek Dough:
- 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!
For The Cheese Filling:
- Take a mixing bowl and add in both kinds of cheese, combining together
- Add the egg and combine once more
For The Meat & Potato Filling:
- 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
- Meat and Cheese Burek
- Stuffed Peppers {Punjene Paprike}
- Klipići {rolls}
- Under the bell {Ispod čripnje}
- Pasticada Recipe
- Octopus Salad
- Prezgana Soup (Brown Roux Soup)
- Lazy Apple Pie {Lijena Pita s Jabukama}
- Stuffed Vine Leaves (Japrak)
- Zagorje Cheese Strukli
- Trogirski Rafioli {Filled Cookies}
- Bijela Pita (White Slice Traditional Cake)
- Pita Zeljanica (Savory Pie With Spinach)
- Buredžici: Meat Pie Topped With Sour Cream, Yogurt & Garlic
- Oblatne s Čokoladnom Karamel Kremom (Tort Wafers Cake)
- Klepe (Bosnian Ravioli)
- Breskvice – Peach-Shaped Cookies
Thanks SJ for sharing this. Especially the step-by-step process. If you google images for ‘filo pastry’, all you get is store-bought filo. Doing it from scratch is not scary but it’s definitely an art. My grandma never knew exact measurements for the flour and water. She would just say: ‘add as much as the dough will take’. :-) My favourite is gibanica – it’s made with courgette, cottage cheese and poppy seeds.
You’re welcome. That combination sounds great. Did she just chop the courgettes up into small pieces?
I love your recipes! Your meat mixture is so well seasoned! Sometimes when I’m lazy, I omit the potatoes and mix in shredded hashbrowns at the end to the meat mixture. So good!
I’m dying to make a great Spinach one that doesn’t taste like spanakopita. What do you put in yours?
YUM! What a cool substitute idea. I love spanakopita, so I add in spinach, onions and sometimes mushrooms :D
Great I have some phyllo dough left in the freezer, burek here I come! Thanks for the recipe, next time I’ll just make my own dough.
Katie
Burek je samo iz BOSNE !
I BUREK JE SAMO S MESOM,SVE OSTALO SU PITE.
Kakva crna Hrvatska !?
So why here in Croatia do all of the shops sell ‘Burek’? It’s listed like that on all of the labels.
SJ. As a matter of fact, our Bosnian neighbours do name it burek only if it is made with meat. All others are called pita. In Croatia it’s a different story. Burek can be made with whatever filling, but mainly cheese and meat, I was also surprised when I ordered cheese burek in Mostar (Bosnia) and was told that this is called cheese pita in Bosnia.
Burek je pitac, sve su druge pite. ????
I used your recipe to make burek for a Eurovision feast yesterday & it was amazing! Thank you Mrs CtD ! Xx
Yay!!! Thats so cool. I am so glad John allowed us to share his recipe – seems everyone loves it.
My mother inlaw has just passed away and took the recipes with her dose any have it I loved watching her but she went very fast making even my boys they are both chefs and would love to have it a big thankyou if you can help
Sorry to hear Maureen. My condolences. May I ask what you need help with?
Sorry my heart was sad how do you make pita not the bread she made it each Sunday for us there was apple ,meat ,pumpkin or anything my would love if you could help
So you want a Pita bread recipe?
When you say 200 degrees, is that “without fan-forced”?
Looks awesome, love to try it sometime. If you buy the philo, how do you soak it in the oil ?
Well, I would not say that burek typical for Croatia… OK, everybody is allowed to prepare it, but in Croatia’s households ….I do not think that it is their speciality. Yes, it is possible to buy it almost everywhere, but the same is with pizza, soparnik, McDo and so on. On the contrary, in Bosnia & Herzegovina, one can find it almost everywhere, And it is something ….. Heaven on Earth, I still remember the taste of burek, zeljanica, sirnica, krompirusa i Sarajevo, 15 years ago. And it has nothing to do with any burek i have ever tasted in Croatia (Dalmatia).
Burek is typical for Bosnia. In Croatia – i would not call it “burek”…..
Some Croatian’s call it Pita.
From the Imotski Region they do.
My Grandmother called it Pita.
My Family is from Croatia.