01 August 2010

Bosnian 'Pita'

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Today, I will try to explain making pastry for 'pita', that is still home made in many Eastern European countries. This technique is mostly used in Bosnia, although other countries (Greece, Serbia, Turkey,...) have very similar techniques.
Pita with minced meat and sauteed onions is called  Burek in Bosnia.

For a simplified method of making pita (for beginners) click here.

Ingredients:
Pastry-
2 cups plain flour
200 ml(+,-)water
1/2 teas salt
Cheese-spinach filling-
500g ricotta
1 egg
1 teas salt
250 g spinach (blanched, frozen)
Other ingredients-
Oil, in a cup (cca 100ml)
Flour for dusting
Also needed -
tablecloth big enough to cover the entire table, rolling pin.

Method:
Make a soft dough from flour, salt and water. Dust with flour and let it rest for at least 25 min.
Prepare the filling by combining cheese, spinach, egg and salt (I always add a tbs of lemon juice, as I find European cheese is more sour, that ricotta I usually by in Australia.)

Prepare the working surface by dusting the tablecloth with flour.



Place the dough on the table, dust with flour and start rolling out until 55-60 cm diameter. Dust with flour all the time, this will prevent sticking.
When you've achieved wanted size, spoon 3 tbs of oil around the dough, and spread with your fingers.



Now slowly and gently pull the pastry from the centre to the edge (Back of your hand is better to use - go around the dough. Round tables are perfect for this!)





Dot the fillings around edges, turn dough from outside edge to cover the filling.
With a spoon add some extra oil around the edges, and centre of pastry.



Start rolling the pastry towards centre, pulling gently at the same time towards your self - this will additionally stretch your pastry, ensuring thin, crisp appearance.
Cut the pastry in the middle and continue to roll inwards, until all is rolled up.
You will get a circle of made pastry/pita, which you need to cut and start rolling into a spiral form.



Oil the top of pita - spray is fine, and bake for 25-30 min.




Bosanska pita

Za jednostavniji metod (maslenica ) mozete pogledati ovdje.


Potrebno:
Tijesto-
2 solje (250 ml)  brasna (
250 +gr)
1/2 kasicice soli
200 ml + vode
Filovanje-
500 gr sira
1 kasicica soli
1 jaje
250 gr spinata (blansiran ili smrznut)
Jos potrebno-
ulje, oko 1 dl
brasno za posipanje

Nacin:
Umijesite mekano, glatko tijesto, pobrasnite i ostavite odmarati najmanje 25 min.
Ukljucite rernu na 190*C, nauljite tepsiju u kojoj cete peci.
Pobrasnite solnjak na kojem cete razvlaciti jufke.
Odmoreno tijesto razvucite na cca 55-60 cm precnika.
Pospite 3 kasike ulja po povrsini - prstima razmazite, pa rukama pocnite razvlaciti od sredine prema krajeviam.
Rasporedite filovanje po ivici tijesta; prebacite kraj jufke prema sredini, pa pocnite 'rolati' prema sredini, razvlaceci blago prema sebi.
Pospite sa jos ulja.
Razrezite jufku po sredi, zavrsite 'rolanje'.
Napravite spiralu - ili bilo koji oblik, nauljite povrsinu - pecite 25-30 min.


23 comments:

  1. Predobro ti je ispala!!!Obožavam pite!
    Ja se što se pita tiče još oslanjam na moju mamu,koja je majstor za iste ,al učim polako:))

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tako sam i ja...Mama je u Bosni trenutno, a djeca traze pitu. Ovo je moja improvizacija!- jer ni ja nisam expert za pite!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Odlično si ti to pojasnila. Obožavamo pitu i vrlo je često pravim, s tim što je mj glavni alat skoro do kraja oklagija! Probala sam i ovako na ruke i bili smo zadovoljni!

    ReplyDelete
  4. stavila na bookmark...nikada nisam razvlacila kore ali ovo me tako mami posto je sve lepo objasnjeno...sto mi nije okrugao ali snacicu se...odlicno...mogu da zamislim sta stranci kazu na ovakvu festu

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  5. Obožavam pite, al mi treba jedan takav majstor kao Vi kako bih mogla da ih zaista probam. Naravno, u mojoj izvedbi to nije to. Ovo divno izgleda:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. EEEEEEEEEEE ovo je nešto što prosto obožavam - pite razvučene na ovaj način! Fantazija, jela bih ih stalno! Uh! :-D Odlično izgleda !

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  7. В България,това е традиционно ядене и се казва жаница!Всички много я обичаме!Твоята изглежда невероятмо вкусна!Прегръдки!

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  8. Teta Jasna, Goga ovdje - bas cu probati ovaj recept za Bozic :) xx super vam je blog!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jako fina pita, recept super objasnjen! Krasan blog, evo idem da stisnem 'follow'.
    Puno pozdrava! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, I loved the way you explained everything! It's very easy to folow. My husband is from Bosnia (ZENICA) and we are now living in Brazil. It's definently something I'll bake tonight. This way he won't feel so homesick. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good on you Milena...I suggest for you to have a look at 'Maslenica' recipe:
      http://jasnaskitchencreations.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/simplified-bosnian-pita-maslenica.html
      It's simplified 'pita' for beginners!
      Good luck!

      Delete
    2. Thanks for another great tip! :D

      Delete
  11. Jasna,

    Do you know how to make those dried sheets of pastry that you wet by dipping in a tray of water, and then use to make pita. I see these dried sheets being sold in delis here in Melbourne (pre packaged and imported from Bosnia), and I have seen a lady once use them to make a spinach pita really quickly in a frying pan on the stove, but I dont know how to make them. She did mention that she prepares a runny 'batter' mixture , places a wok upside down over an outside stove, and with a ladle she pours the batter evenly over the base of the wok. When the sheet is cooked, she peels it off and leaves it to cool. She would make say 100 sheets at a time and store them to use whenever she needed. Anna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anna,
      Have a look at this recipe:
      http://jasnaskitchencreations.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/mlinci-mlintsee-regional-dish-of.html
      Method of making the dough is different from one you've mentioned above ( to me, frying it in a pan, sounds more like making Turkish Gozleme - but I never heard of 'batter over wok' method - it's more Indian or Indonesian method.
      Maybe this can help:
      http://jasnaskitchencreations.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/malaysian-murtabak.html
      I hope I answered your question

      Delete
    2. Thanks for taking the time to respond Jasna. No, it is neither recipe, these sheets are actually very very dry, no moisture whatsoever. The lady I once knew made them round, but the deli has them in a rectangular shape (but same concept). Next time I am at my local deli, I will write down the label from the imported packaging (I think it is in Bosnian). Unfortunately, I do not speak Bosnian, however, yourself or someone else may be able to translate it. What I loved about these filo pastry sheets is that they were dry and kept for months in proper storage. These would be great if you had unexpected guests; you could just whip up a spinach or fetta cheese pita in a large frying pan, in half an hour ready to serve, and very inexpensive! From memory, the lady layered down 3 sheets in the pan after dipping each in a tray of water, butter in between each sheet, then the spinach/fetta mixture, another 3 sheets, another layer of mixture and finally another 3 sheets - just like making a pita as we would normally bake in an oven. She 'fried' pita on one side, placed a pizza tray over pan, turned it over, and put back in pan for other side to fry as well. Very, very interesting and it tasted great! Kind regards, Anna

      Delete
    3. Sheets in first recipe that I mentioned are very dry (hard); The lady obviously is very creative and use them in her own way, as I never heard of that method before. In traditional way, sheets are dunked in soup (or water), and placed in a baking dish randomly with some cooked meat (or spinach/cheese) and then baked in oven.
      Good luck with your trying...
      Cheers

      Delete
  12. Me encanta se ve muy delicioso me gustaría probar un buen paso a paso, abrazos y abrazos.

    ReplyDelete
  13. finally some measurements! thanks heaps. My husband is Bosnian and loves pita and his relatives teachings sound like this: Add flour, this much, bit more, no, less, ok, water... and when I do it by myself its like a brick. Great recipe. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ...I know - 'by eye' (od oka). Unfortunately, many Bosnian recipes are like that ;-)

      Delete
  14. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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