Feta & Spinach Borek by bengingi

bengingi

Feta & Spinach Borek

cook:

1 h 20 min

12 Böreks

Burek, Bourekas, Boreg, Byrek, Börek, Bœˈɾec, Boureki- I think this is one of the most difficult pastries to name. I mean, there are so many different versions of this pastry in a variety of cultures. Most are based on thin phyllo dough layers stuffed with hard briny cheese and spinach. I decided to call it Burekas because that's the name that was assigned to this pastry in my childhood. The dough is very easy to make. There is no yeast in the dough. However, the waiting time is crucial. It allows us to easily open the dough sheets into a very thin layer so that we may create many layers of crispy dough in our Burekas. I eat my Burekas with freshly grated tomatoes topped with shug and olive oil. Served with a soft boiled egg on the side. It's a divine combo. You must try it!

Ingredients

• 1 kg AP flour
• 620 ml water
• 25 ml white wine vinegar
• 20 gr salt
• Vegetable oil
• 400 gr feta cheese
• 300 gr spinach (washed)
• 1 free range egg yolk
• A sip of water
• Roasted sesame seeds

Directions

1.
In a bowl- add water, vinegar, salt, and mix well.
• 620 mL water
• 25 mL white wine vinegar
• 20 g salt
2.
Add the flour and knead until all the ingredients are incorporated into a cohesive dough.
• 1 kg AP flour
3.
Then, move the dough to a working surface and knead for about 10-12 min until you get a smooth dough.
4.
Divide the dough into 140-170 gr pieces and shape them into tight balls.
5.
In a pan- pour the oil and place the dough balls in there. We want to make sure the balls are covered with oil.
• Vegetable oil
6.
Now we let the balls rest for 6 hours at room temperature or 24 hours in the fridge. They won't rise in size, since there is no yeast in the dough. But the rest will allow us to open the balls to very thin layers of dough.
7.
Before you shape the balls into Burekas- combine the feta and the spinach (I usually don't chop or cook the spinach before I add it into my dough).
• 400 g feta cheese
• 300 g spinach (washed)
8.
Preheat the oven to 420F or 215C.
9.
Oil your working surface and take one ball to shape. Simply flat the dough and start gently stretch it to the thinnest layer you can. You should be able to see the working surface through the dough. If the dough is torn, don't worry, we will anyway roll the dough on itself.
10.
Spread a nice layer of filling on the side of the dough that's close to you, and start to roll it on itself. While rolling make sure you stretch the dough with each roll.
11.
At the end bring the two edges of the dough "sausage" towards the middle of the strand, then bringing the two loops together (see pictures below).
12.
Place on a baking tray with parchment paper and brush with egg yolk mixed with a sip of water.
• 1 free range egg yolk
• A sip of water
13.
Spread some sesame seeds on top.
• Roasted sesame seeds
14.
Bake for 30 min or until golden sexy color.
15.
Remove from the oven. Serve hot with freshly grated tomatoes with olive oil, salt and black pepper, shug, and soft boiled egg.
16.
What a bite, YASSS.