Burek
A Croatian spiral pie of paper thin pastry filled with spiced minced beef and onion, baked for 40 minutes until crisp.
Photograph credit: Bosnian börek (image of Burek on Wikidata Q1019927) by BosnianGourmet · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Before You Start
Cool the filling completely.
Brush every sheet with oil.
Add water at the end for a soft inside.
Cooking Burek
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Soften the onions and garlic in the 2 tablespoons of oil for 8 minutes. Add the beef and cook for 10 minutes until dry. Season with the salt and pepper and cool completely.
-
Heat the oven to 200°C / 390°F and oil a 28 cm round tin.
-
Lay a phyllo sheet, brush with oil, spoon a line of the filling along the long edge and roll into a rope. Repeat with the other sheets.
-
Coil the ropes into a spiral in the tin and brush with oil.
-
Bake for 40 minutes, pouring the sparkling water over for the last 5 minutes. Serve in wedges with the yoghurt.
What's Going On Here
Burek is the pie of the whole Balkans and every country claims it as its own. In Croatia it is eaten for breakfast or lunch, bought from a bakery by weight and served with a tub of yoghurt, and the meat version is the most common one. Its pastry is the thing: paper thin, flaky and shiny with oil.
The filling is minced beef cooked with onion, garlic, salt and black pepper until dry. Cool it completely before filling, because hot meat steams the pastry and makes it gummy. Use ready made phyllo for ease. Brush each sheet with oil, lay a line of the filling along the long edge and roll it into a tight rope.
Coil the ropes into a spiral in an oiled round tin, starting from the centre. Brush the top with oil and bake at 200°C / 390°F for 40 minutes, until deep gold and crisp. Pour over a little water or sparkling water for the last 5 minutes, which makes the layers soft inside and crisp on top. Cut into wedges. It is best warm, with yoghurt.
After You've Cooked It
Keeps for 2 days in the fridge. Reheat in the oven.
Swaps and Variations
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
What to Serve Alongside
- Yoghurt
- Ayran
- Pickled peppers
Still Wondering?
How long does Burek take to make?
40 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking, so at least 1 hour 20 minutes. The method also needs time for cooling completely, which it does not time, so treat that as a minimum. The recipe serves 8.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More Croatian cooking and baking ideas from Weekly Delight.
Keema Naan
Soft yeasted flatbreads stuffed with spiced minced lamb, rolled out and cooked in a hot dry pan until blistered.
Saltenas
Bolivian baked pastries filled with a sweet, spicy, juicy stew of beef or chicken that sets to a jelly when chilled…
Pasticada
Dalmatian beef braised for 2 hours 30 minutes in red wine, prunes and spices until tender, the classic dish for…
Lahmacun
Paper-thin Turkish flatbread spread with spiced minced lamb and baked in a fierce oven for four minutes. Rolled up…
Punjene Paprike
Croatian peppers stuffed with minced meat and rice and simmered in a sweet tomato sauce for 1 hour.
Brudet
A Dalmatian fish stew of mixed fish simmered with tomatoes, onions, garlic and white wine, served with polenta.