Make Bosnian Cheese Pita (Sirnica) at Home | A Delightfully Delicious Balkan Recipe
Are you looking for a tasty way to experience a bit of Balkan cuisine from the comfort of your own home? Then this recipe for Bosnian Cheese Pita (Sirnica) is just what you need. This delightful dish hails from Bosnia, but its deliciousness has made it famous worldwide. If you want to impress family and friends with an authentic Balkan meal they will remember, this is the dish for you! I want to walk you through making this delectable delight step-by-step so that, soon enough, cutting into a warm and inviting cheese-filled pita will be a reality in your kitchen.
It's no surprise why this cheese pita is a popular dish in Bosnia. With its deliciously unique flavor profiles and straightforward instructions to make this dish come alive in your kitchen, it is worth a try. Whether you want to impress at an event or treat the people at home to something special, the cheese pita recipe is the real deal. Go ahead, hit the play on the video, roll up your sleeves, and try your hand at making this Bosnian dish! You and your family are sure to love it!
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
The simple filling works well with the phyllo dough and is delicious with chopped tomatoes.
This is one of those meals that your children will remember and love for the rest of their lives.
It will take a few tries before you get the hang of making the phyllo dough, but once you learn to make your phyllo dough from this recipe, making and eating this dish becomes very gratifying.
Make Bosnian Cheese Pita (Sirnica) at Home | A Delightfully Delicious Balkan Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place the flour, salt, water, and olive oil in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
- Knead the dough until it all comes together, and then turn it to low and let the dough knead for 10 minutes. The dough sticks to the bowl slightly. This is normal.
- Place a heaping tablespoon of extra flour onto two dinner-sized plates. Set aside.
- Oil your hands and gather up all the dough.
- Divide the dough into two pieces, gather each into a smooth disk shape, and place each onto a floured dinner plate.
- Press the dough out slightly to form a larger, thinner disk, and then rub a generous amount of olive oil over each one to prevent them from forming a crust. This is also essential to help the dough stretch out thinly.
- Set them aside to rest on the plates for 10 minutes while you put together the filling.
- Add the sour cream, cottage cheese, and salt to a medium-sized bowl.
- Mix and then divide half of the filling into two different piping bags. Wait to cut off the ends until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place a clean tablecloth onto your dining table and transfer one dough at a time onto the middle of the tablecloth.
- Gently stretch the dough out. Begin by stretching the dough out in all directions just once by placing your fingers underneath the dough from the center point.
- Next, stretch the dough very carefully by tugging on all the exterior edges only until your dough has been extended to about a 32-inch by 27-inch rectangle. A few small holes may appear in your dough the first few times you make this, but don't panic; they will be hidden when you roll it up, and eventually, as you gain more confidence, you'll be able to make this dish perfectly.
- Take one of the piping bags you have filled with the cheese filling, cut a 1-inch hole out of the bottom of the piping bag, and put half of the filling onto one long edge of the dough and the rest onto the opposite side. You can alternatively spoon on the filling, but I find the piping method much faster.
- Grab the tablecloth at one of the long ends that you just put the filling onto and gently but quickly roll it up to the centerline. Repeat this step for the other side.
- Run a knife down the center of the two rolled pieces to separate them, then trim any extra dough hanging off their ends.
- Take a large 13-inch round baking dish and oil it well.
- Take one of the pieces of dough and roll it up into a snail shape and place it down into the middle of your baking dish. This will be your starting point for the other pieces.
- Carefully take the second piece of rolled and filled dough and transfer it inside the baking dish around the first one circularly. It's more manageable if you move the baking dish around as you do this, as lifting the entire piece of dough can cause it to break and the filling to come out. You will eventually get the hang of this.
- Repeat all the steps with the second piece of dough still on your second floured plate.
- Oil the top of the pita and place it in the oven for 60 minutes.
- After 60 minutes, remove the pita from the oven temporarily.
- Slice the pita into eight segments, and then pour 8 ounces of boiled milk all over the pita.
- Place the pita back into the oven for twenty more minutes, or until golden brown.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Size: If you do not have a large 13-inch pan, you can use two small 8-inch cake pans or pie dishes to make two smaller rounds of pita as I have for the photographs. Usually, though, I use the Staub 13-inch double-hand fry pan.
Flour: Depending on your flour brand, you may need to adjust the water ratio. You’re looking for the dough to hold together but also be soft enough that when you pick it up, it easily stretches from your hand down to the countertop from natural gravity.
Filling: This recipe works great with full-fat sour cream, cottage cheese, or fat-free versions. I have used both with similar results.
Resting the Dough: Avoid letting your dough rest on the floured plates for more than 30 minutes. The dough tends to get too soft if you do, and that can cause holes to form as you stretch it out.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
550.71Fat
22.69 gSat. Fat
8.75 gCarbs
61.98 gFiber
1.8 gNet carbs
60.18 gSugar
6.4 gProtein
23.7 gSodium
482.45 mgCholesterol
53.87 mgPlease note that the nutritional information on this website is calculated using online tools and may need to be more accurate. Use it as a rough guide only. We cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage caused by relying solely on this data. You are responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information you use is accurate and useful. For more information, click here.
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