Recipe: Delicious Homemade Bougatsa – Greece Is

From Crete to Serres, on the islands and on the mainland, Greeks and guests alike take pleasure in this fluffy, scrumptious deal with introduced to those shores from Asia Minor. Wherever you discover native producers turning out filo dough, as they do in Rethymno or Iraklio on Crete, or in Ioannina or Thessaloniki (the latter considers bougatsa its personal native product), you’ll hear them boast about being the one ones who’ve remained true to the genuine recipe.

Bougatsa isn’t a pie. Neither is it a dessert, as it might typically be described, on account of issues in translation. What’s extra, if it’s not made with ethereal, flaky filo pastry, then it shouldn’t be referred to as a bougatsa. 

The filo dough used to make bougatsa isn’t rolled out with a rolling pin; as an alternative, bougatsa makers, true craftspeople, stretch and pull the dough by hand, laying it out on a big work floor. They then open it up like a sheet, spreading it so skinny that it turns into virtually clear, as if woven by a spider. They then start folding it time and again, including loads of melted butter as they achieve this. Additionally they select the filling. Traditional savory fillings embody floor meat or herbs and cheese, or simply cheese, whereas the commonest candy filling is a clean semolina cream. The folding of the dough, mixed with loads of butter, creates parallel layers so the deal with is crispy on the surface and delicate on the within.

Under is a very simple model, a variation on the traditional recipe, utilizing ready-made thick sfoliata filo sheets as a result of making appropriate filo dough from scratch at house is extraordinarily arduous. If you need the very best outcomes, purchase the perfect components: recent milk from a small farm, ideally natural; eggs from free-range or pasture-fed hens; and recent cow or sheep butter for a stronger aroma.

Bougatsa is an ideal breakfast or afternoon snack, and can go splendidly together with your tea or espresso.

Preparation

Begin by buttering a big baking dish.

Subsequent, lay one sheet of filo dough into the dish, rigorously chopping it to suit if obligatory.

Preheat the oven to 180°C utilizing the standard oven setting (each heating parts on, prime and backside).

Pour the milk right into a saucepan. Add the crystalline sugar and the vanilla pods.

Place the saucepan over medium to excessive warmth. Warmth the combination nicely till the sugar dissolves utterly, stirring often.

Earlier than it involves a boil, slowly sprinkle within the semolina whereas stirring. Stir repeatedly till the combination thickens right into a cream.

Take away from warmth and add the 5 tablespoons of butter. Stir till the butter melts and is included into the cream.

Pour the cream onto the filo sheet within the baking dish and unfold it out evenly.

Cowl with a second sheet of filo dough.

Reduce into items.

Bake the bougatsa within the oven for 45 minutes.

After taking it out, let it cool for about half-hour.

Combine the powdered sugar with the cinnamon. Put the powdered sugar-cinnamon combination right into a small sieve and sprinkle it over the bougatsa earlier than serving.

Useful suggestions

Don’t overlook to chop the bougatsa earlier than baking, because it’s difficult to chop afterwards!

Watch out; if you happen to attempt to unfold the filo whereas it’s nonetheless frozen, it might break.

If the cream turns into too thick, add a bit of milk and stir till it thins down once more.

A straightforward technique to place the second filo sheet on prime is to go away the plastic backing in place as you place the sheet dough-side down on the cream. Clean it out after which slowly take away the backing, gently pulling it off. 

This text was beforehand revealed in Greek at gastronomos.gr.