Readers of my blog will know that I make my own phyllo and that’s the route I take when making savory and sweet pies. However, one of Greece’s most popular pastries has to be Bougatsa, a method of making phyllo dough by opening it in the air, stretching it out until it’s as thin as onion skin.
A filling of custard, cheese, meat or spinach (There’s even a sketi/no filling version) gets place in the center of the dough and it gets wrapped up like an envelope. Then it gets baked until golden and served often as a breakfast offering.
I know most people won’t go to such lengths to make a bougatsa but if you were given an easy home version, then you may be tempted to try at home.
ELA….let’s make bougatsa!
Bougatsa Me Krema
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Featured, Vegetarian8
servings1
hour30
minutesIngredients
20 sheets of phyllo pastry
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
- For the Filling
4 cups of whole milk
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup fine semolina flour
2 tsp. corn starch
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 stick of butter
pinch of salt
Directions
- To make the custard, to a medium pot add the milk, sugar, semolina, corn starch and turn heat on to medium. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens to a custard consistency.
- Take off the heat, add the vanilla, butter, salt and stir in. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool to almost/room temperature.
- Place a sheet of phyllo on your work surface and brush with melted butter. Place another 3 sheets of phyllo on top, brushing each sheet with butter.
- Brush the 5th sheet of phyllo and fold in half, brush the top sheet and fold again. Place in the center of your other phyllo sheets.
- Spread half your custard on the center of your phyllo. Brush the bottom and top flaps of phyllo and fold up/over your custard then do the same with the right and left flaps.
- Brush butter on a phyllo sheet and place in your 11″x 9″ pan. Brush and 3 more sheets of phyllo on top. Now place the phyllo parcel with custard over the phyllo sheets in your pan.
Brush one more sheet of phyllo and the bougatsa. Use your pastry brush to push excess phyllo under the pan. - Repeat above steps to make your second bougatsa.
- Brush the tops of your bougatsas with butter and place in a pre-heated 360F oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden.
- Allow bougatsas to cool for 20 minutes before serving.
- Transfer bougatsa to a cutting board and cut into bite sized squares and dust with powdered sugar and ground cinnamon and serve.
Notes
- This recipe makes two bougatsas. You may assemble and freeze then bake from frozen if you wish (one or both). If you only wish to make one, then make half a recipe.
- Make a dairy free version using soy milk and brush phyllo with melted margarine .