Domaća Jufka
Домаћа јуфка·(doh-MAH-cha YOO-fkah)
Pita i Burek: Phyllo Mastery
If there is a line separating a casual cook from a Balkan matriarch, it is drawn across a floured cotton tablecloth. To the uninitiated, coaxing a humble ball of flour and water into a sheet thin enough to read a newspaper through looks like witchcraft, but the truth is strictly mechanical. It is about developing gluten, employing a heavy hand with resting oil, enforcing a strict ban on kitchen drafts, and slipping in a grandmother's ultimate secret: a splash of white vinegar to make the dough relentlessly forgiving. Forget the frozen aisles; with standard American supermarket flour and a little nerve, you can stretch the real thing right on your dining room table.
Before you start
Set up your stretching station with a cotton tablecloth.
Clear a large dining or kitchen table and drape it with a clean, smooth cotton tablecloth, which provides essential grip during stretching.
Ingredients
- unbleached all-purpose flour4 1/2 cup
- fine sea salt1 1/2 tsp
- distilled white vinegar1 tbsp
- neutral oil6 tbsp
- lukewarm water1 1/2 cup
Method
- 01
Mix the dough ingredients until a shaggy mass forms.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt, then create a well in the center to pour in 2 tablespoons of the oil, the vinegar, and the lukewarm water, mixing by hand or with a wooden spoon.
- 02
Knead vigorously until the dough is silky and completely clears your hands.
Turn the dough onto a counter and knead for about 10 minutes, resisting the urge to add excess flour. Alternatively, a stand mixer with a dough hook on medium-low will get you there in 7 minutes.
- 03
Divide the dough, coat generously in the remaining oil, and rest it to relax the gluten.
Split the dough into two equal spheres, roll them smooth, and place them on a plate. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup of oil over them, rubbing it in to prevent a dry crust, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
- 04
Prepare your stretching station and eliminate all drafts from the room.
Dust your tablecloth lightly and evenly with flour, and close all windows and doors—moving air will dry out the delicate edges and cause them to shatter.
- 05
Roll the dough into a disc and massage it with a few drops of oil.
Place one rested ball in the center of the tablecloth and roll it out to a 12-inch circle. Smear a few drops of the resting oil across the surface and let it sit for exactly 3 minutes.
- 06
Stretch the dough using the backs of your hands until it is transparent.
Slide both hands under the dough, palms facing the table. Gently lift and pull outward from the center, walking around the table until the dough is thin enough to clearly see the tablecloth's pattern underneath.
- 07
Tear away the thick outer borders before filling and rolling.
The extreme edges will remain slightly thick; pinch them off and discard or save for frying. Your canvas is now ready to be oiled, filled, and rolled into a pan.
Notes
The warm oven hack saves time for busy parents.
If you don't have an hour for the dough to rest, place the covered, oiled dough in an oven slightly warmed to 100°F (turned off) for 15 to 20 minutes to rapidly relax the gluten.
Understand the local taxonomy.
In Bosnian tradition, a 'burek' contains only meat. If you fill this dough with cheese, it becomes sirnica; with potatoes, it is krompiruša.
From Cook Balkan in America.