Gibanica Gužvara
Гибаница гужвара·(ghee-bah-nee-tsah goozh-vah-rah)
Jutarnja Kafa i Doručak: Morning Rituals & Breakfasts
If you grew up in a Balkan household, the smell of gibanica baking is the smell of a weekend morning. This isn't the neat, flat, polite spinach pie you find in a Mediterranean deli. Gužvara means crumpled—it is beautifully, deliberately chaotic. Sheets of thick phyllo are crushed like wads of paper, submerged in a rich, salty custard of feta and kefir, and baked until the whole thing puffs up like a golden cloud. But the real secret is in the cooling. To keep the heavy cheese from collapsing the flaky layers, you invert the hot pan onto four coffee mugs. It defies gravity, sounds ridiculous, and is the ultimate, unwritten grandmother's trick for an uncompromisingly airy pie.
Before you start
Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly oil only the very bottom of a 9x13 inch metal baking pan.
Leave the sides completely dry so the pie can grip the walls while baking.
Arrange four sturdy coffee mugs on the counter in a rectangle slightly smaller than your baking pan.
You will need these ready the exact second the hot pie comes out of the oven.
Ingredients
- number 10 country style phyllo dough16 oz
- eggs5 large
- sheep's milk feta cheese10 oz
- whole milk ricotta cheese10 oz
- whole milk kefir1 cup
- sour cream1/2 cup
- neutral oil1/2 cup
- highly carbonated sparkling mineral water1 cup
- kosher salt1 tsp
Method
- 01
Whip the eggs vigorously until they are light and frothy.
Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat them for at least 60 seconds. This mechanical aeration is critical for achieving the pie's signature height.
- 02
Stir together the cheese custard and the mineral water.
Fold in the crumbled feta, ricotta, kefir, sour cream, oil, and salt, leaving some chunky texture. Just before assembling, stir in the cold sparkling mineral water; the carbonation is your true leavening agent.
- 03
Line the baking pan with flat sheets of phyllo to create a waterproof base.
Lay two sheets of phyllo flat into the bottom of the baking pan, allowing the excess pastry to hang over the edges. Place another two sheets across the opposite direction to create a protective basket.
- 04
Loosely crumple the remaining phyllo sheets, submerge them in the custard, and pack them into the pan.
Take a single sheet of phyllo, loosely scrunch it up like a discarded piece of paper, and submerge it entirely into the cheese liquid. Lift it out, let the excess drip off, and place it into the pan. Repeat, packing the wet, crumpled dough balls side-by-side until the pan is filled, reserving two flat sheets for the top.
- 05
Pour any remaining custard over the top and seal the pie with two flat phyllo sheets.
Fold the dry, overhanging edges of the base sheets inward over the wet filling, then lay the final two reserved sheets flat over the top to create a smooth lid, tucking the edges down the sides. Brush the top with a little oil and a splash of sparkling water.
- 06
Bake until the pie crests above the rim and develops a deeply textured crust.
Bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes. The pie should puff up majestically and turn a deep golden brown.
- 07
Immediately flip the hot pan upside down and rest the corners on the coffee mugs.
Swiftly invert the pan as soon as it leaves the oven and rest it on the prepared mugs. Let it hang suspended for 20 to 30 minutes; gravity will keep the heavy cheese from collapsing the steam pockets as the pie cools.
- 08
Turn the pan right-side up, slice into large squares, and serve.
Once cooled to a stable state, flip the pan back over. The gibanica will be towering, incredibly airy, and perfectly structured. Serve warm or at room temperature with an extra glass of kefir.
Notes
Do not use a non-stick or Teflon pan for this recipe.
The pie needs to grip the bare metal sides of an enameled or aluminum pan to stay suspended during the upside-down cooling phase.
Standard, ultra-thin pastry dissolves into mush under the weight of this custard.
Seek out number 10 country-style phyllo dough for the structural integrity needed to survive the dunking process.
From Cook Balkan in America.