Breakfast Kifle

February 20, 2015 ~ bakingwithsibella.com ~ 14 Comments

Kifle (sing. kifla) are one of the most popular Bosnian breakfast breads. In the US kifle are known as a Christmas pastry filled with walnuts, but in Bosnia, kifle are actually any type of bread or pastry made in a shape of a crescent and today I wanted to introduce the most loved and known kind.

Every Bosnian bakery or a grocery store sells kifle. They are always fresh, airy and super delicious. They are usually served at breakfast with variety of spreads such as butter, paté, cream cheese, jam, honey, nutella, etc. Sometimes we slice them length-wise and make sandwiches or they can be served instead of bread at a lunch or dinner table.

They are made out of most simple ingredients, found in every pantry and can easily be prepared at home. I usually make them for a weekend breakfast when everyone is home and can take time to enjoy them.

BREAKFAST KIFLE

[Printable recipe]

Ingredients:

650-700 g (about 5 cups) all purpose flour
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 TBSP sugar
2 tsp salt
300 ml (1 + 1/4 cup) warm water
200 ml (about 1 cup) warm milk
50 ml (1/4 cup) oil

1 egg white (lightly beaten)
Salt for sprinkling
Butter (melted) for brushing

How to prepare:

Combine all dry ingredients in a mixer bowl and start mixing slowly
Combine water, milk and oil and while mixer is on slow, start adding liquid to the bowl with dry ingredients.
Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3-4 minutes
Now let it rest for about 5 minutes and then mix again 3-4 minutes. Kifle dough is supposed to be medium firm. If it’s too soft, add more flour.
Dust your working surface with flour, remove the dough from the bowl and knead it by hand 10-20 times. Place it back into the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise until double in volume (about 1 hour).
Divide the dough in two. Roll each piece into a 45 cm (18 inch) circle. With a pizza cutter, cut each circle once vertically, once horizontally and twice diagonally to get 8 triangles.
To form a kifla, first fold in both corners at a short side of the triangle. Now pressing down roll the bread until the end tip. You can also shape it to look like a crescent. Place it onto a greased baking sheet with the end tip facing down. Repeat will all remaining triangles.

8. Cover them and let rest and rise for about 30 minutes.
9. Heat your oven to 400 F (200 C).
10. Lightly beat an egg white and brush over bread.
11. Sprinkle each kifla with salt.

12. Bake about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
13. Remove from the oven, brush with melted butter and cover for 10 minutes.

♦

Enjoy! 🙂

Tarhana Soup {Sour Dough Soup}

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 ~ bakingwithsibella.com ~ 15 Comments

Tarhana soup is a well loved soup in my native Bosnia, as well as in some other countries such as Greece, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Egypt, etc. The noodles are made from sour dough and give a soup that specific taste and tomato sauce just enhances its flavor. So, if you like your sourdough bread, I am sure you will like Tarhana as well.

My maternal Grandmother used to make the noodles from scratch. I am not quite sure of how the whole process works, but I can tell you what I remember from my childhood.

The dough is made with flour, water, salt, possibly yeast (some say yogurt too, or with tomato sauce) and it’s left to ferment for 3-4 days (or more). More flour is added to the mixture each day. When the dough is ready, it is divided into hand-size patties which are then left to dry (best in the airy and sunny spot). After they’re dry they are shredded or coarsely grounded into noodles and stored in plastic containers or jars.

I buy my noodles at the store with Bosnian, Balkan or Middle Eastern products. Tarhana soup can be made in several different ways and with various ingredients. This is my family recipe.

Tarhana Soup {Sour Dough Soup}

[Printable recipe]

Ingredients:

2 TBSP cooking oil
1/2 medium onion
1 medium carrot
1/4 of a medium green bell pepper
1 celery stalk (optional)
1 small zucchini (optional)
3/4 lb (about 350 g) ground beef
1 tsp “Vegeta” spice
1/2 tsp salt
A pinch of ground white pepper
15 oz (425 g) can tomato sauce
5 cups (1 liter + 200 ml) water
1 cup (about 200 g) tarhana noodles
Chopped parsley
Sour cream (optional)

*** All vegetables finely chopped

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a cooking pot and add all finely chopped vegetables. Sauté for 5 minutes then add ground beef.
Sauté ground beef and veggies for another 5-10 minutes, then add spices, tomato sauce and water.
Bring it to boil and add tarhana noodles. Stir well. Let the soup simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally as the noodles tend to stick to the bottom.
Noodles will thicken the soup. If it’s too thick for your taste, you can always add a little water.
Serve garnished with fresh chopped parsley or a tablespoon of sour cream
ENJOY!

◊

Egg Foam Pie {Šampita}

April 3, 2014 ~ bakingwithsibella.com ~ 14 Comments

Egg Foam Pie? I know it sounds weird, but that would be a literal translation for one of my favorite childhood desserts. All of my Bosnian friends know what I’m talking about here – šampita! 🙂

Šampita is one of many traditional Bosnian desserts. It’s been around for a very long time when fancy ingredients were not available and the most basic ingredients were used to make a dessert. It’s easy and quick to make. Bakeries usually make it with just a layer of puff pastry on the bottom, but this is a kind that’s made at home and it belongs to the category of sugar syrup soaked desserts, such as baklava, gulab jamun, etc. The cake part will soak up the syrup from the meringue and it will be moist and meringue is just sweet enough, fluffy with a hint of lemon.

To me, šampita tastes like childhood, like worry free days, like playing outside, picking flowers, and endless laughter and happiness.

Egg Foam Pie {Šampita}

[Printable recipe]

Ingredients:

6 large eggs at room temperature (divided)
A pinch of salt
½ tsp lemon juice
6 TBSP sugar
6 TBSP milk
6 TBSP cooking oil
6 TBSP all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder

Syrup:

24 TBSP (about 250 g) sugar
About 0.85 cup (2 dl) water

Also needed:

9 X 13 inch baking pan 2 or 3 inches deep (22 X 23 X 5 cm)
Parchment paper
2 oz chocolate (about 50 g)
2 TBSP sour cream

Preparation:

Divide eggs. Place egg whites into a large mixing bowl. Beat egg yolks with sugar until pale yellow, then add milk, oil and at the end flour combined with baking powder.
Pour the batter into the baking pan covered with parchment paper and bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until you notice edges starting to get lightly brown.
While the cake is baking, add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and mix them at the highest speed. When they are done add lemon juice and mix some more. They are done when you turn the bowl upside down and they don’t move. Leave the egg whites in the bowl as you will have to add the syrup.
While the meringue is in making, place sugar and water for the syrup into a small pot and bring it to boil. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes. Then remove from heat and slowly start pouring into the egg whites while they’re still at the highest speed. You will notice the volume of the mixture quickly increasing.
Now the cake should be done too, so remove it from the oven and spread the meringue all over the cake. It doesn’t matter that it’s too hot. Spread evenly and smooth it out and place it in the oven for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove it from the oven and set it on the counter.
If you wish, you can melt chocolate, combine with some sour cream and drizzle over the cake.
Place it in the fridge and let it cool completely. Enjoy this moist, light and fluffy dessert.