Meat dishes
Beef burek with hand-stretched pastry
AI-generated serving image
This image was created with the help of artificial intelligence and serves as visual inspiration or a serving suggestion. The actual result may vary depending on the ingredients, quantities and preparation used.
Thin pastry sheets enclose a simple beef-and-onion filling, baked as a coil. Burek crosses national borders; this meat version joins the Croatian kitchen collection. The pastry is hand-stretched rather than replaced with puff pastry.
Timing
- Preparation: about 45 minutes, including about 10 minutes during dough resting
- Dough resting: 45 minutes; settling after baking: about 10 minutes
- Baking: about 50 minutes
- Total time: about 2 hours 20 minutes
Estimated nutrition
per serving · Calculated for 4 servings.
- Energy
- ≈ 690 kcal
- Protein
- ≈ 31.1 g
- Carbohydrates
- ≈ 65.1 g
- Fat
- ≈ 33 g
The nutrition values are estimates based on the ingredients and quantities used. Actual values may vary depending on the product, portion size and preparation.
Calculation basis
Item weights and household measures are estimated. Unless specified: milk with 1.5% fat, cream with 30% fat and Gouda cheese. Optional ingredients, small amounts of seasoning and separately listed side dishes are excluded. For imprecise entries, the amounts below and comparable reference products are assumed. For alternatives, the first listed ingredient is used. Cooking losses have not been measured.
Includes all dough and rolling flour, 450 g minced beef and all 60 ml oil. The hot water-and-oil finish is counted. One quarter of the coil is one serving.
Quantity assumptions and ingredient mapping
- 350 g plain wheat flour, including 15 g for rolling · ≈ 350.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 210 ml lukewarm water for the dough · ≈ 210.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 60 ml neutral oil, divided · ≈ 54.6 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 450 g minced beef · ≈ 450.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 150 g onion · ≈ 150.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 30 ml cold water for the filling · ≈ 30.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
- 80 ml water for the hot finishing liquid · ≈ 80.0 g · Assumed quantity / reference product
Matvaretabellen: Mattilsynet · Santa Maria
Food data: Max Rubner-Institut, BLS 4.0 (2025), CC BY 4.0. Calculated and rounded for this recipe. BLS 4.0 · CC BY 4.0
Ingredients
- 350 g plain wheat flour, including 15 g for rolling
- 210 ml lukewarm water for the dough
- 60 ml neutral oil, divided
- 8 g salt, divided
- 450 g minced beef
- 150 g onion
- 1 g black pepper
- 30 ml cold water for the filling
- 80 ml water for the hot finishing liquid
Instructions
- Knead 335 g flour, 3 g salt, 210 ml water and 15 ml oil for about 8–10 minutes until elastic. Divide into two balls, coat thinly with 10 ml oil, cover and rest for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile finely chop onion and briefly mix with mince, 4 g salt, pepper and 30 ml cold water. Refrigerate filling again. Preheat oven to 200°C conventional heat and grease a round tin about 28 cm across with 5 ml oil.
- Lightly dust a clean cloth with the reserved 15 g flour. Roll each ball first, then stretch thinly over the backs of your hands from centre to edge, ideally to about 50 × 60 cm. Small tears are fine. Gently stretch thick edges rather than cutting away large amounts of dough.
- Drizzle pastry sheets with a total of 20 ml oil. Place half the filling in a thin line along one long edge of each. Roll loosely using the cloth and coil both lengths into one large spiral in the tin without packing tightly.
- Bake for about 40–45 minutes until golden. Reach at least 70°C for 2 minutes in the filling. Near the end boil 80 ml water with the remaining 10 ml oil and 1 g salt, pour evenly over hot burek and bake for another 5 minutes. Let settle for about 10 minutes before quartering.
Tips
- Stretching takes practice. Bought thin yufka or filo is an explicitly simplified variation; water and oil needs then depend on the product.
- The raw filling is spread thinly before wrapping. Do not enclose thick cold lumps of mince.
