Gibanica 🧀 Serbian Cheese Phyllo Pie 🇷🇸 (Pita sa Sirom)

Description

Flaky, crumpled phyllo soaked in a rich yogurt–egg custard with brined white cheese—golden top, tender middle. Fun fact: the name comes from gibati (“to fold/move”), hence the nickname gužvana pita. 🧀🥧

Hook: Mix, crumple, bake—no rolling, just layers of salty-creamy bliss. ⚡

Ingredients

• Custard & cheese
• 🧀 White brined cheese (sirene/feta), crumbled: 500 g (4 cups / 17.6 oz)
• 🥛 Thick yogurt or kefir: 300 g (1¼ cups / 10.6 oz)
• 🥚 Eggs: 4 large (≈200 g / 7 oz)
• 🧈 Melted butter or neutral oil: 80 ml (⅓ cup / 2.7 fl oz)
• 💧 Sparkling water (for lift): 60 ml (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)
• 🔺 Baking powder (optional): 4 g (1 tsp / 0.14 oz)
• 🧂 Salt: to taste (≈2 g / ⅓ tsp) — adjust to cheese
• ⚫ Black pepper: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• Phyllo & finish
• 📜 Phyllo sheets, thawed: 450–500 g (16–20 sheets / 16–18 oz)
• 🧈 Extra melted butter/oil for pan & top: 40 ml (3 tbsp / 1.4 fl oz)
• 🌰 Sesame seeds (optional): 1 tbsp (9 g / 0.32 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Heat & pan: Preheat oven to 190°C / 375°F. Brush a 30×20 cm (9×13 in) pan with butter/oil.
2. 2️⃣ Make custard: Whisk eggs, yogurt, melted butter, sparkling water, baking powder, pepper, and a pinch of salt. Fold in the crumbled cheese.
3. 3️⃣ Crumple: Reserve 2 sheets for the bottom and 2 for the top. Lay 2 sheets in the pan, brushing lightly. Tear remaining sheets into large pieces, drag through the custard, and loosely crumple into the pan until half is used. Spoon a little custard over; repeat with the rest.
4. 4️⃣ Top: Lay final 2 sheets, brushing each; drizzle any leftover custard. Sprinkle sesame if using.
5. 5️⃣ Bake: Bake 35–45 min until puffed and deep golden. Rest 10–15 min before slicing.

Total Time

🕒 Prep: 20 min
🔥 Cook: 40 min
⏳ Total: 1 h

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