About this recipe

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Why you’ll love it

Mix, roll, coil—bakery banitsa with shatter-crisp layers and soft custard. ⚡

Ingredients

• Filling
• 🧀 Bulgarian sirene or feta, crumbled: 500 g (4 cups / 17.6 oz)
• 🥛 Plain yogurt (full-fat): 300 g (1¼ cups / 10.6 oz) dairy
• 🥚 Eggs: 4 large (≈200 g / 7 oz) egg
• 🥄 Baking soda (bicarbonate): 5 g (1 tsp / 0.18 oz)
• 🧂 Salt: to taste (≈1 g / pinch) — only if cheese is mild dairy
• ⚫ Black pepper: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• Pastry & finish
• 📜 Phyllo sheets, thawed: 450–500 g (16–20 sheets / 16–18 oz)
• 🧈 Unsalted butter, melted: 100 g (½ cup / 3.5 oz) dairy
• 🫗 Sunflower oil (for brushing): 40 ml (3 tbsp / 1.4 fl oz)
• 💧 Sparkling water (for lift): 60 ml (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)
• 🌰 Sesame seeds (optional): 1 tbsp (9 g / 0.32 oz) sesame

Preparation

• 1 Heat & pan Preheat oven to 190°C / 375°F. Lightly brush a 30 cm / 12 in round (or 23×33 cm / 9×13 in) pan with 🫗 oil.
• 2 Filling Whisk 🥛 yogurt with 🥄 baking soda—let foam 1 min. Whisk in 🥚 eggs, then fold in 🧀 cheese; season with a pinch of 🧂 and ⚫ pepper.
• 3 Make ropes Lay 1 sheet 📜 phyllo; brush lightly with a mix of 🧈 butter + 🫗 oil. Spread a thin strip of filling along the long edge; roll into a snug rope.
• 4 Coil Place the first rope in the pan center; coil. Repeat with remaining sheets, attaching ropes end-to-end to fill the pan. Brush the top with remaining butter–oil; drizzle 💧 sparkling water over the surface. Sprinkle 🌰 sesame if using.
• 5 Bake Bake 35–45 min until puffed and deep golden. Rest 10–15 min for clean slices.

Timing details

Nutrition

Estimated values per serving.

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