Banitsa 🧀 Bulgarian Cheese Spiral 🇧🇬 (Banica)

Name: Banitsa 🧀 Bulgarian Cheese Spiral 🇧🇬 (Banica)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Balkan
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); 🥚 Eggs: 4 large (≈200 g / 7 oz); 🥄 Baking soda (bicarbonate): 5 g (1 tsp / 0.18 oz); 🧂 Salt: to taste (≈1 g / pinch) — only if cheese is mild; ⚫ 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); 🫗 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)

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Pies and Doughs Balkan RichardObradovic Oct 02, 2025 45

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Image for recipe: Banitsa 🧀 Bulgarian Cheese Spiral 🇧🇬 (Banica)

Description

Flaky phyllo coiled into a golden spiral with a lush sirene–yogurt–egg filling—crisp sheets, creamy heart. On New Year’s Day, Bulgarians often tuck a paper “kusmet” (lucky fortune) into a slice.

Hook: 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)
🥚 Eggs: 4 large (≈200 g / 7 oz)
🥄 Baking soda (bicarbonate): 5 g (1 tsp / 0.18 oz)
🧂 Salt: to taste (≈1 g / pinch) — only if cheese is mild
⚫ 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)
🫗 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)

Preparation

1️⃣ 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.
2️⃣ Filling: Whisk 🥛 yogurt with 🥄 baking soda—let foam 1 min. Whisk in 🥚 eggs, then fold in 🧀 cheese; season with a pinch of 🧂 and ⚫ pepper.
3️⃣ 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.
4️⃣ 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.
5️⃣ Bake: Bake 35–45 min until puffed and deep golden. Rest 10–15 min for clean slices.

Total Time

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

Nutritional Value

🔋 Energy: ~450 kcal
💪 Protein: ~17 g
🧈 Fat: ~28 g
🍞 Carbohydrates: ~32 g
🧂 Sodium: ~780 mg

Advice

Activate the baking soda in tangy yogurt—tiny bubbles lighten the custard so the spiral bakes airy, not dense. Resting briefly keeps steam from sogging the crust.

Why it works

Buttered sheets crisp and separate; the yogurt–egg custard seeps into the coils and sets creamy, while sparkling water injects a touch of steam for extra lift.

Twist

Tikvenik (pumpkin banitsa): swap cheese filling for 500 g (3½ cups / 17.6 oz) sweet pumpkin grated and sautéed with 60 g (¼ cup / 2.1 oz) sugar, 40 g (¼ cup / 1.4 oz) walnuts, and 1 tsp cinnamon—roll and bake the same way.

Status

Spiral gold with a custardy core—Bulgarian banitsa that crackles at first bite. #grannyzen #banitsa 🧀🥧

Menu

Granny Zen Galaxy Kitchen 🚀