The unlikely foodie

Passport & Plate - Kiflichki (peasant bread rolls)

Macedonia | Tuesday, March 11, 2014 | 3 photos

Ingredients
1 kilogram flour
Half liter milk
40 g fresh yeast
3 eggs
2 spoonfuls sugar
2 spoonfuls salt
13 spoonfuls olive oil
Glazes:
150 grams butter
3 eggs

 

How to prepare this recipe
Make dough by combining all ingredients. Knead and let rise.
After the dough doubles in size, divide in 3 equal parts. Roll out each part (with a rolling pin) in a thin circle and glaze with a layer of soft butter (or margarine if you wish). After you put on the butter layer, cut each circle in eight diagonal parts (like you would a pie) but leave them connected in the center. Fold all the 8 pieces on top of each other and you'll get a ball of dough (3 balls in your case). Knead the dough again and let rise for a bit more, half an hour should do it.
Get your 3 balls of dough. Roll out each one in a thin circle and cut in 16 diagonal pieces. You should get 16 triangles from each ball of dough. Roll each triangle starting from the wider side towards the narrow one.
Place on a baking pan, glaze with some whisked eggs and sprinkle sesame or carway seeds on top. Place a tiny piece of butter on top of each roll. Let them sit in a warm room while heating up the oven.
Preheat oven at 220 Celsius. Bake for 15-20 mins, until golden.

 

The story behind this recipe
This is a traditional winter recipe for Macedonia. It is traditionaly eaten with salads or pulled pork. The rolls are soft, salty and unbelievably tasty. I remember eating them ever since I was little. After my grandmother passed away suddenly and did not have the time to teach me how to make them, I spent years searching for the right recipe. You can't find this recipe online. It's only passed down through generations and I finally learned it from a distant aunt. I consider it a staple of my culture and my food identity.