This is an amazing recipe! Once you make it, you and your family will love it. You might find it difficult to make at first if you aren’t used to making dough or pastry. But after a few attempts, you’ll get the hang of it. I get raving reviews about it whenever I make it.
Skill level: Advanced
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Baked Cheese “Beurek”
2014-06-14 23:01:25
Serves 36
Velvet Edition: “Trademark” Recipe
Prep Time
1 hr 30 min
Cook Time
45 min
Ingredients
- 4 eggs (beaten)
- 1 cup melted butter (room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons dry active yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup lukewarm milk
- 4 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Filling
- 6 cups shredded Cassique, Panela, Queso Fresco or Queso Blanco cheese (available in supermarkets and specialty stores). These work the best, but you can substitute it with Jack cheese. Jack cheese melts well and yet doesn’t have a tendency to get hard once it’s cold. ( see note #3 below)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon mahleb (optional) ( see note #4 below)
- 2 tablespoons parsley (optional)
- 1/2 cup melted butter for spreading between the dough layers
Egg Wash
- 1 egg mixed with 1 teaspoon water.
Instructions
- Place the lukewarm milk in a small bowl, and add the yeast and sugar. Mix until combined and cover. Leave for about 30 minutes. The mixture will start to rise and become “foamy” in texture. This is how you know that your yeast is active and you will get good results. ( see note #1 below)
- In a large mixing bowl mix the eggs until well beaten, about 5 minutes. The color of the mixture will become light yellow and slightly thick.
- Add the melted butter to the eggs and continue to beat for another 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the yeast mixture and mix until combined.
- Add the flour and salt.
- Knead with your hands or with a mixture fitted with the pastry paddle until you get a smooth dough. ( see note #5 below)
- Cover the dough and leave to rise in a warm place. About 30 minutes. If you see that it hasn’t risen that much, cover it back up and wait for another 30 minutes. ( see note #2 below)
- Grate the cheese
- Add the egg and salt to the cheese and mix until combined, cover and refrigerate
- Divide the dough into half. On a lightly floured surface roll out one dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Spread melted butter with your hands all over the dough. Fold the dough into one third and spread butter on the fold that you just made. Fold the other side of the dough over the first fold that you made. It’s similar to a fold you’ll find on a strudel. Then fold one end of the dough on top again, cover with butter and fold the other side over it. If you find this confusing, please refer to the gallery below to get a better idea.
- Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
- Do the same for the other dough that’s in the bowl and place in the refrigerator.
- At this point you can keep it there for an hour or up to a day in the refrigerator.
- Take dough out of the refrigerator and on a lightly floured surface, roll out both dough’s again.
- Place one sheet of dough on a greased 18 x 13 in. baking tray, add the grated cheese mixture, and cover with the other dough.
- Cut into square pieces making sure that the cheese does not spill out between the cracks.
- Spread the egg wash over the top and bake in a preheated 350º oven until golden brown. About 40 minutes.
♣ Notes
- 1. I usually don’t do this step. I activate the yeast by adding the warn milk, sugar and dry yeast to the butter and egg mixture. But if you are new to making dough, then I suggest you do this step first.
- 2. If the weather is cold, I usually turn the oven “on” for about 5 minutes and turn it back off. Place your covered bowl in the warm oven and leave to rise. If the oven is too hot, it will not work. Make sure that its just warm.
- 3. If you can’t find Panela, Queso Fresco, or Queso Blanco, any other cheese that melts well will work such as Jack cheese. I don’t recommend using Feta, because Feta cheese does not melt. Mozarella on the other hand, melts well but it does harden quickly.
- 4. Mahleb is an aromatic spice prevalent in Mediterranean cuisine, and particularly in baking. It is the pit of the bing cherry and once the pit is cracked, the kernel is extracted and ground into fine powder.
- 5. When you first make the dough, you can wrap it up and store it in a Ziploc bag and freeze it before the dough proofs. You can keep it frozen for 2 or 3 months. When you’re ready to use, leave it out until completely thawed. Leave to rise and continue with the directions.
Velvet Edition https://www.velvetedition.com/
Click on the first image below to view a step by step slideshow:
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