Yufka is a dough-based food product, made from dried phyllo pastry sheets. It looks like certain types of pasta, but there are significant differences in the preparation of pasta and yufka. It is a hot morning breakfast, made with feta cheese, sugar, milk or tea.
Yufka is a traditional Bulgarian product, even though there are ingredients similar to it, such as Chinese noodles, rice noodles, and macaroni pasta. The word 'yufka' has no plural form, even though it is made from countless crumbled, dried, pastry sheet bits. Yufka is also often used to describe the entire dish made with it, that is eaten for breakfast.
Homemade yufka, with its familiar and unchanged taste, can still be bought in stores. There also varieties made with whole wheat flour, which is perfect for diabetics.
Composition of yufka
In 2/5 cup (100 g) of yufka, we find the following substances:
Calories: Between 225 - 384 kcal; Protein: 12 to 14.16 g; Carbohydrates: 68 to 71.27 g; Total fat: 1.5 to 4.44 g.
Selection and storage of yufka
Baked yufka can be found in certain stores. Store it in a cool and dry area, it does not need to be refrigerated.
Culinary use of yufka
Besides being a tasty and nutritious breakfast when combined with milk, tea, feta cheese and sugar, all sorts of sweets, salty baked goods, tempting and delicious desserts, homemade phyllo pastry pie with yufka (sweet or salted) can be made using it. And here is an easy recipe for a dairy phyllo pastry pie with yufka, which you can serve sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Dairy phyllo pastry pie with yufka
Ingredients: yufka - 1 packet, homemade, 4 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 4 1/5 cups of milk, 1/2 packet of butter, 1 packet of vanilla, oil.
Preparation: In a greased tray, pour in the yufka and distribute pieces of butter on top. Put to bake in an oven until it reddens and the butter melts completely. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour the mixture over the yufka and put it back at a moderate temperature for 20 to 30 min. Serve the dairy phyllo pastry pie with yufka with a little bothered sugar if desired.
Homemade yufka
The recipe for homemade yufka is super easy and even a beginner cook can handle it, even though there is kneading required. The recipes for this Bulgarian specialty vary depending on the proportions of the different ingredients but the method is the same - knead, roll it out into thin sheets, dry in the sun, bake lightly in the oven and crumble into bits.
Ingredients: 2 cups milk, 15 eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, 3.5 lb flour.
Preparation: Beat the eggs with the salt until you get a foam and then add the milk. Sift the flour into a large container and gradually pour in the liquid mixture in the middle. Scoop the flour along the sides, gradually knead a soft and smooth dough. Divide it into 15 balls, cover them with a moist towel or cheesecloth and let them sit for a while.
Roll out each one into a thin sheet with a thickness of 0.1"(2 mm). Leave them in a sunny place to dry. Then crumble the sheets coarsely and put them to bake in a 120°F (50 °C) oven until the yufka is completely dry. Let it cool, crumble it more finely and put the homemade yufka away into plastic bags. Store in a cool and dry place.
Homemade yufka with semolina
Ingredients: 4 1/5 cups milk, 10 eggs, 4/5 cup semolina, salt, flour.
Preparation: Beat the eggs well with a mixer and add the salt, heated milk and semolina. Gradually knead a smooth and soft dough, which you will then divide into 10 balls. Roll out each ball into a thin sheet and then place the sheets in a sunny place to dry.
After about an hour, flip over the sheets and once they dry a little bit more, they should crack and have rips in the sheets. Crumble the dried sheets well and put them to lightly bake in a preheated oven until they get a light tan. Once the ready homemade yufka cools, put it away in a cloth bag.
If you want to make a nice warm breakfast for your family, then you must try this easy recipe for homemade yufka in the oven. In a buttered tray, pour in 1 packet of yufka and bake in a preheated 360°F (180 °C) oven until golden. Boil 4 1/5 cups of water or milk and sweeten with 1 cup of sugar. Pour this boiling water or milk over the baked yufka. Put it back in the oven and bake until the yufka absorbs the liquid. Serve this delicious breakfast warm and if desired, crumble feta cheese on top.
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