This genuine kifli recipe makes tender bread rolls full of ricotta and feta cheese, topped with melted butter, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. In Macedonia, my household makes these rolls for almost each event. Now you possibly can, too!
I simply know you’re going to like this Macedonian reply to dinner rolls. They’re not possible to withstand, with puffy, golden dough wrapped round tacky filling.
Enter any Macedonian family on any given vacation, and there’s an excellent probability you’ll discover kifli baking within the oven or already on the desk! Kifli (pronouced “keef-lee”) are tender buttery dinner rolls full of feta and topped with sesame seeds. Each Macedonian household has their model of the “greatest” kifli recipe. For some time, I might jot them down and check them when time allowed. This explicit recipe is the best and tastiest I’ve had but!
Why I Love This Kifli Recipe
- Straightforward. That is my “by no means fail” kifli recipe. When you comply with the recipe to the T you’re all however assured to return out with an enormous batch of buttery, steamy bread rolls.
- Each event. Whether or not it’s the vacations, birthdays, Saint Patron Days (a Macedonian custom), kifli are at all times the centerpiece on the desk, or very close to to it. They’ve even made their method into my youngsters’ lunch baggage as a result of, sure, they’re that beloved.
- Adaptable. Stuff them with cheese or floor meat, get pleasure from them plain, or dunk these rolls in plain yogurt or crimson pepper relish, aka Ajvar. We principally get pleasure from these as a starter with a salad or as a dinner roll.
What Is Kifli?
Kifli is a standard yeasted bread roll that’s rolled up much like a croissant or crescent roll. With generations of households baking it, everybody has their very own model of it, and I’ve but to fulfill a kifli recipe I don’t like. You’ll discover plain butter kifli, kifli full of feta cheese, and even jumbo-sized kifli! It’s a staple in Macedonian delicacies, proper up there with our sesame bagels (gevrek).
Substances You’ll Want
If you wish to really feel just like the home goddess that you’re, bake kifli! It’s so satisfying, and you actually solely want a number of widespread pantry components, which I’ll cowl under. Scroll all the way down to the recipe card after the publish for the printable recipe, adopted by step-by-step images.
- Energetic Dry Yeast – Verify the date in your packet of yeast to verify it’s not expired. In case your yeast is previous it’s best-before date, the dough received’t rise correctly.
- Sugar and Water – You’ll combine heat (not sizzling) water with sugar, to activate the yeast. Be certain the water is between 110ºF-115ºF.
- Flour – I like to recommend all-purpose flour for essentially the most constant outcomes (I haven’t gotten round to testing this recipe with different kinds of flours).
- Milk – Additionally warmed up. You need to use any milk you’d like.
- Oil – I take advantage of vegetable oil, however olive, canola, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil will even work.
- Butter – Salted or unsalted, for topping the rolls earlier than baking. Slice a stick of butter into skinny squares.
- Feta and Ricotta Cheese – I take advantage of a mix of feta and ricotta cheese in my kifli. Ricotta makes the filling additional creamy. You need to use all of 1 or the opposite in the event you want.
- Eggs – You’ll want one entire egg for the bread dough and extra overwhelmed eggs to mix with water for the glaze.
- Sesame Seeds – When you don’t have sesame seeds, it’s high quality to go away them off. However for the total expertise, I extremely advocate including them!
Recipe Suggestions
- If the dough is just too dry, add a bit milk, one spoonful at a time, to moisten it a bit. However, in the event you discover that the dough is just too sticky to deal with, add a bit extra flour to get it to the correct consistency.
- Let the dough rise someplace heat. It’s higher and sooner in the event you place the dough in a heat location to rise. On high of the preheated oven is usually a great spot.
- Bake in batches. When you don’t have sufficient baking sheets or oven area to bake all of the kifli directly, no worries. Maintain the kifli lined with a dishcloth on a floured floor till it’s their flip to bake.
- Use a measuring cup with mL: For essentially the most correct outcomes, use a measuring cup that reveals milliliters. It helps make sure the dough seems excellent, particularly when working with yeast.
- French rolling pin: An everyday rolling pin works high quality, however I want utilizing a French rolling pin—that’s how my baba (grandma) made kifli, and I like to stay with custom. It provides you higher management and rolls out the dough superbly.
Serving Recommendations
Kilfi is actually an anytime bread roll. They’re generally discovered on vacation tables, subsequent to a leg of lamb at Easter or baked ham at Christmas, adopted up with kolacky for dessert. You’ll simply as rapidly discover them on the dinner desk any day of the week. They’re glorious sponges for sopping up all the things from saucy cabbage rolls to moussaka and even shakshuka at breakfast.
Storing and Freezing Leftovers
- Refrigerate. You’ll need to preserve kifli within the fridge as a result of cheese filling. Retailer them in an hermetic container, and you can too freeze them you probably have rather a lot left over.
- Freeze. Permit the kifli to chill utterly, and place them right into a freezer bag. Freeze for as much as 4 months and thaw them within the fridge in a single day, or defrost them in brief bursts within the microwave.
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Activate the yeast. In a bowl, stir collectively yeast, sugar, and water. Set it in a heat place to activate, till it will get thick and foamy, about 15 to twenty minutes.
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Mix the opposite components. Within the meantime, add flour to your mixer’s bowl. Make a properly within the center, and add heat milk, vegetable oil, salt, and eggs. Do not combine till you’ve got added within the ready yeast.
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Combine within the yeast combination. Pour the yeast combination into the flour combination. Utilizing a big spoon, combine all of it collectively to mix.
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Knead the dough. Then, connect the dough hook to your stand mixer and end kneading for about 2 to three minutes, or till the dough begins to separate from the bowl. If the dough is just too dry, add a tablespoon of milk, if it is too moist add extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough should not be too sticky, however you additionally don’t need it to be dry.
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Form the dough right into a ball. Spray a big mixing bowl with cooking spray and sprinkle it with a little bit of flour to forestall sticking. Switch the ready dough to the oiled bowl, and fold the dough right into a ball. Add a bit extra flour to the bowl and a sprinkle of flour on high of the dough ball.
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Rise. Cowl with plastic wrap and let rise for half-hour. It is best (and sooner) to let the dough rise in a hotter spot.
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Make the filling. Mix the feta cheese and ricotta cheese in a bowl; put aside for later.
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Preheat. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
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Divide and form the dough. Flip the dough over to a flour-dusted work space and fold it on all sides; then, lower it in half. Reduce every half in 3 elements so you have got a complete of 6 items. Fold all of the items into small balls. Maintain them lined.
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Roll out the dough. Take a ball of dough and flippantly punch it all the way down to unfold after which roll it out right into a spherical circle the dimensions of a few medium pizza. Be certain to flour your work space typically so the dough doesn’t stick.
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Slice. Reduce the dough into 8 to 12 slices, relying on the dough’s diameter or how massive you need your rolls.
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Fill the rolls. Add ½ to 1 tablespoon of the ricotta/feta cheese combination to every slice. Place the filling on the high of the slice, proper within the middle. Maintain the filling modest—in the event you overfill, it’ll probably ooze out whereas baking.
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Roll them up. Pull the edges of the widest half on the high and tuck them inward, proper over the filling, and proceed to roll. Repeat with the remainder of the dough.
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Bake. Switch the rolls to baking sheets and place a pat of butter on high of every roll. Bake for five minutes at 400ºF. In the meantime, mix the eggs and water in a small bowl and beat to mix. Take away the kifli from the oven and brush with the egg glaze. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and proceed to bake for 11 to 13 extra minutes or till golden.
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End and serve. As soon as the kifli are out of the oven, you possibly can high them with a small pat of butter (completely optionally available, however so good!). Switch them to a wire rack to chill barely. They’re greatest loved contemporary, however additionally they retailer properly for days.
- I take advantage of milliliters on this recipe as a result of it’s essentially the most correct option to measure the liquid components. With regards to making kifli excellent—tender, fluffy, and excellent each time—exact measurements actually matter.
- I additionally roll the dough with a French rolling pin, which is the way it’s historically carried out (and truthfully, it simply feels proper!).
- As for storage, I normally preserve my kifli in an hermetic container and on the counter for a few day or two, however due to the cheese filling, it’s greatest to refrigerate them.
Energy: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 10g | Fats: 20g | Saturated Fats: 13g | Ldl cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 341mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 382IU | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 3mg
Dietary data is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values might fluctuate in accordance with the components and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
Learn how to Make Kifli
I received’t lie: making the dough is essentially the most time-consuming step. Nonetheless, in the event you comply with the recipe precisely because it’s written, you’ll find yourself with about 40 super-soft, scrumptious kifli brimming with cheese. Listed below are the directions:
- Activate the yeast. Begin by stirring yeast, sugar, and water collectively in a bowl. Place it someplace heat for 15-20 minutes to activate and change into foamy.
- Mix the opposite components. In the meantime, add the flour to your mixing bowl and make a properly within the center. Pour within the heat milk, oil, salt, and eggs. Then, add the ready yeast and fold all the things collectively by hand.
- Knead the dough. Use your stand mixer’s dough hook to knead the dough. After 2-3 mnutes, it ought to begin to draw back from the bowl. You’re after a dough that isn’t overly dry, but in addition not tremendous sticky.
- Rise. Subsequent, plop the dough right into a flippantly greased and floured bowl. Fold the dough right into a ball and sprinkle the bowl and the highest of the bread with a bit extra flour. Cowl the bowl and let the dough rise in a heat spot for half-hour.
Form the Kifli
- Combine the filling. In a brand new bowl, combine the feta and ricotta cheese. Set this apart whilst you preheat the oven to 400ºF and put together your kifli.
- Divide the dough. Now, flip the risen dough out onto a floured floor. Fold it in on all sides and lower it in half. Subsequent, lower every half into 3 even-sized items (there ought to be 6 in complete) and fold/roll the items into balls. Cowl these in the interim.
- Roll out and lower the dough. Take your first dough ball and roll it right into a circle concerning the dimension of a medium pizza. Afterward, use a pointy knife or a pizza cutter to slice the circle into 8 to 12 wedges.
- Fill the rolls. Place a spoonful of your cheese combination on the high center of every wedge, and roll them up! To do that, tuck the widest sides in on the high and proceed to roll the dough across the filling in a crescent form. Repeat with the remainder of the dough and filling.
Bake the Kifli
- Prep. Prepare the kifli in your baking sheets. High every roll with a pat of butter.
- Bake. Bake the rolls at 400ºF for five minutes, then whisk collectively an egg wash and brush it over the kifli. Sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds earlier than returning the rolls to the oven for one more 11-13 minutes, till they’re overvalued and golden.
