This genuine kifli recipe makes mushy 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’ll be able to, 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 a great probability you’ll discover kifli baking within the oven or already on the desk! Kifli (pronouced “keef-lee”) are mushy buttery dinner rolls full of feta and topped with sesame seeds. Each Macedonian household has their model of the “finest” 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. For those who observe the recipe to the T you’re all however assured to come back 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 all the time the centerpiece on the desk, or very close to to it. They’ve even made their means into my youngsters’ lunch luggage as a result of, sure, they’re that liked.
- Adaptable. Stuff them with cheese or floor meat, get pleasure from them plain, or dunk these rolls in plain yogurt or pink 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 just 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 crammed with 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 couple of widespread pantry components, which I’ll cowl under. Scroll right 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. Make sure that the water is between 110ºF-115ºF.
- Flour – I like to recommend all-purpose flour for probably the most constant outcomes (I haven’t gotten round to testing this recipe with different varieties of flours).
- Milk – Additionally warmed up. You should 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 should use all of 1 or the opposite should you favor.
- Eggs – You’ll want one complete egg for the bread dough and extra overwhelmed eggs to mix with water for the glaze.
- Sesame Seeds – For those who 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 Ideas
- If the dough is simply too dry, add a bit of milk, one spoonful at a time, to moisten it a bit of. Alternatively, should you discover that the dough is simply too sticky to deal with, add a bit extra flour to get it to the best consistency.
- Let the dough rise someplace heat. It’s higher and sooner should you place the dough in a heat location to rise. On prime of the preheated oven is usually a great place.
- Bake in batches. For those who don’t have sufficient baking sheets or oven house to bake all of the kifli without delay, no worries. Maintain the kifli coated with a dishcloth on a floured floor till it’s their flip to bake.
- Use a measuring cup with mL: For probably the most correct outcomes, use a measuring cup that exhibits 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 favor 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 Ideas
Kilfi is really 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 wonderful sponges for sopping up every thing 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 because of the cheese filling. Retailer them in an hermetic container, and it’s also possible to freeze them you probably have rather a lot left over.
- Freeze. Enable 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 have 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 simply 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 stop sticking. Switch the ready dough to the oiled bowl, and fold the dough right into a ball. Add a bit of extra flour to the bowl and a sprinkle of flour on prime 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 might have a complete of 6 items. Fold all of the items into small balls. Maintain them coated.
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Roll out the dough. Take a ball of dough and frivolously punch it right down to unfold after which roll it out right into a spherical circle the scale of a couple of medium pizza. Make sure that 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 large 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 prime of the slice, proper within the middle. Maintain the filling modest—should you overfill, it’ll doubtless ooze out whereas baking.
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Roll them up. Pull the perimeters of the widest half on the prime 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 prime 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’ll be able to prime them with a small pat of butter (completely optionally available, however so good!). Switch them to a wire rack to chill barely. They’re finest loved recent, however additionally they retailer properly for days.
- I take advantage of milliliters on this recipe as a result of it’s probably the most correct approach to measure the liquid components. With regards to making kifli excellent—mushy, fluffy, and ideal each time—exact measurements actually matter.
- I additionally roll the dough with a French rolling pin, which is the way it’s historically executed (and actually, it simply feels proper!).
- As for storage, I often preserve my kifli in an hermetic container and on the counter for a couple of day or two, however due to the cheese filling, it’s finest 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 could range in keeping with the components and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
The best way to Make Kifli
I received’t lie: making the dough is probably the most time-consuming step. Nonetheless, should you observe the recipe precisely because it’s written, you’ll find yourself with about 40 super-soft, scrumptious kifli brimming with cheese. Listed here 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 grow to be 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 every thing 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 additionally not tremendous sticky.
- Rise. Subsequent, plop the dough right into a frivolously 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 when 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 in regards to the measurement 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 prime center of every wedge, and roll them up! To do that, tuck the widest sides in on the prime 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. Organize the kifli in your baking sheets. Prime 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 an additional 11-13 minutes, till they’re overvalued and golden.
