Traditional Greek Bougatsa Cheese
Explore how you can make your own homemade Bougatsa Cheese at home, easily and quickly!
Bougatsa Cheese is a Greek traditional pastry made with thin, crispy phyllo pastry and is filled with cheese. The recipe comes from the Northern part of Greece where bougatsa is a famous breakfast and brunch option. Greek bougatsa is prepared from phyllo dough wrapped around a filling. After it is baked, it is cut into serving pieces and served hot.
Ingredients you will need for the béchamel:
- 50g butter
- 50g all-purpose flour
- 500g milk
- 500g feta cheese
- 1 egg
- Pepper
Ingredients you will need for the bougatsa:
- 200g feta cheese, grated
- 500g of phyllo dough (in sheets)
- 150g olive oil, for spreading on the phyllo
The steps:
- Heat the butter in a pot over medium heat.
- When the butter melts, add the flour to the pot and whisk until you have a thick paste. Scrape down the sides to make sure the flour doesn’t burn.
- Add the milk in batches whisking at the same time so that lumps are not formed in the béchamel.
- Remove pot from heat and crumble the feta. Add it to the pot along with the gruyere.
- Add the egg and pepper continuously whisking.
- Transfer the béchamel to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
- Preheat oven over 180ο C (355* F) Set to Fan.
- Add the phyllo one by one to a 30×40 cm baking pan. Brush with lots of olive oil between each phyllo.
- Spread the filling above the phyllo in the baking pan, leaving a 2 cm space from the edges.
- Cover with the rest of the phyllo, brushing with olive oil in between.
- Turn the edges of the phyllo inwards to make the brim of the pie.
- Score the top of the pie into 12 pieces, sprinkle with black sesame and bake for 40-50 minutes in the oven.
- Your Bougatsa Cheese is ready to eat! Enjoy!