Bulgarian bread with feta cheese
Called Tutmanik
Based on the recipe of my aunt Polya
Ingredients:
1 kg of flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Neutral oil
500 ml of warm water
1 package of dry yeast
3-4 eggs
300 g feta cheese
60 g butter
Preparation:
Sift the flour in a deep bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour in the salt, sugar, 7-8 tablespoons of oil and half a liter of warm water with the yeast dissolved in it. Knead a smooth dough. Let rest for about 1 hour.
Roll out the dough as for a large pizza. Then, cut a circle in the middle (12-14 cm in diameter). Sprinkle with oil and garnish with a little stuffing, made by whisking 3-4 eggs with the crumbled cheese. Wrap the piece of dough like a snail, cut in 2 lengthwise and place the two pieces vertically in the middle of a large baking dish (greased). Garnish the same way the rest of the dough (which has no middle). Then, Fold the dough over the filling, bringing first the inside over, then the outside. The result looks like a large pretzel.
Cut this “pretzel” into pieces 5-7 cm long. Place each vertically, round the first two pieces. Finally, brush the Bulgarian bread with melted butter and bake at 180°C for 30-40 minutes. Cool slightly (on a grid) before serving.
