Banitza
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Banitsa ( bg, баница, , also transliterated as banica and banitza) is a traditional pastry dish made in Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Southeastern Serbia (where it may also be referred to as
gibanica Gibanica ( sr-cyr, Гибаница, ) is a traditional pastry dish popular all over the Balkans. It is usually made with cottage cheese and eggs. Recipes can range from sweet to savoury, and from simple to festive and elaborate multi-layered ...
), prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs, natural yogurt and pieces of white brined cheese between
filo pastry Filo or phyllo is a very thin unleavened dough used for making pastries such as baklava and börek in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Filo-based pastries are made by layering many sheets of filo brushed with oil or butter; the pastry is then ...
and then baking it in an oven. Traditionally, lucky charms are put into the pastry on certain occasions, particularly on
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
. These charms may be coins or small symbolic objects (e.g., a small piece of a
dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...
branch with a bud, symbolizing health or longevity). More recently, people have started writing happy wishes on small pieces of paper and wrapping them in tin foil. Wishes may include happiness, health, or success throughout the new year (similar to fortune cookies). Banitsa is served for
breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...
with plain
yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...
, ayran, or boza. It can be eaten hot or cold. Some varieties include banitsa with
spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...
"спаначник" () or the sweet version, banitsa with
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
"млечна баница" () or
pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...
"тиквеник" ().


Etymology

The wor
баница
derives from the South Slavic гъбнѫти meaning "to fold." The word developed from the Proto-Slavic form *гыбаница > *гъбаница > *гбаница > баница.


Recipes


Dough

Traditionally, banitsa is made with homemade or commercially made pastry sheets that are prepared from a baker's hard dough made of
flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...
,
water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
, and salt. At home the sheets can be spread by continuously pulling the sheet of dough with one's fingers until it becomes less than a millimeter thin, or by using a rolling pin in several stages with
sunflower oil Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil pressed from the seeds of the sunflower (''Helianthus annuus''). Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient. Sunflower oil is primarily composed ...
sprinkled between the partially spread leaves, or by a very difficult technique comprising waving movements of the entire sheet over the head of the cook, which resembles pizza dough making techniques. Commercially available sheets are mechanically spread and somewhat dried before packing. Another sort of banitsa is called (тутманик) or (попарник) and is made with leavened sheets. The usual filling is cheese.


Filling

The traditional filling is made of crushed white cheese (
sirene Sirene ( sq, djathë i bardhë; bg, сирене ; mk, сирење; sr, сир, italics=no/) also known as "white brine sirene" ( bg, бяло саламурено сирене, links=no) is a type of brined cheese made in the Balkans (So ...
, feta cheese), yogurt, and eggs. Sometimes baking soda is added to the yogurt, which makes it rise (as the baking soda reacts with the acid in yogurt). The addition of baking soda results in a fluffier filling. Vegetable fillings include spinach, sorrel, docks, mangold, chards, beet leaves, nettles, leaves of the radishes,
leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...
s,
onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...
s and green part of spring onions,
parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...
, cabbage or
sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferme ...
. All these variants, including cabbage, are called (зелник), from the word зелен () 'green'. The leek variant is called (празник) and onion variant is called (лучник). In some regions of Bulgaria, the filling is made with rice. There are also meat fillings with minced meat, onions, and
mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
s. Sweet fillings with
apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
s (similar to apple pie or strudel) or pumpkin with sugar, walnuts and
cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...
exist as well. In some regions, only the walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon are used. The apple variant is called (щрудел), and the pumpkin variant is (тиквеник). Modern take on Banitsa with milk is made by baking the leaves soaked in milk with sugar, eggs and
vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...
.


Preparation

In a large greased baking dish, individual sheets are layered one by one with small amounts of filling and sunflower oil or/and melted butter between them. After half of the sheets are placed in the pan, a large portion of the filling is spooned onto the leaves and is then covered with the remaining sheets and filling in the same manner. The pastry is then baked at 200–250 °C. In some recipes, just before the banitsa is finished, a glass of lemonade or sparkling water is poured into the tray, and the baking continues for several more minutes. An alternative method of preparation is taking each sheet of dough, laying it out flat, and sprinkling some of the fillings on it. Then, the sheet is rolled up into a tight roll with the filling on the inside of the roll. The long roll is then taken and rolled up in a circle. This first sheet of dough is then placed in the baking pan. The process is repeated with the remaining sheets of dough and each consecutive roll is placed around the first one in the pan. The resulting shape resembles a spiral (see photo). The banitsa is then sprinkled with
sunflower oil Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil pressed from the seeds of the sunflower (''Helianthus annuus''). Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient. Sunflower oil is primarily composed ...
or melted butter and baked.


Symbolism

In Bulgaria, banitsa is a symbol of Bulgarian cuisine and traditions. Traditionally, Bulgarians prepare and serve banitsa on two holidays – Christmas and New Year's Eve.(Banitsa, Baniza, Banica) – The Famous Bulgarian Cheese Pastry
Banitza. Retrieved on 2011-06-15. On these days, people add (literally lucks, meaning fortunes, lucky charms) into the banitsa. The charms are usually small pieces of dogwood branch, which vary in numbers of buds on them. They symbolize health and longevity. The branches are hidden inside the banitsa, and the banitsa is then baked. When ready, the banitsa is cut to as many pieces as the members of the family are and each piece contains a dogwood branch. Two additional pieces of banitsa are cut - one for the house and another one for Virgin Mary who is the protector of the family. A wish is associated with each branch and the different number of buds on the branch helps to recognize the corresponding wish. The wishes include happiness, health, success, travel, etc. The banitsa is then spun on the table and everyone takes the piece which is in front of them when the spinning stops. Then they find their fortune inside the piece – the fortunes predict what one is to expect from the new year. The most common fortunes are "health", "love", "marriage", "baby", "journey", "wealth", etc. Alternatively or in addition to the , some add a coin or simply little pieces of paper with written fortunes on them (just like the ones in the fortune cookies). In this case, they are wrapped in tin foil to preserve them during baking. The word "banitsa" is used as a simile for something (mainly documents and paperwork) creased, or badly maintained. For example, a police officer can make a remark to someone about letting his or her passport "become like a banitsa" (станал е на баница); a teacher might say this about a pupil's notebook. The same can be said about a very badly crushed car after an accident.


See also

*
List of pastries This is a list of pastries, which are small buns made using a stiff dough enriched with fat. Some dishes, such as pies, are made of a pastry casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savory ingredients. There are fi ...


References


External links


Ralitsa's Famous BanitsaBanitsa onlineLonging for the Lingering Bulgarian Meal (banitsa recipe)
{{Pastries Bulgarian pastries Cheese dishes Egg dishes