Comments on Annie's Art Book: " Zelnik" - Potato and leek phyllo dough pastry

According ( again) to Wikipedia, Zelnik is a type ...

2008-11-23T16:11:05.546-08:00

According ( again) to Wikipedia, Zelnik is a type of Banitsa. So technically, we are all right. I have no idea how it is called in Macedonia, although my grandfather is from Skopje, but I am born in Bulgaria and in my region in Bulgaria this is called Zelnik ( I've explained why in the beginning of my post). Ask in a Bulgarian or Macedonia forum for a Zelnk recipe and watch to see how many different recipes you are going to get. I've tried it and counted around 34 different ways of making the so called Zelnik.
So as you see, each geographical region within a country can call it the way they want, let alone two different countries, and they still would be right for themselves.
As for the phyllo I've particularly mentioned in the beginning of my post it is not usually made from commercial phyllo dough ( I've eve posted step-by-step instruction on how to roll out yourself), but you have to agree that very few people would give the recipe a try if they can't substitute the hours of rolling out themselves. Is it the same in taste- definitely no, but I've mentioned that in the recipe as well.
I don't think this is so important though as to pay it that much attention as you did. Now somebody from Turkey would come up and claim they have Turkish name for the same pastry. So what? Does this make it less delicious? All the Balkan nationalities have been together long enough to be brothers by blood and use the similar ( if not the same) words for stuff. Don't you think?
It's not about " mine" and " yours", "right" and "wrong" it's about how our differences bring us closer.

That isn't Zelnik, that's BANITSA. In Bulgaria it'...

2008-11-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

That isn't Zelnik, that's BANITSA. In Bulgaria it's called BANITSA. The Zelnik is all Macedonian name because we DO use brinned cabbage in our filling (see wikipedia). Zelnik isn't made with comercially sheets of phillo, it's made with traditionally rolled phillo, and when it's roled up with the filling and everything, the rolles aren't placed all in the baking dish. In the center must be a hile which is filled with a lot of filling than closed with a phillo. I'm from Macedonia and I make Zelnik since I was 10, so I tell you that this is not Zelnik.
I'm very sorry if I caused some inconvinience, it's just I want the things to be right.
Best regards
PS.Your blog is very good.

Yes, you can make it really thin, almost transpare...

2008-09-06T06:52:19.995-07:00

Yes, you can make it really thin, almost transparent, but this depends on the experience that the person who is rolling it out has, not the recipe. It takes time to learn to do that and I am not sure you are going to be able to do it the first time, but here is a suggestion- try rolling it out with a pasta machine first on the thinnest setting, then do it with the rolling pin on top. I think it is going to give you a good start with the thickness. Don't get discouraged if you can't make it right the first time, keep trying! My grandmother showed me how to do it a long time ago but it really takes time to get it right. For the Zelnik recipe I recommend after you roll out each sheet, let it rest for some time on top of big piece of paper ( or cloth). For the zelnik recipe you don't need to brush with butter or use egg. Just make the zelnik recipe with the dough from the Burek, the difference is the Zelnik sheets are thinner.
One other trick is when you roll the sheet ON the rolling pin, roll it outwards with your hands ON the table! This makes the sheet really thin, but it takes practice and you have to make sure you have sprinkled enough flour on top of the sheet before you roll it on the rolling pin, otherwise it will stick to itself when you try to roll it out this way.
Good luck and if you have any questions, write me!

I'm going to try tomorrow. My mother says that the...

2008-09-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try tomorrow. My mother says that the recipe in the link is almost the same as the one she tried for the dough, her's used oil instead of butter and did not include the egg.

Is it possible to get that dough as thin as the store bought stuff? I don't know if it was technique and 60 years of practice or a different dough recipe, but my grandmother got her dough at least as this as the store bought stuff, maybe thinner, it was like tracing paper.

Thanks

Dan

Take a look at this posting ( it is my recipe on t...

2008-09-05T17:36:18.119-07:00

Take a look at this posting ( it is my recipe on this blog for turkish burek). It's the same recipe and technique, you just have to roll it out a little bit thinner.
Good luck and let me know if it works out for you!

Hi!OH MY GOD!!!! I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THIS FO...

2008-09-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hi!

OH MY GOD!!!! I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THIS FOR YEARS!!!!!!!

I'm Macedonian. My Grandmother used to make that, she called it pita, with all sorts of different fillings. When I was a little boy everyone else in the family liked it with cheese and spinach but I liked it with meat and leaks, so my grandmother would make an entire tray just for me.

My grandmother died around 11 years ago and I have never been able to find one the same way she made it.

My mother remembers how she made the filling that is no problem, but the dough is a different story. My mother has tried, and I have bought pita from various European delis, but the dough is never right.

Everyone else seems to have about millimeter thik dough, that is way too thick for me. My grandmothers looked just like yours, with super thin flaky dough.

My mother has tried using store bought dough, while it is this enough, it's not the same as homemade. If you could give me the recipe for the dough and explain the process of rolling it out to get it so thin you would make my father and I the happiest guys on earth.

My email address is dgalevski(AT)hotmail.com.

Thanks

Dan