The Devil’s Byrek

Arriving by furgon (minivan) from the rainy Berat into the sun-drenched valley where Gjirokaster is rooted, our eyes widen at the beautiful setting. Facing the snow-capped Gjëre mountain range, the old town of Gjirokaster, which comes from the ancient greek language meaning “Silver Castle” is a steep hike up from the new city below.

We were exploring the narrow alleyways of the old town when we meet a brother and sister duo – Kreshnik and Klotilda who are busy running Pica Liti. Liti is their family name and in Albanian, Pica is pronounced pizza, explaining the origin of its name. The fragrance of the wood oven fired bread fills the cobble-stone streets, drawing you into the warm interior of the small space. In the late morning, the entrance is crammed with students getting their snacks – cheese, spinach or meat byrek; calzone, sausage rolls or meatball sandwiches and in the evening it quietens down as the town slows to a halt.

“He is the devil!” laughs Klotilda. The back and forth playful bickering between the two siblings does not hinder their efficiency as they prepare more filling and portions for baking and the display case at the narrow entrance steadily fills up for the morning crowd. An appropriate nickname for someone who spends hours of their day in front of a fiery oven, but an extremely kind devil as Kreshnik has agreed to teach us how to make his version of Byrek.

Kreshnik opened his own place in the old town of Gjirokaster five years ago after having worked in Cork, Ireland for 8 years. He wakes up daily at five to personally churn out pizza dough, byrek dough, meatballs and bread in time for the morning rush. His bread making skills were picked up in Tirana from a friend who had himself learnt to make pizza from a Napolitan pizzaiolo in Manhattan. It is funny how a pizza dough recipe can itself travel like chinese whispers from its origins in Naples to the small town of Gjirokaster. It also reflects how some recipes and cultural aspects are able to travel long distances and break barriers into the palates and habits of local populations.

Pizza is not the only italian import into Albania, Italy’s strong and complex historic influence in Albania can be seen by the fact that a large part of the population speaks fluent italian and grew up with italian radio and television. It is also visible through the presence of numerous italian brands including supermarket chains like Conad and ice cream brands like Sammontana. Most importantly, it has the best espresso I have tasted since we left Italy.

However, today it is all about a local recipe for Byrek. In Albanian it is written with a “y” instead of “burek” or “börek”, but it is pronounced as “boo-reck”. Byrek and its varieties can be traditionally found in most countries which were influenced by the Ottoman Empire. It is usually a portable snack, different types of pastry filled with savoury and sometimes sweet fillings. It is either baked in a large pan or in individual portions.

Historically, byrek has its origins from Turkish cuisine, having been developed by the Turks of Central Asia before their westwards migration to Anatolia. While we are travelling East, we are lucky enough to learn a version of a recipe which has travelled West.

The Albanian byrek is usually triangular in shape and is more traditional to southern Albania, but can be found all over the country. The recipe that Kreshnik has shared with us is a simplified version instead of the more complicated traditional version he learnt from his grandmother and mother. If you are feeling adventurous you could also make multiple layers and be more generous with the filling. It is a flexible recipe in terms of what you fill it with, but the variations of fillings we came across are listed below.

Making byrek at home is a rather laborious affair, but once you get used to handling the yeast-less dough, the rest is easy and you will be rewarded with a delicious smelling kitchen to boot!  

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ALBANIAN BYREK \ˌbɛrɪk\

For the Pastry

These are the original quantities, it will make a large amount. I suggest halving it if you want to make less, just lower the quantities without changing the proportions

1 litre water
1 kg white bread flour
2 eggs
1/8 cup salt 
1/8 cup sugar 
2tbsp vegetable oil (extra oil for rolling out) 
2 tbsp melted butter

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or in a kitchen aid mixer until you get a soft dough, knead it a little while keeping the dough soft. It should be at the “tacky” stage, soft and malleable, but not sticking to your hands, add some flour if it is too wet.

When the dough is ready, separate into balls about the size of your fist – this will be for each individual byrek. Place them in a lightly oiled tray and cover with clear plastic wrap to put in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to use them the next day, take them out about an hour before and let sit at room temperature, your dough is now ready to use.

For the Filling

As mentioned before, there are various fillings you can use:

Meat & Onions
Fry the onions in some vegetable oil until caramelized and soft then add the minced meat (beef or pork) until cooked through and your favourite herbs, season to taste.

Spinach and Ricotta
This does not require cooking before, simply mix the raw spinach with some salt, pepper and ricotta, top with herbs (they usually use oregano, but it is up to you).

Pumpkin
Roast some peeled pumpkin or butternut squash pieces in the oven and puree the cooked squash, add some salt to taste. I think it would be even better roasted with some rosemary and garlic, you could add some of your favourite toasted nuts too.

For the Byrek

Heat the oven to your highest setting (300C or more, but 250C should do too), if you have a bread baking/pizza stone even better, but it should work without one too.

Put some oil with your hand or a pastry brush on the surface where you will stretch out the dough, the best is a marble top or metal surface where the dough will not stick.

Stretch out your ball of dough and pull lightly at the edges till you get an almost transparent rectangle. It is ok if the dough breaks a bit at the edges and you end up with some holes, this will be made up for once you fold the byrek.

Take the edges of the dough and fold the two vertical sides into a rectangle, leaving some space in the middle. Take your filling of choice and put it in the middle of the rectangle then take the edges of the dough and fold them on top of the filling, creating a big triangle or rectangle. If you want a more elaborate byrek, you could even do multiple layers, but this is the simplest way to keep the filling wrapped inside.

Oil the pan you will bake them in and place them in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the byrek look golden and done.

Let cool down slightly on a rack, but enjoy them while they’re hot!