Strukli (Štrukli) — Croatian Cheese-Filled Pastry

• 300 gall-purpose flour
• 175 mlwarm water (about 38°C)
• 4 gfine sea salt
• 1 tbspneutral sunflower oil
• 500 gfresh farmer cheese (Croatian svježi sir style, well drained)
• 2large eggs
• 10 ggranulated sugar (optional but traditional in many mildly savory home versions)
• 300 gsour cream (full-fat)
• 1egg yolk
• 40 gunsalted butter

Instructions

1. 1

   Combine 300 g flour and 4 g salt in a wide bowl, then add the warm water and sunflower oil. Mix with a fork until shaggy, then knead on the counter for 8 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky.

2. 2

   Shape the dough into a ball, brush it with a thin film from the bowl if any oil remains, and cover it with an inverted bowl. Rest it at room temperature for 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes enough for the hand-stretched štrukli sheet.

3. 3

   While the dough rests, mash the fresh farmer cheese with the eggs, 3 g salt, and 10 g sugar until the filling is creamy but still slightly textured. Keep the filling chilled if your kitchen is warmer than 24°C, because a firm filling is easier to spread and roll.

4. 4

   Heat the oven to 190°C and butter a 30 cm by 22 cm baking dish with 15 g of the butter. Mix the sour cream with the egg yolk in a bowl until completely smooth, because this topping gives baked Zagorski strukli its soft custardy crust.

5. 5

   Dust a clean tablecloth with 20 g flour and roll the dough into a rough rectangle. Slide your knuckles under the dough and gently stretch it from the center outward until it is about 55 cm by 45 cm and thin enough to see the cloth pattern faintly through it.

6. 6

   Spread the cheese filling in an even band over the lower two-thirds of the dough, leaving a 3 cm border on the sides. Lift the edge of the tablecloth to roll the dough into a long, loose cylinder, keeping the seam underneath so the štrukli do not open during baking.

7. 7

   Use the side of a plate or a floured wooden spoon handle to press the roll into 12 equal pillows, each about 7 cm long, then cut through the pressed seams with a knife. This sealing-and-cutting method is traditional for strukli because it closes the edges without squeezing out the cheese.

8. 8

   Arrange the pillows snugly in the buttered dish and spoon the sour cream mixture evenly over the top. Dot with the remaining 25 g butter, making sure a little butter sits between pieces so the edges bake tender rather than dry.

9. 9

   Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cream is bubbling and the top is golden in patches. Rest the baked štrukli for 10 minutes before serving, because the cheese filling firms slightly and the pieces lift out more cleanly.