Gibanica - Serbian Cheese Pie

Step 1

Roughly mash the feta cheese with a fork in a large bowl.

Step 2

Add the lightly beaten eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, whole milk and add salt to taste. The amount of salt you need depends on how salty the feta cheese is, you should definitely try the mixture and add salt accordingly.

Step 3

Grease the baking dish (approximately 30x22 cm/ 12x9 inches) with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Step 4

Open the packet of dough, take out two sheets of dough, while keeping the rest covered at all times. Cover the dough you are not working with with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out. Work quickly.

Step 5

Place the first two dough sheets in the greased baking dish. The dough sheets should hang over the edges of the baking dish, when you are finished with filling the pie, you will seal it using these overlapping pieces of dough.

Step 6

Place the bowl with the cheese slurry next to the baking dish. Take one dough sheet out of the packet, crumple it a bit (it doesn't matter if it breaks a little) and dip and run it through the cheese mixture.

Step 7

Press it lightly into your hand to give it a rough round shape and place this crumpled dough into the baking dish.

Step 8

Make sure to keep two last sheets of dough to close the pie, but otherwise use as many pieces of dough as needed to fill the baking dish.

Step 9

Pour the remaining cheese mixture over the crumpled dough in the dish.

Step 10

Fold the overlapping sheets of dough over the pie.

Step 11

Take the last two sheets of dough and place them over the pie as well.

Step 12

Mix together the remaining olive oil and 2 tablespoons hot water. Brush the top of the pie with this mixture and leave it to soak on the counter while you preheat the oven, my convection oven needs about 10 minutes to get hot.

Step 13

Preheat the convection oven to 170 degrees Celsius/ 340 degrees Fahrenheit or a regular oven to 190 degrees Celsius/ 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 14

Bake the gibanica for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and set.

Step 15

Serve hot or cold as suggested above.