Su Boregi (Water Borek) - Give Recipe (2024)

Published: · Modified: by

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Turkish Water Borek aka Su Boregi is the star of all Turkish borek recipes. Homemade phyllo sheets are slightly cooked in simmering water, which gives the name of this special borek. Line the cooked phyllo sheets in a pan, brush with butter and stuff with feta and parsley. Super yummy!

Su Boregi (Water Borek) - Give Recipe (1)

When it is served with Turkish tea or plain yogurt drink, su boregi makes a perfect breakfast or lunch.

We know the name water borek sounds weird but it has a reason for sure. What gives its name is one of the steps of the recipe instructions. Homemade phyllo sheets are cooked in simmering water and then stuffed and baked.

That’s why it’s called su boregi (Water Borek). It is the best when you use homemade phyllo sheets, so it’s better if you can get help from someone to make Turkish su boregi.

Ingredients For Turkish Su Boregi

  • Borek Filling: In Turkish cuisine you can make borek filling with anything you like. From ground beef to cheese and vegetables. All of these are very customizable. However, su böregi filling is always with cheese like feta cheese. If you can’t find feta or feta crumbles, use a crumbly cheese that doesn’t melt when baked. Optionally, you can combine the cheese with parsley. Besides cheese and parsley, we need melted butter to spread on the layers of phyllo sheets.
  • Dough: To make the phyllo sheets is very similar to making pasta without machine. We need flour, milk and eggs for the dough. It won’t be very soft due to the eggs.
  • To Cook the Phyllo Sheets: We need boiling water in a pot, cold water in a large bowl, salt and oil.
  • For the golden top: Just like when making easy phyllo borek, we need a mixture of egg, olive oil and yogurt. If you don’t have yogurt on hand, you can use milk instead.
Su Boregi (Water Borek) - Give Recipe (2)
Su Boregi (Water Borek) - Give Recipe (3)
Su Boregi (Water Borek) - Give Recipe (4)

How To Make Turkish Water Borek

Make The Filling

Combine feta cheese and chopped parsley in a bowl and put it aside. Also, keep the melted butter in another bowl on the side.

Make The Phyllo Sheets

Combine flour, milk and eggs in a large bowl. Knead it well either with your hands or in your stand mixer. Add little flour if necessary. It won’t be a soft dough.

Now transfer the dough on the counter, roll it into a log and cut it into 10 balls. Cover them with a damp kitchen towel so that they don’t dry when you are rolling them out one by one.

Dust the counter with a little flour each time you roll out a dough ball. Stack the phyllo sheets on the counter.

Make sure you sprinkle a generous amount of flour between each so that they don’t stick. Brush a baking sheet with oil or use a cooking spray. Place an uncooked phyllo sheet in the baking sheet as the bottom of your water borek. Then cook the remaining phyllo sheets. Read on to learn how.

Related: How To Make Phyllo Dough Sheets

Cook The Phyllo Sheets In Simmering Water

Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Fill a large bowl with cold water and put it aside. With the help of a thin rolling pin, take the phyllo sheet to the pot and drop it into the simmering water. Keep it there for 2 minutes and take it out with a large slotted spoon. Transfer it into the cold water to stop cooking. Keep it there for a few seconds and then transfer it on a clean kitchen towel. Repeat the same steps for the remaining phyllo sheets.

Assemble The Börek

Remember the first phyllo sheet you place uncooked in the baking sheet? Brush the top of it with melted butter. Now place a cooked phyllo sheet on that first one. Brush it with melted butter too. Repeat with 3 more phyllo sheets. Spread the cheese mixture on the fifth phyllo sheet. Place the 6th phyllo sheet on it. Brush it with melted butter and repeat with the remaining sheets.

In another bow, whisk together the egg, yogurt and olive oil. Spread this mixture on the top sheet generously. And finally bake it in a preheated oven at 350F/180C. for about 40 minutes or until golden. Cut it into squares and serve.

Su Boregi (Water Borek) - Give Recipe (5)

More Turkish Pastries

  • Sigara Borek
  • Spinach and Cheese Borek
  • Gozleme
  • Simit
  • Pogaca
  • Lavash Bread

You might also like:

  • Menemen Recipe
  • Best Turkish Kebab Recipes
  • Manti Recipe (Turkish Ravioli)
  • Turkish Doner Kebab Recipe

As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!

Sign up for the FREE GiveRecipe Newsletter to get the new recipes into your inbox! And stay in touch with us on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram for all the latest updates.

Print

Su Boregi (Water Borek)

Su Boregi (Water Borek) - Give Recipe (10)

Print Recipe

5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

Homemade phyllo sheets are slightly cooked in simmering water, then stuffed with feta cheese and baked in oven.

  • Author:
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Turkish

Ingredients

Scale

Filling:

  • 500g feta cheese
  • Half bunch of parsley
  • 200g butter, melted

Phyllo Sheet Dough:

  • 10 cups flour
  • 1 ¼ cup milk
  • 6 eggs

To cook the phyllo sheets

  • 3lt water to boil
  • 3lt cold water
  • ½ tbsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Topping

  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ½ cup yogurt

Instructions

Make The Filling

  1. Combine cheese and chopped parsley in a bowl and put it aside. Also, keep the melted butter in another bowl on the side.

Make The Phyllo Sheets

  1. Combine flour, milk and eggs in a large bowl. Knead it well either with your hands or in your stand mixer. Add little flour if necessary. It won’t be a soft dough. Now transfer the dough on the counter, roll it into a log and cut it into 10 balls. Cover them with a damp kitchen towel so that they don’t dry when you are rolling them out one by one. Dust the counter with a little flour each time you roll out a dough ball. Stack the phyllo sheets on the counter. Make sure you sprinkle a generous amount of flour between each so that they don’t stick. Brush a baking sheet with oil or use a cooking spray. Place an uncooked phyllo sheet in the baking sheet as the bottom of your water borek. Then cook the remaining phyllo sheets. Read on to learn how.

Cook The Phyllo Sheets In Simmering Water

  1. Fill a large pot with water, add in salt and olive oil. Bring it to a boil. Fill a large bowl with cold water and put it aside. With the help of a thin rolling pin, take the phyllo sheet to the pot and drop it into the simmering water. Keep it there for 2 minutes and take it out with a large slotted spoon. Transfer it into the cold water to stop cooking. Keep it there for a few seconds and then transfer it on a clean kitchen towel. Repeat the same steps for the remaining phyllo sheets.

Assemble The Börek

  1. Remember the first phyllo sheet you place uncooked in the baking sheet? Brush the top of it with melted butter. Now place a cooked phyllo sheet on that first one. Brush it with melted butter too. Repeat with 3 more phyllo sheets. Spread the cheese mixture on the fifth phyllo sheet. Place the 6th phyllo sheet on it. Brush it with melted butter and repeat with the remaining sheets.
  2. In another bow, whisk together the egg, yogurt and olive oil. Spread this mixture on the top sheet generously. And finally bake it in a preheated oven at 350F/180C. for about 40 minutes or until golden.
  3. Cut it into squares and serve.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 739
  • Sugar: 3.9 g
  • Sodium: 756 mg
  • Fat: 34.6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 83.4 g
  • Protein: 22.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 185.5 mg

« Turkish Acuka Breakfast Spread

Keşkül - Turkish Almond Pudding »

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply

  1. Nedine Moir says

    Can you use ready made fills pastry

    Reply

    • Yusuf says

      Hi Nedine, unfortunately store bought filo pastry won't give the same result.

      Reply

  2. Faye Levy says

    I was just eating tasty su boregi and was wondering how to make it. Your recipe is very interesting. Seeing the boiled sheets of dough reminded me of lasagne and made me wonder whether you could use dough rolled in sheets using a pasta machine, or even whether you could make it from good quality purchase lasagne noodles, maybe with phyllo dough for the top and bottom layers.

    Reply

    • Yusuf says

      Hi Faye! Honestly, it's not a recipe I make often because it needs effort and time. You've made me curious too about using a good quality lasagna noodles. Worth trying.

      Reply

  3. elra says

    You are truly amazing and talented cook. I can't get over it!

    Reply

« Older Comments

Su Boregi (Water Borek) - Give Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Borek made of? ›

Borek is made with filo pastry, the paper thin pastry that is mostly used layered to get the signature flakiness. Also known as phyllo pastry, it is used to make both savoury and sweet pastries in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, such as Baklava and Spanakopita.

What is the meaning of Su Borek? ›

The very popular Turkish “Su Börek“ (means “Water Borek“) is made from flaky thin phyllo dough and filled with premium white cheese.

Do you eat Borek hot or cold? ›

A borek may be prepared in a large pan and cut into portions after baking, or as individual pastries. They are usually baked but some varieties can be fried. Borek is sometimes sprinkled with sesame or nigella seeds, and it can be served hot or cold.

Does Borek contain egg? ›

Types of Borek

It involves phyllo pastry and some type of filling, like a spiced meat and onion mixture, spinach and cheese, or just plain cheese. In Turkey, they brush the pastry with yogurt and egg. They can be folded in triangles, rolled into a cigar shape, or laid out onto a baking pan, like in this recipe.

What nationality is burek? ›

The burek – and its alternative spelling borek – is a Turkish, Middle Eastern and East European pastry often eaten as a snack from a small food stall or street vendor. In one of its forms, phyllo-like dough is rolled into a long tube which is then overlapped and coiled beside or around itself.

What is the difference between borek and spanakopita? ›

Turkish borek and Greek spanakopita come from the same family of pastry. However, the two often differ in preparation and texture, with Greek spanakopita often having a flakier, puffier crust. Is it burek or borek? Both spellings of this pastry are technically correct, depending on the country.

Is borek Turkish or Greek? ›

The Turkish dish, burek (pronounced booh-REK) consists of crispy filled filo dough pockets. Unrisen filo dough is rolled out until paper-thin, and the dough is then filled and shaped into half-moons, spirals, cigars or flowers.

What is the Greek version of borek? ›

But the equivalent for whole Greece would be tiropita (cheese pie, or peynir böreği). Greeks make it either with feta cheese (close to beyaz peynir) or kaşar (kaseri). Its not “wet” as the Turkish börek. And its a bit more salty and with heavier and crunchier crust.

When should I eat borek? ›

Eaten at breakfast, lunch or any time throughout the day as a snack, there really isn't a bad time to eat börek.

Are borek healthy? ›

Borek also known as Burek can be described as a meal that should be consumed in moderation because it is a hefty source of calories from fats as well as carbs.

What is the difference between baklava and borek? ›

Borek dough is just about twice as thick with a #9 thickness. Next, where baklava uses butter between the layers, borek uses a combination of eggs and milk. Brushing an egg & milk mixture on each sheet of borek dough will soften the dough and create a more substantial foundation for the savory fillings.

Is borek savory or sweet? ›

Borek, a type of savory pastry that originated during the Ottoman era, is a highly customizable and versatile dish that is commonly enjoyed both at meals and for snacks.

What is the best Turkish cheese? ›

WORLD FAMOUS TURKISH CHEESES
  • Divle Obruk Cheese: Divle Obruk Cheese, known as the Turkish Roquefort, is one of the best quality 5 cheeses in the world with its unique taste and aroma. ...
  • Kars Gruyere: Kars Gruyere is one of the most famous Turkish cheeses in the world with its tang, rich odor, and flavour.
May 16, 2023

Is burek Turkish or Bosnian? ›

Like many other dishes of traditional Bosnian cuisine, burek recipe has its origins in Turkish cuisine. In fact, there is a borek dish in Turkey, and you can find more about it in this blog post. Thus, with the Turkish conquests, Burek came to Bosnia, but here it gained a local twist and a different meaning.

What is in a Turkish breakfast? ›

Accordingly, a classic Turkish breakfast is generally comprised of black and green olives, cucumbers, cured meats, dips and sauces, eggs, fresh cheeses, fresh tomatoes, fresh-baked bread, fruit preserves and jams, honey, pastries, and sweet butter.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Merrill Bechtelar CPA

Last Updated:

Views: 6237

Rating: 5 / 5 (70 voted)

Reviews: 85% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Merrill Bechtelar CPA

Birthday: 1996-05-19

Address: Apt. 114 873 White Lodge, Libbyfurt, CA 93006

Phone: +5983010455207

Job: Legacy Representative

Hobby: Blacksmithing, Urban exploration, Sudoku, Slacklining, Creative writing, Community, Letterboxing

Introduction: My name is Merrill Bechtelar CPA, I am a clean, agreeable, glorious, magnificent, witty, enchanting, comfortable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.