Name: Vlaška plašinta sa sirom
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 34 min
Total time: 2 h 59 min
Yield: 8 filled plašinte
Cuisine: Vlach / Eastern Serbian
Ingredients: 600 g plain wheat flour; 7 g instant dry yeast; 10 g granulated sugar; 10 g fine salt; 360 ml water, lukewarm; 14 g sunflower oil, for the dough; 300 g pasteurized aged white cheese, crumbled; 150 g pasteurized whole egg, beaten; 1000 ml sunflower oil

Yield 8 filled plašinte

Preparation time 50 minutes

Cooking time 34 minutes

Passive time 95 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Vlach-style cheese plašinta with risen yeast dough and a fully cooked fried centre

Vlaška plašinta sits closer to a filled fried bread than to a thin batter pancake. Eastern-Serbian accounts describe a yeast dough that is rolled into a sheet, spread or filled with cheese and egg, folded to contain the filling and cooked in hot fat. Shapes vary—round, polygonal, letter-folded or half-moon—but the practical identity remains a thin dough parcel with a savoury centre.

The dough here is deliberately soft and bread-like. It receives a full first rise so the gluten relaxes and the finished shell has internal aeration rather than the dense chew of an unleavened wrapper. After division and filling, the parcels rest again. That second interval is shorter and serves a different purpose: it releases tension from rolling and gives the sealed dough a slight lift before it meets the oil.

The filling is kept compact: aged white cheese and pasteurized whole egg. A wetter mixture would be difficult to seal and more hazardous around hot oil because even a small leak can spit. Crushing the cheese before adding the egg creates a thick spread that stays away from the rim. The fold must therefore be treated as a cooking control, not a decorative pattern.

Frying temperature determines whether the dough and centre finish together. Oil far below the target soaks into the surface while the dough remains pale; oil far above it can darken the outside before the centre cooks. Holding the oil near 175 °C and frying only two parcels at a time gives enough recovery between loads. A measured temperature is more reliable than judging the oil by bubbles around a scrap of dough.

A browned crust still does not prove that the thickest centre is ready. One test plašinta should be checked where dough layers overlap and where the egg-cheese filling is deepest. The dough needs to show no raw line, and the filling should reach 71.1 °C. That makes the centre criterion explicit rather than assuming hot oil has done the job merely because the exterior looks finished.

The brief draining rest after frying is part of the eating quality. Steam escapes, the crust remains crisp and the filling stops being dangerously hot at the first bite. The parcels are best served soon after that rest, when the contrast between fried shell and soft cheese centre is strongest.

Practical

Roll evenlyThick central patches lag behind the browned edges.
Keep filling away from the rimA clean border produces a safer, tighter seal.
Measure the oilHold it around 175 °C and let it recover before the next pair.

Ingredients

Yeast dough

600 g plain wheat flour
7 g instant dry yeast
10 g granulated sugar
10 g fine salt
360 ml water, lukewarm
14 g sunflower oil, for the dough

Cheese filling

300 g pasteurized aged white cheese, crumbled
150 g pasteurized whole egg, beaten

For frying

1000 ml sunflower oil

Directions

Knead the doughCombine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the lukewarm water and the 14 g sunflower oil, then knead for about 15 minutes until the dough is soft and elastic. The dough is ready when it stretches without tearing immediately and remains soft rather than stiff.
Complete the first riseCover the bowl and leave the dough for 60 minutes. The first rise is complete when the dough is approximately doubled and feels aerated throughout.
Mix the cheese fillingMash the pasteurized aged white cheese, then blend in the beaten pasteurized whole egg until no pockets of loose egg remain. The filling should be thick enough to spread without running from a tilted spoon.
Fill and foldDivide the dough into eight equal pieces and roll each one thin. Spread the filling over the centre while keeping the rim clean, fold the edges inward to make a flat sealed parcel and pinch every meeting edge firmly. Each parcel should be evenly thin, fully enclosed and firmly pinched so no wet filling reaches the edge.
Rest the shaped parcelsCover the eight folded pieces and leave them for 30 minutes before frying. The rested parcels should look slightly puffed but still remain flat enough to fry evenly.
Stabilize the oilPour the 1000 ml sunflower oil into a wide heavy pot, keeping ample headroom, and heat it with a frying thermometer clipped away from the base. Allow about 10 minutes for the temperature to settle. The oil is ready when it stabilizes at 175 °C after being stirred and checked away from the pan base.
Fry in four pairsLower two plašinte into the 175 °C oil and fry, turning once, for roughly 6 minutes for the pair. Repeat with the remaining parcels, allowing the oil to return toward the target between pairs; total frying time is about 24 minutes. A test plašinta is cooked through when the centre has no raw dough line and the egg-cheese filling reaches 71.1 °C.
Drain before servingLift each finished parcel onto a wire rack or absorbent paper and leave for 5 minutes so excess oil and the hottest steam can escape. The plašinte are ready to eat when the crust remains crisp and the centre is hot without releasing raw dough or liquid egg.

Practical

Serving

Serve plašinte hot after draining. Yoghurt or cultured milk is a common partner because its acidity cuts the richness of the fried dough and cheese centre without adding another heavy component.

Planning

An overnight refrigerator rise can replace the warm first rise if the dough is covered well, but the dough must be allowed to become workable before rolling. Do not fill the parcels hours in advance: the salted cheese can pull moisture into the dough and weaken the seal.

Leftovers

Refrigerate cooked plašinte within two hours at 4 °C or below and use within 3 days. Reheat until the centre reaches 74 °C. A moderate oven or dry pan restores the crust more effectively than a covered moist reheating method.

Control points

The crust browns before the centre cooksGuidance: The oil is too hot or the parcel is too thick.Adjustment: Return the oil to 175 °C and roll later pieces more evenly.
The plašinte absorb too much oilGuidance: Crowding has cooled the frying medium.Adjustment: Cook only two at a time and let the temperature recover.
Cheese escapes into the oilGuidance: Filling reached the rim or the fold was weak.Adjustment: Leave a clean border and pinch the seams before the shaped rest.

Nutrition

Serving size1 of 8 plašinte
Calories570 kcal
Carbohydrates60 g
Protein17 g
Fat28 g
Fibre2 g
Sodium900 mg

These figures are approximate and will vary with brands, trimming, absorption and exact portioning.

Allergens and food safety

Contains gluten from wheat, dairy and egg. Use pasteurized cheese and pasteurized eggs. Keep the frying pot no more than half full, keep water away from hot oil and hold the frying temperature around 175 °C. The deepest egg-cheese filling should reach 71.1 °C. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours at 4 °C or below and reheat them to 74 °C.

FAQ

Why fry only two at a time?

A smaller load limits the temperature drop when cold dough enters the oil. That gives the crust and centre a more predictable cooking rate.

Is a brown crust enough to judge the centre?

No. The overlapping dough and egg-cheese filling can lag behind the exterior, so a test parcel should show no raw dough and reach the egg-dish temperature in the filling.

Result: Crisp fried parcels with aerated yeast dough and a hot cheese-and-egg centre that is cooked through, not doughy.

Key: Seal cleanly, hold the oil at 175 °C and verify the deepest filling reaches 71.1 °C.