Baking on Aleš Lončar

Soft Burger Buns

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Instructions Link to heading

Warm the milk and butter together in a bowl until just lukewarm.
Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar, leave for a few minutes until the yeast starts to react.
Add the flour and knead the dough.
Add the egg and salt, then knead again until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
Remove the dough from the bowl, shape it into a ball, place it in a floured bowl, cover with cling film or a damp kitchen towel, and let it rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place.
Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Knead the dough briefly again, divide it into 6-8 pieces, and shape them into balls.
Place the buns on the prepared tray with some space between them and gently flatten them.
Leave them to rise for another 15 minutes, covered. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200 °C.
Mix the egg yolk with the cream and carefully brush the buns. If you like, sprinkle them with seeds or sea salt.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.
The burger buns are best when still slightly warm from the oven.

Dough after the first rise, before shaping the buns.

Shaped buns before the second rise.

Leave them to rise for another 15 minutes.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.

The burger buns are best when still slightly warm from the oven.

Served as a burger with a homemade patty, cheese, ... and a lot of sauce. 😋

Notes Link to heading

These buns are great not only for burgers, but also for sandwiches or as a simple homemade bread roll.

Makedonska Pogača

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Instructions Link to heading

Crumble the cheese into a bowl.
Add the eggs, sour milk, oil, baking powder, flour, and a little salt.
Mix everything into a soft batter or dough.
Grease a baking tray well and spread the mixture into it. (You can also use baking paper if you prefer.)
Bake in a preheated oven until the pogača is golden and cooked through.
Serve warm, ideally with sour sheep milk if you have it.

Bake in a preheated oven until the pogača is golden and cooked through.

Serve warm, here with a sour cream.

The original recipe uses sour milk and baking powder, but I sometimes make it with kefir instead of sour milk. Another variation I have tried is replacing the baking powder with 100 g of sourdough starter, which gives it a slightly different character.

Mantije

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Instructions Link to heading

Mix the flour with salt and gradually add water until you get a soft dough.
Knead the dough well, then divide it into three equal parts and shape them into balls.
Cover the dough balls with cling film or a cloth and let them rest for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Finely chop the onions and garlic, then mix them with the minced meat, salt, and pepper using your hands.
After the dough has rested, stretch each ball to about 20 cm in diameter and brush it with 3 tablespoons of butter.
If you have a large work surface, stack the sheets on top of each other and roll them out into one large thin crust. Otherwise, roll them out separately.
Place the meat filling along the edge of the dough across its full length, then brush with a little more butter.
Roll the dough into a long snake-like roll and cut it into pieces about 3-4 cm wide.
Shape each piece into a small ball and arrange them in a baking pan.
Pour melted butter or cream over the top.
Preheat the oven to 250 °C and bake for at least 30 minutes, or until the mantije are nicely browned.
Optionally, pour a sauce made from sour milk or yogurt mixed with finely chopped garlic over the baked mantije, then return them to the oven for a few minutes until the sauce turns golden.

Chop the onions and garlic, then mix them with the minced meat, salt, and pepper using your hands.

After the dough has rested, stretch each ball to about 20 cm in diameter and brush it with 3 tablespoons of butter.

Place the meat filling along the edge of the dough across its full length, then brush with a little more butter.

Roll the dough into a long snake-like roll and cut it into pieces about 3-4 cm wide.

Shape each piece into a small ball and arrange them in a baking pan.

Notes Link to heading

The preparation is not exactly easy. For the dough, you only need wheat flour, salt, and water, but the tricky part is rolling it out very thin. The best way is over a table covered with a linen cloth, brushed with a little butter.

Pereci

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Form the spiral into a ring and gently press the ends together

Instructions Link to heading

Start by preparing the yeast mixture: crumble the yeast into a bowl, then add 2 tablespoons of lukewarm milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of flour.
Once the yeast has activated, mix it into the flour.
Knead everything together into a medium-firm dough. When the dough becomes elastic, add the lard or oil.
Knead until the dough is smooth and develops bubbles. Flatten it slightly in a bowl and cover it with a clean kitchen towel.
Leave the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into pencil-thick rolls.
Shape each roll into a circle, then cut it in half and twist the two strands into a spiral.
Form the spiral into a ring and gently press the ends together.
Let the shaped dough rise for about 20 minutes. Brush with beaten egg and milk, then bake.
Bake in a conventional oven at 200 °C until golden, then reduce the heat to 175 °C and bake until fully cooked, about 10 minutes in total.
Cover the baked rolls with a kitchen towel so they stay soft.

Once the yeast has activated, mix it into the flour.

When the dough becomes elastic, add the lard or oil.

Leave the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Notes Link to heading

There are many versions of this recipe. Pereci were brought from neighboring Hungary to Slovenia and are especially typical of Prekmurje, where different ethnic communities have long lived side by side.