BOUGATSA

A type of savory or sweet pie, originating from Byzantium, the BOUGATSA arrived from Istanbul to Serres and Thessaloniki, Greece and from there it became a sought after delicacy that conquered all of Greece.

Bougatsa is a pie made of puff pastry, usually filled with cream, cheese, minced meat, spinach, cheese. Her name is Turkish (pogaça= dough), but its origin is older, Byzantine, from Constantinople.

Even after the Fall, bougatsa continued to be produced, according to 16th and 17th century testimony. The traveler Evlia Tselebi mentions that in Istanbul two ovens made "bougatsa kourou", kimgali (with minced meat), peinirli (with cheese) and "sante bougatsa" (sprinkled with powdered sugar).

In Greece, it was brought by the refugees from Asia Minor, first to Northern Greece and especially to Serres and Thessaloniki. In these two cities the bougatsa landed, became popular, but, in turn, reciprocated with the above, since they also gained a reputation from it. From there the bougatsa spread all over the territory, and in the '70s-'80s it was one of the favorite delicacies of the Greeks -along with the cheese pie-, as a snack and snack.

The differences that exist between Northern and Southern Greece are in the folding of the sheet during its preparation and in the way of serving. In Northern Greece the bougatsa is sold by the kilo, but cut into small pieces the size of a bite, while in Athens with the piece - like the cheese pie - because the sheet closes the filling in the form of an envelope and is cut in half during serving. Also, the South considers only this bougatsa with cream, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, while in the North it is necessary to specify what bougatsa you want!

Finally, Crete made its own distraction and created a tradition of bougatsa in two large cities, and in fact by two manufacturers that still retain their radiation, the Kirkor of Heraklion and Jordan of Chania.

The greatest importance in the quality of the bougatsa is of course the sheet quality, which unlike cheese pie or other pies consists of many leaves.

We watched the production of crust sheet by him Filippo Bandi, third generation "bougatsatzi" from Thessaloniki and we realized many things from his art.