Recipe
Uštipci
Golden fried dough puffs loved across the Balkans: a soft, sticky yeast dough dropped by the spoonful into hot oil, crisp outside and cloud-soft inside. Serve them warm with young cheese, kajmak or jam - breakfast rarely gets this kind of applause.
Uštipci takes about 40 minutes and makes 6 servings. Each serving has 440 kcal.
- Preparation
- 20 minutes
- Cooking
- 20 minutes
- Total time
- 40 minutes
- Servings
- 6
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 440 kcal
- Protein
- 12 g
- Carbohydrates
- 68 g
- Fat
- 11 g
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour500 g
- Dried yeast7 g
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Warm water250 ml
- Plain yogurt200 g
- Eggs2 pcs
- Salt1 tsp
- Sunflower oil30 ml
Instructions
- 1
Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water and let it stand until a foamy cap forms.
- 2
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs, yogurt and yeast mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon into a soft, sticky dough.
Tip: Sticky is exactly right - resist adding more flour. Dense uštipci are almost always the fault of a too-firm dough.
- 3
Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled.
- 4
Heat 3–4 cm of oil in a deep pan to about 170 °C - bubbles should gather around a wooden spoon handle dipped into it.
- 5
Using two spoons dipped in oil, drop egg-sized dollops of dough into the hot oil. Fry in batches, turning, until deep golden all over.
Tip: Fry only a few at a time - crowd the pan and the oil cools, and the uštipci drink grease instead of crisping.
- 6
Lift onto paper towels to drain, then serve warm with young cheese, kajmak or jam.
Cooking methods
On the stove
Use a deep, heavy pot on medium heat and keep the oil around 170 °C - a cube of bread should turn golden in about a minute. If the uštipci brown too fast and stay raw inside, the oil is too hot; lower the flame and wait a minute.
On induction
Heat the oil at level 7, then hold at 5–6 while frying. Induction reacts instantly, which is handy here: drop a level the moment the color races. Give the oil a minute to recover between batches.
Over an open fire
Doable with care: set a heavy pot on a stable grate over calm embers, never over flames. Judge the temperature with the wooden-spoon test and slide the pot to a cooler spot if the oil smokes. Keep a lid nearby for safety.
Recipe questions
- How long does this recipe take?
- Plan for about 40 minutes from start to finish.
- How many servings does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes 6 servings.
- Can I cook this recipe on induction?
- Yes. Heat the oil at level 7, then hold at 5–6 while frying. Induction reacts instantly, which is handy here: drop a level the moment the color races. Give the oil a minute to recover between batches.
- Can I cook this recipe over an open fire?
- Yes. Doable with care: set a heavy pot on a stable grate over calm embers, never over flames. Judge the temperature with the wooden-spoon test and slide the pot to a cooler spot if the oil smokes. Keep a lid nearby for safety.
- Which dietary preferences does this recipe support?
- This recipe is tagged: vegetarian.
In the app
Cooking the way it should feel
One step on screen, a timer that keeps going, and clear progress until the dish is done.
