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Grandma's Bulgarian Cheese Milinki
Soft, buttery Bulgarian cheese rolls inspired by my Baba's recipe — little yeast dough balls dipped in butter, covered with a rich feta topping, and baked until golden.
Serves
15-16 rolls
Time
1 hr 30 min
Soft, buttery Bulgarian cheese rolls inspired by my Baba's recipe. In Bulgaria, many families have their own way of making milinki, and every grandma seems to have a slightly different method. They're made from a soft yeast dough, shaped into little balls, coated with butter, then covered with a rich feta topping before baking. They're soft, buttery, cheesy, and especially delicious warm from the oven with plain yogurt.
Instructions
Activate the Yeast
- 1
In a deep bowl or large measuring cup, combine the lukewarm water, oil, honey, and yeast.
- 2
Stir gently and let it sit for a few minutes until the yeast begins to activate.
Make the Dough
- 1
Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt.
- 2
Pour in the yeast mixture.
- 3
Mix and knead until a soft dough forms. You can knead it by hand or use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. I personally like making it by hand because I like to feel the dough, but either method works.
- 4
Add the flour gradually rather than all at once. Depending on the brand of flour, you may need a little less or a little more.
- 5
The dough should stay soft and slightly tacky, not hard or stiff.
Let the Dough Rise
- 1
Place the dough in a bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then cover it with one or two kitchen towels. This keeps the dough from drying out and forming a crust on top while it rises.
- 2
Let the dough rise until doubled in size.
- 3
My warm-oven method: if you want to speed up the rise, warm the oven very briefly, then turn it completely off. Place the covered bowl on top of a wooden cutting board inside the oven — the oven rack can still hold heat, and I don't want the bottom of the dough warming too much. The oven should only be gently warm, never hot. You want the dough to rise, not start baking.
Shape the Milinki
- 1
Once the dough has risen, lightly flour your hands or work surface if needed.
- 2
Shape the dough into one large ball, then divide it into about 15–16 pieces and shape each piece into a small ball. The exact number is not important — larger balls mean fewer milinki, smaller balls mean more.
Coat the Dough Balls with Butter
- 1
Melt the butter in a small bowl. Either brush each ball generously with melted butter on all sides, or dip the entire dough ball directly into the melted butter. I like dipping the whole ball because it is quick, easy, and makes sure every side gets coated.
- 2
Arrange the buttered dough balls in the baking dish, leaving a little space between them. Do not pack them tightly together — the dough will continue to rise and puff while baking, so the balls need room to expand before they naturally join together.
Make the Feta Topping
- 1
In a bowl, combine the melted butter, flour, lukewarm water, eggs, and crumbled feta cheese.
- 2
Mix everything together very well. The mixture should be like a thick but pourable batter — not too thick and not watery. Some people add the feta separately, but I like mixing it directly into the topping, just like I remember my Baba doing. It is easier, saves time, and I think it tastes even better.
Pour Over the Milinki
- 1
Pour the entire feta mixture evenly over the arranged dough balls, making sure the topping reaches across the whole pan and between the balls.
Bake
- 1
Bake at 350°F until the milinki are puffed, beautifully golden on top, and fully baked through. As they bake, the balls will rise more and naturally come together.
- 2
Let them cool just slightly before serving.
Toti’s Tips
- ✓Add the flour gradually while kneading, since the dough should stay soft and slightly tacky rather than hard or stiff, which would make the rolls dense.
- ✓Cover the rising dough tightly with plastic wrap and a towel, since exposed dough dries out and forms a crust that keeps it from rising evenly.
- ✓Dip the shaped dough balls fully into melted butter rather than just brushing them, so every side gets coated and helps the rolls brown evenly and stay moist.
- ✓Leave space between the dough balls in the pan, since they continue to rise and expand in the oven and need room before naturally joining together.
- ✓Mix the feta right into the topping batter instead of sprinkling it separately, since this spreads the cheese flavor through every bite instead of leaving it only on top.
- ✓The topping batter should be pourable but not watery, since too thin a batter runs off the dough balls instead of coating them.
- ✓If using the warm-oven trick to speed the rise, set the bowl on a wooden board rather than directly on the oven rack, since metal holds heat and can warm the bottom of the dough too much.
- ✓Serve warm, since these rolls are softest and most buttery right out of the oven.
Storage
- •Traditionally served with plain Bulgarian yogurt — the warm, buttery, salty cheese bread with cold yogurt is a simple and delicious Bulgarian combination.
- •Leftovers are delicious the next day if you warm them gently.
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