Feta Cheese breadsticks (saratele)

These Romanian cheese sticks aka saratele are my childhood favorite snack.Although enjoyed all year round they are particularly popular during holidays. With a flaky texture that resembles puff pastry and a multitude of thin layers inside these treats will have you addicted at first bite!

They usually don't last long at my house and they're ideal for munching while watching a movie on the sofa but could also make a delicious addition to any cheese board especially when a good beer or a glass of wine is poured as well😉

They’re traditionally made with caraway seeds and if you don’t like,you can substitute them with poppy seeds or sea salt but i strongly recommend to use them!the flavor is subtle and unique. Also,folding technique is essential and helps dough rising and achieving all those flaky layers so don’t omit.With that said,happy baking and leave me a comment if make this recipe

Prep.Time: 10-15 min

Chilling Time: 1h

Baking Time: 20-25 min

Yield: 22 breadsticks

Ingredients: • 250g all purpose flour • 250g feta cheese • 200g unsalted butter,cold and cut into small cubes • ½ tsp salt • 1 egg yolk for brushing • caraway seeds or poppy seeds for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

• In a large bowl, sift the flour then add salt and cold butter.Use your fingertips to rub the flour and butter together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.Add crumbled cheese and mix until the dough comes together about 1-2minutes.Don’t overmix.

 • Transfer dough onto a work surface and flatten the dough into a disk,wrap in cling film and refrigerate for an hour 

 • Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF(convection/fan forced mode) 

 • Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and place it onto a work surface sprinkled with flour. 

 • Line with parchment paper 2 baking trays. 

 • Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and roll it out into a 30x39cm rectangle with approx. 3-4mm thickness. 

 • Fold the dough.Pick up one side(right or left) of the dough and fold it a third of the way over the rest of the dough then pick opposite side of the dough and stretch it over the first fold, laying it on top .Grab the bottom edge of the rectangle and fold it up one-third then fold the top down over it which will now create a square. 

 • Roll out the dough again into 30x39 cm rectangle,with 3-4mm thickness.

 • Trim the top and bottom edges,brush the the dough with the egg yolk then sprinkle generously with the caraway seeds. 

 • Cut the dough lengthwise into 2cmm wide strips and then in half widthwise.

 • Lay out the strips onto a baking tray leaving 1cm between them. 

 • Bake for about 20-25 min. until golden brown on top and on the bottom.Remove from the oven, let rest on the tray for about 5 minutes,so that they have some time to firm up . 

 • Repeat with  the remaining strips. 

 • Store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

That's all, folks!

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If you make this recipe,please let me know how it turned out!
Post your version on  instagram,tag @lady.j.bakes or leave me a comment below!