Bougatsa

Bougatsa is a Greek baked pastry made from sheets of phyllo wrapped around a warm, set semolina custard, then cut into portions and dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon. It is most closely associated with Thessaloniki in northern Greece, where it is sold from bakeries and street counters from early morning.

What it really is

Bougatsa is built on phyllo sheets brushed with butter, layered in a baking tin, and filled with a semolina custard made from semolina, milk, sugar, and egg yolk, sometimes flavoured with vanilla or lemon zest. The custard is cooked on the stove until thick, spread over the bottom layers, folded over with more buttered sheets, and baked until the pastry is crisp and golden. It is then cut into squares or rectangles and finished with a dusting of icing sugar and ground cinnamon.

The defining feature is the custard, not the pastry: the filling is a soft, pale cream that holds its shape when cut. Cheese bougatsa, with a salty white cheese filling, and minced meat versions are also made, but the sweet semolina version is the standard one. It differs from spanakopita and other savoury phyllo pies in having a sweet, dairy-based filling.

How it's served

• Served warm, cut into squares, often on a plate with a fork and no other accompaniment
• Dusted with icing sugar and ground cinnamon just before serving
• Commonly eaten for breakfast or as a mid-morning snack, with a cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk
• Sometimes served with a spoon of thick yoghurt or a little extra sugar on the side

How to write it on the menu

• Name the sweet version clearly as semolina custard bougatsa (for example, "Bougatsa, semolina custard, phyllo, cinnamon")
• Flag the allergens: wheat (from the phyllo and semolina), eggs, and milk (in the custard and the butter)
• State the filling if it is not the classic sweet one, such as cheese bougatsa with a salty white cheese or minced meat bougatsa
• Mention the dusting of icing sugar and cinnamon, as guests often expect both