Hand-stretched paper-thin dough rolled around a filling of fresh curd cheese, eggs, sour cream, and a touch of salt — boiled into pillow-soft pasta-like rolls (served with browned breadcrumbs or in soup), or baked into a golden cream-soaked tray version. The defining dish of Croatia's Zagorje and Zagreb region; on Croatia's national register of intangible cultural heritage since 2007 and an EU Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) since 2022.
Štrukli (zagorski štrukli) comes from the Zagorje hills of inland Croatia and the Zagreb area — a peasant-pastry of flour, water and fresh curd cheese that locals raised to an art on the strength of the dough alone: it is stretched by hand across the table until thin enough to show the pattern of the cloth beneath, and Zagorje cooks competed at it (the wider and finer you could stretch it, the higher your kitchen status). There are two canonical forms: kuhani (boiled, served with sour cream and browned breadcrumbs or in soup) and pečeni (baked, doused with sour cream or cream and baked until golden and bubbling). It was inscribed on Croatia's national register of intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture in 2007 — a national listing, not a UNESCO one — and 'Zagorski štrukli' was granted EU Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in March 2022, making it an emblem of continental Croatian cooking.
Boiled version: fork pierces a soft pillow that releases a flood of warm cheese-cream interior — the dough is so thin it disappears into the filling. Baked version: top is crispy-bronze and crackling, interior is rich custard-soaked dough rolls. The fresh-curd-cheese tang anchors against the cream. Sour cream and bacon bits on the boiled lift the salt; the baked needs nothing more.
Hand-stretching produces a dough thinner than rolling can achieve — gluten strands align in parallel rather than being squeezed. The very-thin dough almost dissolves during boiling or baking, leaving the impression of pure filling. Resting dough is essential — it relaxes gluten so it stretches without tearing. The baking cream pours into and around the rolls, creating a custard layer that contrasts the dough.
Variations
Sweet štrukli (slatki štrukli) replaces the savory curd cheese with farmer's cheese + sugar + cinnamon + raisins as a dessert. Truffle štrukli (with white truffle from Istria) is the luxury restaurant version. Apple štrukli is the autumn home version. Modern frozen-and-revived versions exist but Zagorje purists reject them.
On the Palate
Where Štrukli sits in the Croatian flavor cloud
Rest the dough, then hand-stretch it over a floured cloth until it's thin enough to see through — that near-translucent sheet is what almost dissolves in cooking and leaves the impression of pure filling; rush it and it tears or stays doughy.
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
7 steps · 45 min active + 45 min waiting
- 155 min
Dough: combine 250 g plain flour + ½ tsp salt + 1 egg + 100 ml warm water + 2 tbsp neutral oil. Knead 10 min until very smooth. Coat in oil, rest covered 45 min at room temp.
- 26 min
Filling: drain 500 g full-fat cottage cheese very well (cheesecloth-press if wet). Mix with 2 eggs + 100 ml sour cream + ½ tsp salt + pinch pepper.
- 318 min
Stretching: dust a tablecloth-covered table with flour. Roll dough out to a 50 cm circle. Then with floured hands tucked under, lift and stretch outward all around the dough — work the dough to a 1 m × 1 m sheet you can see through.
Watch outThe dough is stretched enough when you can see the cloth pattern through it — thin to translucent, without holes.
- 44 min
Brush with 30 g melted butter. Spread filling evenly over the dough, leaving 5 cm at far edge.
- 55 min
Roll up using the tablecloth — like a strudel — into a long log.
- 614 min
Boiled version: cut log into 8 cm sections. Slide into salted boiling water 12 min. Lift, plate, dollop with sour cream and a touch of crispy bacon bits.
Watch outBoiled sections are done when they float and the dough turns silky-translucent, about 12 minutes.
- 732 min
Baked version: cut into 4 sections, arrange in baking dish. Pour 300 ml cream + 1 beaten egg + 1 tbsp sugar (for sweet version) or salt (savory) over. Bake at 200°C for 30-35 min until top is bronze.
Watch outThe baked version is ready when the cream has set and the top is bronzed and bubbling at the edges.
