Poale-n Brâu

Medium·30 min

Soft Moldavian-Romanian sweet pastries: pillows of enriched dough folded around a lemony sweet cheese filling, their corners pinched to the centre and baked golden.

Egg

Poale-n brâu, whose name means hem tucked into the belt, comes from the north-eastern region of Moldova, where the folded corners of dough are said to resemble a peasant woman gathering her skirt into her waistband. These sweet cheese pies are a cherished home bake, the smell of vanilla and warm cheese filling Moldavian kitchens on holidays and lazy weekends.

A tender, buttery dough giving way to a warm, slightly tangy lemon-scented cheese centre. Less sweet than a doughnut and more delicate than a pie, it is comforting and homey with a fresh dairy lightness.

The enriched yeast dough rises soft and tender, and pinching the corners tightly keeps the cheese filling sealed inside as it bakes. A little semolina in the filling absorbs moisture from the cheese so it sets rather than leaking out.

Variations

With raisins or sultanas in the filling, a sour-cream glaze, square or triangular folds, dusted with vanilla sugar

On the Palate

Where Poale-n Brâu sits in the Romanian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 10

How it's made

8 steps · 30 min

1
10 min
Warm milk with yeast and a little sugar and let it foam.
Watch out
Wait for the yeast to actually foam up — no foam means dead yeast, and the pastry will bake dense instead of rising soft.
2
10 min
Mix the yeast with flour, eggs, sugar, soft butter and salt into a soft dough.
3
60 min
Knead until smooth and elastic, then leave to rise until doubled.
4
8 min
Mix fresh cow's cheese with egg, sugar, lemon zest and a little semolina for the filling.
Watch out
Work the semolina into the cheese — it soaks up the cheese's water so the filling sets instead of leaking out as it bakes.
5
5 min
Roll the dough and cut it into squares.
6
5 min
Spoon filling into the centre of each square.
7
8 min
Fold the four corners up over the filling and pinch them together at the centre.
Watch out
Pinch the four corners together tightly at the center — a loose seal pops open in the oven and the cheese runs out.
8
25 min
Brush with egg wash and bake at 180C until puffed and golden, then dust with sugar.