Some people consider burek an appetizer, a sweet pie, or a pastry, and it is most commonly found in countries that were once under the Ottoman Empire. Burek most likely originated in Turkish cuisine, and the very word börek is Turkish. The name may come from the Turkish word “bur,” meaning to bend or fold, similar to Serbian, where the word savijača comes from savijati (to fold), and gibanica from gibati (to move, to bend).
Burek has two main forms: one in Serbia, and the other in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where it is made by all three ethnic groups—Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats. Both dishes are also made in Croatia and Slovenia, where they were introduced mostly by Albanian and Bosnian bakers starting in the 1960s. Burek is a staple product in all bakeries and is usually eaten as “fast food.” Since burek is heavy and greasy, it is often consumed with yogurt.
The recipe for the round burek, which is most commonly seen in Serbia, was developed in Niš, where it was introduced as early as 1498 by the famous Turkish baker Mehmed Oglu from Istanbul. Serbian burek became popular in Croatia and Slovenia in the second half of the 20th century. The first burek in Zagreb was made by well-known Albanian bakers near the main railway station after World War II.
The rolled (spiral) burek in Bosnia and Herzegovina refers only to pastry filled with meat. The same dish filled with cheese is called sirnica, the one with spinach and cheese is zeljanica, the one with potatoes is krompiruša, and all of them together are referred to as pitas. So, if you ask for burek in Sarajevo, you will get it only with meat, and if you want it with cheese, you must ask for sirnica.
In Croatia, the term burek was used for pastry filled with cheese, while in Serbia one must always specify burek + filling—with cheese, with meat, etc.
