This authentic kifli recipe makes soft bread rolls stuffed with ricotta and feta cheese, topped with melted butter, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. In Macedonia, my family makes these rolls for just about every occasion. Now you can, too!
I just know you’re going to love this Macedonian answer to dinner rolls. They’re impossible to resist, with puffy, golden dough wrapped around cheesy filling.
Enter any Macedonian household on any given holiday, and there’s a good chance you’ll find kifli baking in the oven or already on the table! Kifli (pronouced “keef-lee”) are soft buttery dinner rolls stuffed with feta and topped with sesame seeds. Every Macedonian family has their version of the “best” kifli recipe. For a while, I would jot them down and test them when time allowed. This particular recipe is the easiest and tastiest I’ve had yet!
Why I Love This Kifli Recipe
- Easy. This is my “never fail” kifli recipe. If you follow the recipe to the T you’re all but guaranteed to come out with a big batch of buttery, steamy bread rolls.
- Every occasion. Whether it’s the holidays, birthdays, Saint Patron Days (a Macedonian tradition), kifli are always the centerpiece at the table, or very near to it. They’ve even made their way into my kids’ lunch bags because, yes, they’re that loved.
- Adaptable. Stuff them with cheese or ground meat, enjoy them plain, or dunk these rolls in plain yogurt or red pepper relish, aka Ajvar. We mostly enjoy these as a starter with a salad or as a dinner roll.
What Is Kifli?
Kifli is a traditional yeasted bread roll that’s rolled up similar to a croissant or crescent roll. With generations of families baking it, everyone has their own version of it, and I’ve yet to meet a kifli recipe I don’t like. You’ll find plain butter kifli, kifli filled with feta cheese, and even jumbo-sized kifli! It’s a staple in Macedonian cuisine, right up there with our sesame bagels (gevrek).
Ingredients You’ll Need
If you want to feel like the domestic goddess that you are, bake kifli! It’s so satisfying, and you really only need a few common pantry ingredients, which I’ll cover below. Scroll down to the recipe card after the post for the printable recipe, followed by step-by-step photos.
- Active Dry Yeast – Check the date on your packet of yeast to make sure it’s not expired. If your yeast is past it’s best-before date, the dough won’t rise properly.
- Sugar and Water – You’ll mix warm (not hot) water with sugar, to activate the yeast. Make sure the water is between 110ºF-115ºF.
- Flour – I recommend all-purpose flour for the most consistent results (I haven’t gotten around to testing this recipe with other types of flours).
- Milk – Also warmed up. You can use any milk you’d like.
- Oil – I use vegetable oil, but olive, canola, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil will also work.
- Butter – Salted or unsalted, for topping the rolls before baking. Slice a stick of butter into thin squares.
- Feta and Ricotta Cheese – I use a combination of feta and ricotta cheese in my kifli. Ricotta makes the filling extra creamy. You can use all of one or the other if you prefer.
- Eggs – You’ll need one whole egg for the bread dough and additional beaten eggs to combine with water for the glaze.
- Sesame Seeds – If you don’t have sesame seeds, it’s fine to leave them off. But for the full experience, I highly recommend adding them!
Recipe Tips
- If the dough is too dry, add a little milk, one spoonful at a time, to moisten it a little. On the other hand, if you find that the dough is too sticky to handle, add a bit more flour to get it to the right consistency.
- Let the dough rise somewhere warm. It’s better and faster if you place the dough in a warm location to rise. On top of the preheated oven can be a good spot.
- Bake in batches. If you don’t have enough baking sheets or oven space to bake all the kifli at once, no worries. Keep the kifli covered with a dishcloth on a floured surface until it’s their turn to bake.
- Use a measuring cup with mL: For the most accurate results, use a measuring cup that shows milliliters. It helps ensure the dough turns out just right, especially when working with yeast.
- French rolling pin: A regular rolling pin works fine, but I prefer using a French rolling pin—that’s how my baba (grandma) made kifli, and I like to stick with tradition. It gives you better control and rolls out the dough beautifully.
Serving Suggestions
Kilfi is truly an anytime bread roll. They’re commonly found on holiday tables, next to a leg of lamb at Easter or baked ham at Christmas, followed up with kolacky for dessert. You’ll just as quickly find them at the dinner table any day of the week. They’re excellent sponges for sopping up everything from saucy cabbage rolls to moussaka and even shakshuka at breakfast.
Storing and Freezing Leftovers
- Refrigerate. You’ll want to keep kifli in the fridge due to the cheese filling. Store them in an airtight container, and you can also freeze them if you have a lot left over.
- Freeze. Allow the kifli to cool completely, and place them into a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 4 months and thaw them in the fridge overnight, or defrost them in short bursts in the microwave.
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Activate the yeast. In a bowl, stir together yeast, sugar, and water. Set it in a warm place to activate, until it gets thick and foamy, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Combine the other ingredients. In the meantime, add flour to your mixer’s bowl. Make a well in the middle, and add warm milk, vegetable oil, salt, and eggs. Don’t mix until you’ve added in the prepared yeast.
Mix in the yeast mixture. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture. Using a large spoon, mix it all together to combine.
Knead the dough. Then, attach the dough hook to your stand mixer and finish kneading for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the dough starts to separate from the bowl. If the dough is too dry, add a tablespoon of milk, if it’s too wet add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough shouldn’t be too sticky, but you also don’t want it to be dry.
Shape the dough into a ball. Spray a large mixing bowl with cooking spray and sprinkle it with a bit of flour to prevent sticking. Transfer the prepared dough to the oiled bowl, and fold the dough into a ball. Add a little more flour to the bowl and a sprinkle of flour on top of the dough ball.
Rise. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. It’s best (and faster) to let the dough rise in a warmer spot.
Make the filling. Combine the feta cheese and ricotta cheese in a bowl; set aside for later.
Preheat. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Divide and shape the dough. Turn the dough over to a flour-dusted work area and fold it on all sides; then, cut it in half. Cut each half in 3 parts so you have a total of 6 pieces. Fold all the pieces into small balls. Keep them covered.
Roll out the dough. Take a ball of dough and lightly punch it down to spread and then roll it out into a round circle the size of about a medium pizza. Make sure to flour your work area often so the dough does not stick.
Slice. Cut the dough into 8 to 12 slices, depending on the dough’s diameter or how big you want your rolls.
Fill the rolls. Add ½ to 1 tablespoon of the ricotta/feta cheese mixture to each slice. Place the filling at the top of the slice, right in the center. Keep the filling modest—if you overfill, it’ll likely ooze out while baking.
Roll them up. Pull the sides of the widest part at the top and tuck them inward, right over the filling, and continue to roll. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Bake. Transfer the rolls to baking sheets and place a pat of butter on top of each roll. Bake for 5 minutes at 400ºF. Meanwhile, combine the eggs and water in a small bowl and beat to combine. Remove the kifli from the oven and brush with the egg glaze. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and continue to bake for 11 to 13 more minutes or until golden.
Finish and serve. Once the kifli are out of the oven, you can top them with a small pat of butter (totally optional, but so good!). Transfer them to a wire rack to cool slightly. They’re best enjoyed fresh, but they also store well for days.
- I use milliliters in this recipe because it’s the most accurate way to measure the liquid ingredients. When it comes to making kifli just right—soft, fluffy, and perfect every time—precise measurements really matter.
- I also roll the dough with a French rolling pin, which is how it’s traditionally done (and honestly, it just feels right!).
- As for storage, I usually keep my kifli in an airtight container and on the counter for about a day or two, but because of the cheese filling, it’s best to refrigerate them.
Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 341mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 382IU | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Kifli
I won’t lie: making the dough is the most time-consuming step. However, if you follow the recipe exactly as it’s written, you’ll end up with about 40 super-soft, delicious kifli brimming with cheese. Here are the instructions:
- Activate the yeast. Start by stirring yeast, sugar, and water together in a bowl. Place it somewhere warm for 15-20 minutes to activate and become foamy.
- Combine the other ingredients. Meanwhile, add the flour to your mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour in the warm milk, oil, salt, and eggs. Then, add the prepared yeast and fold everything together by hand.
- Knead the dough. Use your stand mixer’s dough hook to knead the dough. After 2-3 mnutes, it should start to pull away from the bowl. You’re after a dough that isn’t overly dry, but also not super sticky.
- Rise. Next, plop the dough into a lightly greased and floured bowl. Fold the dough into a ball and sprinkle the bowl and the top of the bread with a bit more flour. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
Shape the Kifli
- Mix the filling. In a new bowl, mix the feta and ricotta cheese. Set this aside while you preheat the oven to 400ºF and prepare your kifli.
- Divide the dough. Now, turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface. Fold it in on all sides and cut it in half. Next, cut each half into 3 even-sized pieces (there should be 6 in total) and fold/roll the pieces into balls. Cover these for the time being.
- Roll out and cut the dough. Take your first dough ball and roll it into a circle about the size of a medium pizza. Afterward, use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to slice the circle into 8 to 12 wedges.
- Fill the rolls. Place a spoonful of your cheese mixture at the top middle of each wedge, and roll them up! To do this, tuck the widest sides in at the top and continue to roll the dough around the filling in a crescent shape. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
Bake the Kifli
- Prep. Arrange the kifli on your baking sheets. Top each roll with a pat of butter.
- Bake. Bake the rolls at 400ºF for 5 minutes, then whisk together an egg wash and brush it over the kifli. Sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds before returning the rolls to the oven for another 11-13 minutes, until they’re puffed up and golden.
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