These Romanian pretzels, or covrigei, are one of the most popular Romanian snacks. They are a cheesy, crunchy, and addictive pastry.
The covrigei or saratele were some of my favorite treats during my childhood. Well, they still are; I just don't get them that often anymore. My grandmother used to make them every year for Christmas and Easter, and I remember helping her cut the dough, placing the pretzels on the baking sheet, brushing them with egg, and sprinkling them with the caraway seeds.
She stopped as she got older, and we used to get some from her sister for a while, but that also stopped at one point. Luckily, we could buy them at the baker's as well. They were never as good as the homemade ones, but still delicious.
What are covrigei?
These Romanian snacks, called either covrigei (small pretzels) or saratele (“salties”), are pretty much the same thing: cheesy, salty pastry made with butter and cheese and sprinkled with caraway seeds. What sets them apart is the form of the pastry.
I suppose the Romanian pretzels are the original, but you will need a special form to cut them. Saratele, cut into sticks, are just as delicious as the pretzels - they only look different. And they are much quicker to make - just roll the dough and cut it into regular strips.
What do you need?
If you make covrigei, you will first need a small pretzel cutter (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
Cheese: I posted a recipe for the Romanian Saratele a couple of years ago. It's a beautiful recipe I've been making repeatedly for many years. It uses Gouda or Cheddar cheese.
- Recently, I found another recipe using feta cheese or the Romanian salty telemea cheese. I also wanted to try that, and I liked it so much that I decided to make a new post out of it and use the covrigei cutter this time. For an even cheesier version, you could sprinkle the pastry shapes with some Parmesan as well.
Seeds: Traditionally, the covrigei or saratele are sprinkled with caraway seeds (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab). For me, there is no better option. However, you can also use sesame or nigella seeds. (All Amazon affiliate links open in new tabs)
Dairy: In Romania, we always use smetana, the Eastern European version of sour cream. However, if you cannot find it, you can replace it with crème fraiche or sour cream.
Other ingredients are flour, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, and eggs.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to cut covrigei?
- Divide the cheese pastry into several portions, wrapping the ones you are not using in cling film and refrigerating them.
- Roll the dough about 3 or 4 mm/ 0.12 – 0.15 inches thick on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut with a pretzel cutter or into strips.
- Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with caraway or other seeds. Optionally, sprinkle with a little Parmesan. Try these Cheese Puff Pastry Twists, too.
Good to know!
The best tip is to use two baking sheets; it makes the workflow quicker and easier. While the first batch of pastry is in the oven, use the time to cut the second batch and place the covrigei on a second baking tray.
Leave the freshly baked pastry to rest on the baking tray for 5-10 minutes before transferring it to wire racks. The snacks are still very fragile and might break if you try to move them too soon.
Use unsalted butter, as it will be easier to control the salt amount. If using salted butter, add less salt at first, taste the pastry, and add more if necessary. Do that after adding the feta cheese, which is quite salty as well.
You can use a block of feta cheese and crumble it yourself. It is easy to do in one minute and tastes much better than already crumbled feta.
Before rolling the pastry, divide it into several portions. Keep one portion for rolling, but wrap the remaining ones with cling film or plastic wrap and refrigerate them. If they are left on the counter, they might get too soft by the time you roll them, making the rolling process more difficult.
As mentioned above, if you don't have a small pretzel cutter, roll the dough into a rectangle and cut regular stripes with a knife. They should be about as long and thick as your finger.
Don't overbake the pastry. Check repeatedly, they should only get slightly golden.
How to store them?
These Romanian snacks keep well in airtight containers for about 1 week, probably a little longer.
However, we never ever managed to keep them for more than 2 days, not even when I made the double batch... they are really that good!
Romanian Pretzel – Covrigei
Equipment
- Food processor
- 2 Baking sheets
- Pretzel cutter optional, Note 1
Ingredients
- 3¾ cups all-purpose flour 450 g, Note 2
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter very cold, 250 g
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon sour cream /smetana
- 7 oz feta cheese 200 g
- 1 egg for brushing
- caraway seeds
- sesame seeds
- nigella seeds
- Parmesan optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Make covrigei dough: Place the flour, baking powder, and salt into the food processor. Pulse to mix. Cut the butter into small cubes and add them to the flour. Mix until the mixture resembles streusel. Add the egg yolks, sour cream, and crumbled feta and mix to incorporate well.3¾ cups all-purpose flour/ 450 g + 1 teaspoon baking powder + ½ teaspoon fine sea salt + 1 cup unsalted butter/ 250 g + 3 egg yolks + 1 tablespoon sour cream + 7 oz feta cheese/ 200 g
- Refrigerate dough: Divide the dough into 2 or 3 parts and keep the rest of the dough wrapped in cling film in the fridge, while you cut the first batch of pretzels or sticks.
- Cut pretzels: Roll the dough about 0.12 – 0.15 inches/ 3-4 mm thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut with the pretzel cutter if you have one. Remove the pastry bits inside the holes of the pretzels. You will roll them again with the next batch of pastry. If you don't want to use a cutter, cut the dough into strips about as long and thick as a finger.
- Brush with egg: Place the pastry onto baking sheets. Brush them with the lightly beaten egg and sprinkle them with the seeds of your choice. For an even cheesier version, you could sprinkle some of them with some Parmesan as well.1 egg + caraway seeds or sesame seeds or nigella seeds or Parmesan
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until nicely golden. Check the first batch repeatedly to make sure you get the baking time right. Ovens are different, and you don't want to overbake the pretzels.
- Second batch: While one batch is in the oven, cut the second batch, and so on. You should have at least 2 baking sheets; it makes the baking process quicker and easier.
- Cool: Leave the pretzels or sticks to cool slightly before you transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. If you try to move them immediately after baking, they might break, so it is better to leave them on the tray for about 5 to 10 minutes or so.
Notes
- Cutter: If you don't want to use a cutter, cut the dough into strips about as long and thick as a finger.
- Measurements: It's preferable to use a digital kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
- Storage: They will be fine in an airtight container for at least one week (probably longer if you manage).
Jenny says
I tried using the food processor as you suggested and sadly, my food processor (a Cusinart, so not a bad one!) could not handle the thickness of the dough. It was a bit of a disaster, my Cuisinart wouldn't even cut the butter into the flour. Where did I go wrong?
Adina says
Hi Jenny. It's hard to say from a distance. My first guess would be that you didn't measure the flour correctly and had too much. The dough is definitely soft enought to be knead in the food processor, I do it all the time.
mjskitchen says
I think you need to put an "addictive" warning on this recipe. Th diey look so good and after looking at the list of ingredients I can see a whole batch disappearing in no time. Love your pretzel cutter. 🙂
Felicia Hoble says
Exact ca la mama acasa! Pacat ca nu esti mai aproape 🙂 🙂
Adina says
Sunt bune!
Anca says
They look so nice, exactly as I know them.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
I would snack on them until all gone! Cute pretzel mould.
Adina says
That's the problem with these pretzels, you just can't stop eating them until they're all gone. 🙂