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Golden Bosnian uštipci piled on a platter, with one fritter opened to show the airy center

Bosnian Uštipci

119kcal
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Prep 15 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Dough Rest 20 minutes
Total 55 minutes
Quick Bosnian yogurt fritters made with baking powder, spooned into hot oil after a short rest. Golden outside and soft inside, with no yeast, rolling, or hand-stretching.
Servings 16 fritters
Course Breakfast
Cuisine Bosnian

Ingredients

Yogurt Dough
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled; US adaptation of German Type 550 flour
  • 2 1/8 teaspoons baking powder not baking soda; spoon weights vary, so weighing is more precise
  • 7/8 teaspoon fine salt US measure is approximate
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 8.8 oz plain whole-milk yogurt regular unstrained yogurt, about 3.5% fat
  • 1 large egg about 50 g each without shells
For Frying
  • 4 1/4 cups sunflower oil approximate supply; reserve a little cold oil for the spoons and maintain the specified safe frying depth; not all is absorbed

Equipment

  • Kitchen scale helpful for accurate dough quantities and even portions
  • Large mixing bowl and small bowl
  • Whisk and sturdy spoon or spatula
  • Small deep heavy pot about 7–8 inches (18–20 cm) wide, with ample headroom above the oil
  • Deep-fry thermometer clip securely; sensing tip should not touch the pot bottom
  • Two tablespoons for portioning, lightly coated in cold oil rather than water
  • Small dish for reserved cold oil
  • Slotted spoon
  • Plate or rack with paper towels for draining
Start Cooking

Method

  1. Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar thoroughly in a large mixing bowl so the leavener is evenly distributed.
  2. Mix egg and yogurt. Briefly beat the egg in a separate bowl, then stir in the yogurt until smooth.
  3. Make a sticky dough. Add the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir with a sturdy spoon or spatula only until no dry flour remains. Do not knead. The dough should be thick, soft, and distinctly sticky, holding a mound on a spoon rather than running like pancake batter.
  4. Rest for 20 minutes. Cover and leave at room temperature for 20 minutes. This is a short dough rest, not a yeast rise. Do not prepare it hours ahead or beat it vigorously after resting.
  5. Reserve cold oil. Before heating the frying oil, set a little of it aside in a small dish for coating the portioning spoons. Keep this dish away from the hot pot.
  6. Prepare the frying pot. Pour the remaining oil into a small deep heavy pot, aiming for about 1¼–1½ inches (3–4 cm) depth. Leave ample headroom and never fill more than one-third of the pot. The listed oil quantity is approximate; pot dimensions determine the amount needed. Do not pour a scaled 2x or 3x supply into the same small pot.
  7. Heat and prepare to drain. During the final 10 minutes of the dough rest, heat the oil slowly to 340–350°F (170–175°C). Monitor with a deep-fry thermometer. Prepare a plate or rack lined with paper towels.
  8. Oil the spoons. Lightly coat two tablespoons with the reserved cold oil. Do not wet them with water: water droplets can make hot oil spit. Leave the rested dough otherwise undisturbed.
  9. Drop small portions. Scoop a heaping spoonful of dough, about 35–40 g (1¼–1⅖ oz). Use the second spoon to ease it into the oil from close above the surface, keeping your hands clear. Add only 3–4 pieces at a time, with room to float and turn.
  10. Fry the first side. Fry for about 2 minutes, until the underside is golden. Adjust the heat to keep the oil at about 330–350°F (165–175°C), avoiding both sluggish frying and rapid darkening.
  11. Turn and finish. Turn gently with a slotted spoon and fry for another 2–3 minutes, until golden all over. Time is a guide; the interior must cook through before the crust becomes dark.
  12. Check the first fritter. Remove one, allow it to cool briefly, and break it open. The center should be soft and airy, with no wet or doughy core. If the outside browns before the center cooks, make the next portions smaller and reduce excessive heat within the stated frying range.
  13. Drain without piling. Lift out the cooked fritters with a slotted spoon and let excess oil drain, then transfer to the prepared paper towels. Avoid immediately packing or tightly covering the hot fritters.
  14. Recover heat and repeat. Before adding another batch, let the oil return to about 340°F (170°C). Continue with the remaining dough in small batches, lightly oiling the spoons again as needed. Expect about four batches for the standard quantity when frying four at a time; larger batches of dough take longer.
  15. Serve warm. Let stand for 2–3 minutes before eating. Serve warm with plain yogurt, cheese, commercially prepared kajmak, ajvar, honey, or jam as desired. These accompaniments are not included in the recipe quantities or calorie estimate.
  16. Cool and handle the oil. Turn off the heat and let the frying oil cool completely in a safe place before filtering for suitable reuse or disposing of it according to local guidance. Do not pour oil down the drain.

Nutrition

Calories119kcal

Notes

  • Yield. Makes about 16 fritters from roughly 620 g of dough, with portions of about 35–40 g each. Four fritters make a substantial breakfast or snack serving; toppings are separate.
  • Dough. Use plain regular whole-milk yogurt, close to 3.5% fat, not strained Greek yogurt. The dough should be thick, soft, and sticky. Do not knead, roll, or add flour merely to make it easy to handle. This is a baking-powder version, not a yeasted mekike dough.
  • Measures. US measures are rounded kitchen equivalents. Flour volume assumes 120 g per cup; baking powder assumes 4.8 g per teaspoon and fine salt about 6 g per teaspoon. For the exact source formula, weigh the Metric quantities. The egg is a US large egg, about 50 g without its shell.
  • Oil and scaling. The oil is a frying supply, not an amount to consume. In the specified pot, use about 1¼–1½ inches (3–4 cm) depth with ample empty space above it; do not fill more than one-third of the pot. At 2x or 3x, keep the same depth, temperature, portion size, and small batch size. Never pour the multiplied oil quantity into the original small pot. More dough needs additional batches; the 20-minute frying estimate will increase.
  • Timing. Heat the oil during the last 10 minutes of the 20-minute dough rest. Fry each small batch for about 4–5 minutes, allowing temperature recovery between batches. The 55-minute total is a planning estimate, not a kitchen-tested stopwatch result. Do not extend the rest into a long yeast-style rise.
  • Storage. Best freshly fried. Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate covered within 2 hours; use within 2 days. Reheat at 355°F (180°C) for about 5–7 minutes, until hot throughout. A microwave softens the crust. Cooked cooled fritters may be frozen separately, then packed together; the source provides no tested freezer duration or exact reheating time from frozen.
  • Nutrition estimate. About 119 kcal per fritter, calculated for 16 pieces using the dough ingredients and an assumed total oil uptake of 60 g from the source. Oil absorption has not been measured and can vary substantially. The full liter of frying oil is not counted as eaten. Toppings are excluded; no complete nutrient panel is claimed.