Mlinci

Lore & Background

Mlinci is a traditional flatbread that begins as a simple dough of flour, salt, and water, sometimes enriched with eggs and fat. The dough is rolled out to about 1 mm thick and 20 to 30 cm wide, then baked in an oven or on a hot plate. After baking, it is broken into pieces roughly 5 cm in size before final preparation with hot water or soup. Before serving, the pieces can also be quickly fried in poultry fat.

Reader's Guide

Mlinci holds significance as a versatile side dish in the culinary traditions of Slovenia, Serbia, and Croatia. In Croatia, turkey with mlinci is a folk-cuisine specialty, particularly in the regions of Zagorje and Slavonia. In Slovenia, duck or goose with mlinci is traditionally eaten on St. Martin's Day. In Serbia, mlinci are usually prepared in the province of Vojvodina, where they are served with pork or chicken fillet in smetana sauce. The dish can also be prepared by soaking the dried pieces in the drippings from roast meats: after removing the roast, the broken pieces are placed in the fat in the tray and baked briefly, then served as a side dish accompanying the main roast. This adaptability—whether soaked in broth, fried in fat, or baked in drippings—makes mlinci a practical and flavorful accompaniment to various roasted meats.

Did You Know?

• Mlinci is a thin dried flatbread used in Slovenian, Serbian, and Croatian cuisines.
• Homemade mlinci dough is rolled out about 1 mm thick and 20 to 30 cm wide.
• Turkey with mlinci is a Croatian folk-cuisine specialty, especially in Zagorje and Slavonia.
• In Slovenia, duck or goose with mlinci is traditionally eaten on St. Martin's Day.