Byrek

Byrek is the everyday food of Albania: sheets of thin pastry rolled or stretched by hand, layered with a filling and baked in a large round or rectangular tray, then cut into slices and sold by weight from bakeries that make little else. The standard fillings are salted white cheese, spinach with cheese, minced meat with onion, and in autumn pumpkin, with variations by region and season. It is eaten at any time of day, most often for breakfast or as a mid-morning thing, standing up or taken away in paper, and it costs almost nothing. Good byrek has genuinely thin hand-worked pastry and a filling that is not dry, and the difference between a good byrektore and a bad one is immediately obvious.

What you actually see

• Hand-stretched pastry - the sheets worked thin by hand.
• Trays cut and sold by weight - the way it is bought.
• Cheese, spinach, meat and pumpkin - the standard fillings.
• Dedicated byrektore - bakeries that make almost nothing else.

When to go

Year round, and all day, though it is freshest in the morning when trays come out of the oven. One hour. Look for places with a queue and high turnover, which is where the pastry will be fresh.

Honest expectations

Reheated byrek is greasy and dull; buy where it is coming out of the oven. Quality varies enormously. It is heavy and one slice is usually enough. Hygiene at the cheapest places is variable.

Nearby

Bakeries selling it stand in every town; Tirana has a particular concentration.