Wikimedia Commons · Bosnian börekBurek
$28
The king of Balkan pastries. Flaky layers wrapped around a savory beef filling.
Ingredients
Phyllo dough · Ground beef · Onion · Paprika · Oil · Salt & pepper
All experimentsWikimedia Commons · Bosnian börek 
Wikimedia Commons · Sirnica (Burek)
Wikimedia Commons · Kiflice
Unsplash
Rotates monthlyWikimedia Commons · The Flour Pot Bakery
BLKN Bakes
Brooklyn-grown, Balkan-bred. I mean bread.
My family's love language is food. I grew up with burek, sirnica, and trays of warm kiflice appearing whenever family gathered. Over the years, cooking has become my therapy. Baking — I'm still working on. This project has forced me to think about fermentation, buy a scale and actually measure ingredients, and not wing it.
This project sits squarely between nostalgia, curiosity, my love for food and a small business experiment.
Follow along:@reicooks
The Story
I grew up in a Balkan household where food wasn't background noise. It was the ultimate love language. It was how people said they missed you, celebrated you, or apologized without quite saying sorry. Burek on a Sunday. Kiflice for every birthday, funeral, and everything in between. Nena's sirnica to go.
So I thought to myself, surely traditional Balkan pastries find an audience outside the Balkans? Not as novelty but as something people genuinely want on their table. I don't know if that's the case yet. That's why this is an experiment (well that and time), not a business plan with a logo and a five-year projection. Although I worked that out too (see bottom section for fun).
What I do know: I want to see if a hobby born from nostalgia can become something small, real, and sustainable — without losing what made it worth baking in the first place.
This Week's Bake
Wikimedia Commons · Bosnian börekWikimedia Commons · Sirnica (Burek)Sirnica
$26
A cheese-filled pita with delicate layers and a rich, tangy filling.
Ingredients
Phyllo dough · Feta & cottage cheese · Eggs · Yogurt · Butter
Wikimedia Commons · KifliceKiflice
$18/dozen
Soft crescent rolls that somehow disappear faster than anything else on the table.
Ingredients
Flour · Butter · Milk · Yeast · Sugar · Salt
UnsplashCountry Sourdough
$12
A naturally leavened loaf inspired by Brooklyn bakeries but built with the patience I learned from Balkan kitchens.
Ingredients
Bread flour · Sourdough starter · Water · Salt
Rotates monthlyWikimedia Commons · The Flour Pot BakerySeasonal Special
Rotates monthly
Whatever I'm testing that month — ajvar twists, holiday shapes, a sourdough experiment I probably shouldn't sell yet.
Ingredients
Ask me what's in the oven this week
Build an Order
Pickup in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.
Order deadline: Friday evening
Pickup: Sunday morning
Burek
$28
0
Sirnica
$26
0
Kiflice
$18/dozen
0
Country Sourdough
$12
0
Running total$0
Can Balkan Baking Work in Brooklyn?
I built this for my own napkin math, but it works for any cottage bakery, market stall, or weekend preorder model. Plug in your numbers — see if the idea pays before you buy another bag of flour.
Useful for: pricing checks, break-even estimates, comparing a side hustle vs. scaling up, or convincing yourself (or a partner) that this is either viable or a very expensive hobby.
Your assumptions
Weekly revenue
$510
Weekly profit
$249
Monthly profit
$1078
Annual (projected)
$12948
Profit margin
49%
Profit / hour
$25
Break-even: 3 orders/week at these prices
Numbers look workable — the hard part is repeating this consistently every week.
Where the money goes (weekly)
Production Schedule
Friday
- Feed starter
- Shop ingredients
- Prep fillings
Saturday
- Mix dough
- Ferment
- Shape loaves
- Prepare pitas
Sunday
- Bake
- Package
- Pickup window