Phyllo dough (stretched). Making at home

Phyllo dough is the thinnest layers of unsweetened, yeast-free flour semi-finished product, rolled out to a translucent state. It "came" to us from Greece, where it is used as the basis for the preparation of Mediterranean sweets. In our country, a similar dough is called stretched, because, ultimately, it is stretched by hand. But you can cook it in another way. How? Find out from the article.

We will reveal the secret of how to roll filo dough into the thinnest sheets with the least effort.

What does that require:

• sift one and a half glasses of flour into a deep bowl along with eight grams of baking powder and half a teaspoon of salt;
• make a recess in the hill;
• break an egg into a hole and knead it a little with your hands;
• pour a mug of milk filled by two thirds and a fourth of a glass of refined oil.

Mix liquid products with flour with your hands. Knead a sticky and very soft dough.

It will stick strongly to your hands, but you don’t need to add flour to it anymore, otherwise you won’t be able to roll out the dough as thinly as you want.

It is more convenient to knead the semi-finished product on a smooth countertop. You can collect stuck pieces with a scraper. After 7-10 minutes of kneading, the dough should still be soft, but not so sticky.

Roll the piece into a ball. Place in a floured bowl and cover with cling film. The dough will rest for 30 minutes. During this time, gluten will gain the desired properties.

We stretch the ball into a short "sausage" and divide the piece into 6 equal parts and give each one a rounded shape. We will remove the pieces under the film so that they do not wind up.

We proceed to the most important stage - rolling out the dough.

So, how to cook filo dough:

1. Prepare a mixture of corn starch and flour. We take the first 150 g, the second - half as much. We will sprinkle the layers with this mixture so that they do not stick together.
2. Roll out the first ball into a not very thin layer about 3 mm thick and set aside, dusting it with plenty of starch mixture.
3. In the same way, roll out the next ball and lay the second layer on top of the first.
4. Roll out the remaining pieces, put all the layers in a pile, but each layer will be abundantly sprinkled with flour and starch.
5. Move the stack closer to us and roll it out as thin as possible, you should get a rectangle about 40 × 45 cm in size.

Now you can separate the dough layers from each other. Excess flour and starch should be brushed off with a brush.

Filo dough dries out very quickly. While you work on one sheet, cover the others with a damp towel or cling film.

Apple strudel filo pastry

Strudel is a traditional Austrian dessert in the form of a roll, which is made from thin layers of dough wrapped around all sorts of fillings.

Apple strudel is a classic. To prepare the most delicate delicacy, you will need three sheets of filo dough.

Let's make the filling. Let's take:

• three fragrant apples;
• half a glass of sugar and raisins;
• a whole glass of walnuts;
• a teaspoon of cinnamon and three tablespoons of breadcrumbs;
• a quarter of a pack of butter.

The oil must be heated and melted in a water bath. Cut apples into cubes. Grind nuts with a blender. Soak the raisins for 10 minutes in boiling water, drain the water.

Forming a pie:

1. We coat the dough sheets with oil and stack them on top of each other.
2. Mix all the filling ingredients.
3. We spread apples with raisins and breadcrumbs "sausage" along the smaller side of the layer, retreating 6-7 cm from both edges.
4. We throw the edges of the dough over the filling, roll up the pie and coat with melted butter.

We send the dessert to the oven for half an hour to bake at 180ºС.

Baklava step by step recipe

Traditional baklava can be prepared with honey or sugar. We will share the recipe for syrup. Such a delicacy turns out to be less cloying. Filo dough recipes will appeal to those who like not very sweet desserts.

Cooking products:

• 12 sheets of thin dough;
• half a pack of butter;
• a cup of walnuts;
• for syrup - 2 cups sugar, 3 cups water, half a lemon.

Melt the butter in the microwave. Crush the nuts with a rolling pin, leaving a handful of whole halves for decoration.

Dessert preparation steps;

1. We lay six layers of dough on top of each other on a baking sheet, each generously brush with oil.
2. Lay the crushed nuts on top of the dough.
3. We cover them with six sheets of dough, each of which is also oiled.
4. We make cuts with a sharp knife, dividing the dessert into diamonds.
5. We decorate the pieces with walnut halves and remove the dessert in an oven preheated to 180ºС for 40 minutes.

While the baklava is baking, prepare the syrup. Boil sugar and water over high heat for 20 minutes. Dilute the resulting composition with lemon juice and leave on the stove for another 5 - 7 minutes.

Pour the finished dessert with sweet liquid so that it gets into all the slots. We take out the baklava from the pan after a few hours, when it is completely saturated with sugar syrup.

Cooking meat pies

In Turkey, filo pastry with meat is called berek. Juicy stuffing is prepared from lamb shoulder. The proportions for this dish are made arbitrarily.

The meat is ground into minced meat. Fry in a pan until tender, along with onions and spices for lamb.

Phyllo dough is very thin, bakes quickly, so raw foods are never wrapped in it.

A sheet of phyllo is folded in three so that a long "path" is obtained. A little filling is laid out on the edge. The dough rises by one corner, dragged onto the stuffing. It folds further according to the same principle so that the result is a triangular pie.

Filo pastries are brushed with ghee, sprinkled with sesame seeds and baked in the oven at 170ºC in 30 minutes.

Filo dough pie with cheese

For a cheese pie, you need 400 g of dough.

Filling:

• 700 g of cheese;
• a mug of sour cream;
• three eggs;
• bunch of greens.

Crumble cheese, chop greens, mix everything with sour cream and beaten eggs.

The pie is laid out in layers: 2 sheets of dough - filling, 2 sheets of dough - filling and so on. Before spreading the cheese, the dough is smeared with olive oil.

The top sheets are covered with a beaten egg. The cake is baked at 180ºC for 35 minutes.

Baskets with crab meat

We will make the filling for baskets from crab sticks. But if you have the opportunity to buy real crab meat, cook with it.

Products:

• a pack of sticks;
• cream cheese - a jar, approximately 70 g;
• a spoonful of mayonnaise;
• greens to taste.

Freeze the sticks in the freezer. Then let them thaw a little, rub on the track and mix with cheese, mayonnaise and herbs.

We put squares of filo dough in cupcake molds, slightly shifting them relative to each other to make something like a flower. Each basket will require 3-4 layers. Spray all the sheets with olive oil and put a little stuffing in the middle.

Bake portions in a preheated oven until browned.

Kulebyaka with salmon and rice

All the ingredients for the fish pie must be prepared in advance. We do not indicate the proportions, they can be taken arbitrarily.

For the filling you will need: salmon, chicken eggs, greens, rice porridge. Fish or fillets can be baked whole in the oven or boiled in water, and then disassembled and pulled out all the bones.

Kulebyaka is best cooked in a deep bowl.

1. Place 3 sheets of dough on the bottom. All layers must be oiled.
2. We level the filling of rice porridge, herbs and chopped boiled eggs.
3. Cover this layer with two filo sheets and brush with oil.
4. We level the layer of minced fish and close the kulebyaka with the next three sheets.
5. Lubricate the surface of the pie with beaten yolk and put in a preheated oven. Take out when browned.

Greek pie with spinach and feta

Spanokopita Greek pie is made from stretched dough. To prepare it, in addition to Feta and spinach, you will also need Ricotta, 4 eggs and an onion.

At the bottom of the ceramic form lay 6 layers of filo, sprinkled with olive oil.

On top of the dough, the filling is leveled:

1. A pack of feta cheese is crumbled with a fork.
2. In a bowl, beat 4 eggs, stir with the contents of the package of ricotta cheese.
3. Combine all the ingredients, add chopped onion fried until golden brown.
4. The resulting sauce is poured into a bowl with spinach and mixed.

The filling is covered with two more layers of filo. The edges are smeared with yolk and fastened. The surface of the cake is brushed with olive oil.

The workpiece is baked in the oven for about 40 minutes. Let the cake rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

Sweet banitsa recipe

Banitsa is an airy curd pie made from the thinnest dough. This is the national Bulgarian dish. It is prepared in a round detachable form. About 400 g of dough is used for the pie.

We make rolls. Brush the filo layer with butter. We put a second layer on it. Coat again with oil. Thinly distribute the filling.

Filling:

• in equal proportions mix cottage cheese and grated cheese (about 400 g each);
• add two eggs;
  everything is turned into a homogeneous mass.

The dough is wrapped in a thin long roll, which is folded into a “snail” and placed in the middle of the baking dish. Around the first roll, other sheets of dough folded in the same way are laid out. The contents of the form are poured with a filling from a glass of sour cream, one egg and a tablespoon of sugar.

Triangles stuffed with chicken and onion

1. Boil chicken breast in salted water (250 - 300 g).
2. Fry the finely chopped onion in hot oil.
3. Divide the meat into fibers and put in a pan with onions. Roast lightly.
4. Fold three phyllo sheets one by one and cut lengthwise into three thin "paths". Brush each with oil.
5. Put a spoonful of filling on the edge. Lift the dough at one corner, covering the stuffing. Continue wrapping the filo around the filling until you have a triangular bun.
6. Lay the puffs on parchment, grease them with chicken yolk and bake at 200ºС for 15 minutes.

"Napoleon" from filo dough

Fold the phyllo sheets in threes and place on parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 4 minutes until golden brown.

Cream:

• a bank of condensed milk;
• a pack of butter;
• a cup of heavy cream;

Beat condensed milk and butter separately. We transform the cream into a stable foam in another container. Mix both with a spatula. We get buttercream.

Lubricate filo cakes with the resulting composition. Sprinkle the top layer with crumbs and put the cake in the refrigerator until morning.

Phyllo dough is a wonderful basis for improvisation. With it, you can bake both sweet desserts and hearty meat pies. Many people prefer to buy ready-made dough. But, as we found out, making it yourself is not so difficult.

Description

filo dough- unleavened sheet pastry, very common in Greece and the Balkans. On its basis, crispy bureks, pies, pies, baklava and even strudel are prepared.

Making Greek phyllo dough at home is not an easy task. The fact is that it is very difficult to roll it out, and not everyone can do it right the first time (you need to “fill your hand”). That is why most housewives prefer to buy ready-made filo in the store.

However, you must agree that no store-bought dough can be compared with homemade. So it’s worth trying to cook puff filo with your own hands. And our step-by-step recipe with a photo will help you with this, in which the whole process is described in detail. Let's say right away that this is not the easiest way to cook filo, but the most effective. The dough according to this recipe is surprisingly thin and tender and is suitable for the most delicious pastries.

Now be patient and start cooking.

Ingredients

• 
  (5 st.)
• 
  (2.5 st.)
• 
  (1 tsp)
• 
  (5 tablespoons)
• 
  (2 tablespoons)

Cooking steps

Sift through a sieve 4.5 tbsp. flour, add salt, and then gradually pour in the water combined with vegetable oil and lemon juice (you can replace it with apple cider vinegar). Thoroughly knead the dough until smooth. If, in your opinion, it is dry, pour in a little more water.



We divide the finished dough into five parts, from which we form balls. Sprinkle them with flour, wrap with cling film and send for ½-2 hours in the refrigerator.



Now we cover the table on which the dough will be rolled out with a natural cloth to absorb excess liquid, generously sprinkle with flour (and hands too, and do not spare flour) and re-knead the balls, and then leave them for another 10 minutes "rest". After that, you can start rolling. To do this, you will need a long thin rolling pin. You need to roll out the balls with it as thinly as possible. When you achieve an acceptable result, wrap one end of the rolling ball around the rolling pin, wind the dough with a roll, and then unfold it, pressing it against the surface of the table. Do this until the thickness of the layer is less than 3 mm.



Now we take the layer in our hands, lift it and begin to rotate from the center to the edge, stretching the dough so that it becomes thin to transparency. If it is not possible to pull out by rotation, we proceed as follows: we cling to the layer by the edge of the working surface and gently pull it with our fingers until the thickness of the dough reaches 1 mm. We do this with each ball.



We lay out the finished layers on top of each other, cut into rectangles and use immediately. Keep in mind that phyllo dough dries very quickly in air, so the finished layers must either be gently oiled or covered with a film or damp cloth. If you are going to store filo in the freezer for some time, each layer should be sprinkled with starch, then first wrapped for 10 minutes in natural cloth, and then in parchment and sent to the refrigerator. Homemade phyllo dough makes excellent sweet and savory pastries: pies, cheesecakes, pies, etc.



Enjoy your meal!

I have prepared for you a Greek thin filo pastry made at home, and see the recipe with step-by-step photos below. The name of this test is beautiful, but it is thin and tender. You can make puff pastries, pies, baklava and other puff products from this.

But first you need to knead it, and here you need to know a few secrets of making filo dough, which I would like to tell you about. If you do not follow the basic rules, then the dough will not work out, and the baked goods will not be so tasty. So read and remember!

Extract test secrets

1. In production, phyllo dough is intensively kneaded by a machine that knocks out and mixes in all directions for about 10 minutes. At home, it will take about 20 minutes to intensively knead with your hands. During this time, the mass will become elastic and viscous. It will be easy to work with this and the layers of the finished product will turn out to be translucent.
   If you have a bread maker in your kitchen, then the Dough Kneading program can help you a lot. Just 10 minutes of this technique and everything will be ready. Note, no problems and physical labor.
2. Warm water is used to knead the dough. Not at room temperature, but warm water that needs to be warmed up. Otherwise, nothing will work (!).
3. The finished filo should be sent to the refrigerator for 1 hour. Moreover, it should be the coldest place near the freezer. Only 1 hour it will lie down and you can work with it.
4. An experience. In order to stretch the dough to the thickness of tissue paper, experience is needed. From the first time, not everyone succeeds, but it’s worth trying, since filo pastries are excellent.

For cooking, you need the simplest and most affordable products that are available in any kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 240 ml warm water
• 6 tbsp vegetable oil
• 0.5 tsp salt
• about 3 cups flour
• extra vegetable oil for stretching

How to make phyllo dough step by step recipe

1. First you need to decide who will make the dough: you or the bread machine. I have this assistant in the kitchen, so I will entrust the most difficult work to her. If you don't have a bread maker, knead well by hand, but twice as long as the machine does. We mix the egg, salt, warm water 50 degrees and warm vegetable oil. We fall asleep wheat flour.
2. Now we knead the dough on the “Dough kneading” program for 10 minutes until we get a bun. If we work with pens, then you need to spend 20 minutes knocking the dough on the table and kneading intensively.
3. We wrap the dough in a bag and send it to the refrigerator under the freezer. We leave it there for 1 hour to rest well.
4. Next, divide the bun into pieces and roll out one of them with a rolling pin.
5. Then we grease a thin cake with vegetable oil and stretch it in our hands until the dough becomes very thin and transparent. If you can read a book through it, then you did everything right. Ready-made stretch dough can be frozen by rolling it up with baking paper, or you can immediately start cooking something out of it. I like the second option.

Phyllo dough - video

Those who have been to Greek taverns must have been amazed at how airy sweet pastries and delicate dough rolls with different fillings are. It seems that puff products are also baked here, but for some reason they do not possess such subtlety, airiness and unusual taste. And the whole secret is that special Greek dough is used for cooking. It is so thin that it was even named Philo (translated from Greek means "leaf"). It is quite easy to prepare and the dishes are delicious! Therefore, the material is devoted to this culinary feature of Mediterranean cuisine. We will learn everything about filo dough: what it is, how it is prepared and in what dishes it can be used. Let's get started!

Phyllo dough - what is it and what is it eaten with

The Greeks have many culinary features, and one of them is the Greek Philo dough. At home, he is called φύλλο, which is written in Latin transcription as Filo or Phyllo. Sometimes in Cyrillic they use the spelling with two l: Phyllo. Under such names, this Greek product is known throughout the world.

So what is filo dough and what is it used for? The answers are simple. Phyllo (Phyllo) - unleavened stretched dough, which is rolled out into the thinnest layers less than 1 mm wide. It is a popular culinary ingredient in the cuisine of the Balkan countries, but it is called differently in each region. In Turkey it is called Yufka", in Egypt " Gollach", in Serbia and Montenegro " Core».

Filo dough is used to make flour products: pies, pies, "envelopes", rolls and cakes. Moreover, the dish does not have to be sweet: seafood, as well as vegetable and meat fillings are added to the dough rolls, thus obtaining delicious snacks. So, if you saw puff pastry in the menu of the tavern, Filo dough is probably present in its composition.

Dishes from Filla acquire a ruddy color, an appetizing crunch and a unique taste. The Filo dough itself is low in calories, because. it is fresh and contains a minimum amount of fat in the composition. But due to the fact that each layer is soaked with olive or sunflower oil, the calories of Filo dough increase to 441 units per 100 grams of product. In general, for a standard serving of a dish, this is relatively little.

You can create a Mediterranean culinary masterpiece both from purchased Phyllo and from cooked ones yourself. We will tell you in detail about how to cook filo dough at home a little later. As for ready-made layers, then buy Filo dough in large supermarkets: the price for 500 grams ranges from 100-150 rubles. The product is often sold frozen, therefore, before use, it is required to bring it to full defrosting so that the layers become elastic again.

Filo dough composition

So, we learned what filo dough is, now let's look at how to cook it. But before we give a detailed recipe for filo dough for cooking at home, we will briefly describe its composition. So that those who want to purchase a finished product in a store, focusing on the data presented, choose high-quality products.

So, Phyllo is a yeast-free dough, which includes:

• Flour with a high percentage of gluten (gluten);
• Water;
• Salt;
• Vinegar.

It is also allowed to use chicken egg, vegetable oil and starch in cooking.

These are the ingredients that go into filo dough. As you can see, the composition of Phyllo is very simple, but at the same time rich in vitamins. There are vitamins A, E, PP, D and several B vitamins at once. This complex of useful substances helps to improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, normalize peristalsis and increase body tone. Of course, all this is valid provided that the product does not contain harmful concentrates and additives E. Therefore, when purchasing dough in a store, carefully read the composition on the label.

And to be 100% sure of the usefulness of the dish, it is better to cook it yourself. The recipe for how to make filo dough at home is not that complicated. Especially if you know the little tricks and nuances of cooking. So, let's reveal all the secrets.

How to make your own phyllo dough - step by step recipe

Filo pastry looks attractive, crunches appetizingly and leaves a pleasant aftertaste. Such a delicacy is tempting to try, even if you know about Greece only by hearsay and beautiful pictures on the Internet. Well, traveling abroad is not available to everyone, but it is quite possible to get acquainted with world cuisine at home. For example, make your own phyllo dough pie or a crispy roll with vegetable filling.

filo dough

I got the recipe from lillaya on livejournal. Thank you very much for the masterclass.
Author's text, photos and blue comments are mine

I have two favorite recipes. One simple, fresh, the second European, on eggs, for strudel. Choose according to your taste, the cooking technology is the same.

We will need:
cloth tablecloth or large towel
dough scissors
cooking brush for oiling
damp towel to keep the dough from drying out
parchment paper for transferring dough sheets

For the unleavened dough: I did this
500 g flour
300 ml water
5 tbsp unscented vegetable oil
1 tsp salt

For the European test:
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 yolks
a few drops of vinegar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp salt

Cooking:
So let's get started. Place a pile of sifted flour on the table.
Salt, and gradually pour warm water into the recess. In the case of a European exhaust, add yolks and vinegar to the water. Knead a soft dough with your fingers.
Gradually add vegetable oil.
Knead a soft elastic dough. Important!!! Do not pour out all the flour at once, the flour is of different quality and sometimes its quantity may differ from that indicated in the recipe and it may happen that a certain amount of flour is excess, or vice versa, it is not enough. Therefore, make sure that the dough is tender, soft, but not sticky to your hands.
I did it in a combine and it took me about 100 grams more flour

Now the dough needs to be beaten off. To do this, take it in your hands and slap it hard on the table several times.
Wrap it in cling film and: refrigerate unleavened filo for 1 hour, leave European filo in a warm place for 40 minutes. From now on, the preparation of these two types of dough is no different.

Now the most difficult and interesting thing begins - rolling and drawing. If the first time does not work out, do not be upset, the second or third time you will definitely succeed.
Roll out the dough with a sausage and cut into 12-14 pieces. (I have 24 pieces)
Cover the table with a cloth tablecloth, sprinkle with flour, take a piece of dough and roll it thinly.
Take the edges and stretch the dough in different directions, turn over. The dough should be thin, the thinner the better.

It is convenient to stretch the dough on the back of the hands, scrolling it a little. Sometimes it is hung from the table in different directions, then it stretches itself. (I stretched it in my hands - very quickly and conveniently)
Trim the edges with scissors. (I stretched into a circle, did not need to cut and used for baklava - recipe)
Transfer the finished dough sheets with parchment and cover with a damp towel so as not to dry out.
If you are not going to use the dough right away, then freeze it. Roll up the parchment-lined dough, wrap in cling film and place in the freezer. Defrost carefully and long enough, because under-thawed dough is very brittle.

filo dough

3/4 tbsp oil (no flavors)
1 cup hot water
soda on the tip of a knife
1 tbsp. vinegar.
enough flour to knead a soft dough that does not stick to your hands. Knead for at least 10 minutes. Cover with a towel and let it "rest" for 15-20 minutes (but it seemed to me that it was better after the refrigerator)
Roll out the dough on a greased table. oil. The dough is rolled out to the state of parchment paper. The fillings are a variety of cheese, minced meat. Because it is more to the East nuts with honey, you can strudel with apples.

This is another option:
Filo: I read another recipe with the addition of 1 egg.
550g flour
200-230 ml hot water
5 tbsp olive oil (I ended up taking 8-10)
a pinch of salt
stir for at least 10 minutes. it is desirable to withstand the dough min. 2 hours, 8 hours is better in the refrigerator. After the refrigerator, "warm" the dough at room temperature for an hour and a half
I didn’t see much difference in working with the dough, but my husband said that it was more crispy .... I didn’t eat
From filo dough I made rolls with fillings: minced meat and grated cheese.
The rolls were laid in alternating meat and cheese (a la bannitsa I got), everything was poured with a beaten egg and cheese on top. baked in AG at a temperature of 205 time 25-30min




This is a very tasty dough.

filo dough

In Greece, there are as many phyllo dough recipes as there are housewives. I always use this recipe for all pies and baklavas. The dough is elastic, plastic, it is good and easy to work with. The amount of dough is enough for one pita (tray diameter 40-50 cm.) or baklava for a baking sheet with a diameter of 30-40 cm. Of course, the number of products can be reduced.
Everyone has their own idea of ​​\u200b\u200b"elastic, plastic dough." Every time I remember the words of an old woman from one village - "The dough to the touch should be like the breasts of a young woman."

After reading my books on local Greek cuisines, I want to write about some differences in the preparation of dough in different places in Greece.

Basic Phyllo Dough Recipe

4-4.5 cups flour
1 tsp salt (no slide)
1.5 cups warm water (may need more depending on flour)
1/4 cup good olive oil
2 tbsp good wine vinegar or lemon juice

We sift the flour. In a deep bowl, mix flour and salt, make a well in the middle. Pour water, oil and vinegar (citric acid) into the hole. Using a fork, mix the flour with the liquid until a ball begins to form around the fork. Knead the dough with your hands, about 10 minutes. If needed, add more flour or water. The dough should become elastic, smooth and plastic. We cover the bowl with the dough with a towel and let it stand, “rest”, 1 hour or more. After proofing, we divide the dough into as many parts as needed for pita, and begin to roll out. For baklava, I divide it into about 20 balls.
I roll out the baklava dough as thin as possible so that it “shines through”. And a little secret. I always dry the leaves of the rolled dough. Throughout the house, where I can (tables, tables, sofa) I cover with clean sheets and dry the sheets on them. While I roll out the last sheets, the first ones are already dried and ready for baklava assembly.

Phyllo dough from the Ionian Islands

All products, as in the main recipe, only reduce the amount of water to 1 cup and add half a cup of natural yogurt. Yogurt gives the dough splendor.

Phyllo dough from Roumeli region (Central Greece)

The products are the same as in the main recipe. Reduce water to 1 cup, increase oil to 1 cup and reduce vinegar (lemon juice) to 1 tbsp. Increasing the amount of oil produces crispier sheets.

Phyllo dough from the region of Ipyros (Northern Greece)

The products are the same as in the main recipe. Reduce the water to 1 and 1/4 cups and add one beaten medium egg.

I want to tell you how my mother kneads the dough, she is from the same district. Sifts flour. In a bowl, mix flour and salt. Put an egg in the hole. Sprinkling flour with one hand with water, he begins to knead the dough with the other hand. Constantly sprinkling flour with water, he kneads the dough with the outside of his fist, as if driving water into the flour. Continues to knead the dough, adding water, until the dough becomes elastic and soft. After that, she divides the dough into a “sausage” about 2.5 cm thick, and cuts the number of parts she needs for the product. Slightly crumples, lubricates each part with 1 tsp. oil, cover with a towel and let the dough “rest” for 20-30 minutes.

Phyllo dough from Crete.

Most housewives in Crete add 1 tsp. dry yeast when flour is mixed with salt. Also reduce the water to 1 cup and increase the oil to half a cup. They also add 3 tbsp. local grape vodka - crayfish, without the smell of anise and 3 tbsp. lemon juice (not vinegar!). Fried bread rolls are very well prepared from this dough.

There is also a Macedonian filo. Very similar to puff pastry. But, when cooking it, they use butter not cold, but melted. And the way it is prepared is very characteristic.