Filo dough is thin pastry that can be used for both sweet and savory dishes. It can be made at home using a pasta machine or rolling pin, and should be kept moist to prevent it from drying out. It is commonly used in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisine.
Filo dough, or phyllo dough, is made into wafer-thin sheets for pastry. It can be folded, layered and rolled with or without fillings to create a variety of desserts and savory foods. It’s quite easy to make dough at home using a pasta machine or a rolling pin. Using hot water to combine the dough with other ingredients and keep the sheets moist enough is also crucial when making thin sheets.
Some cooks combine all the ingredients to make this dough with very hot water and then mix it until it becomes the required consistency. With pasta machines, the dough can be placed in saran wrap and left in the refrigerator overnight. Cooks then pass the dough through the pasta machine to make thin sheets of the desired thickness. If there is unused filo pastry, it can be stored in the refrigerator for about 10 days in a sealed container.
If the sheets are to be made with a rolling pin, the dough should be kneaded by hand until smooth and soft. It should be allowed to rest for about 20 minutes and then placed on a lightly floured surface. Adding a little oil to your hands keeps the filo dough from sticking. After kneading, it should be left to stand for about two hours. The dough can then be rolled out into equally sized balls.
Cooks then roll out the balls using dough bricks or rollers into very thin sheets. Once the sheets are made, it’s important to keep them moist and work quickly. Unused dough should be covered with damp paper or kitchen towels because this prevents it from drying out and becoming unusable. Some recipes call for brushing the dough with melted butter. In this case, the pastry brush should have ultrasoft bristles because brushes with stiff bristles can leave snags in the dough.
Keeping any fillings in advance is also crucial due to the quick-drying nature of the dough. Baklava, samosas and borek are just some of the items made with this dough, which is very popular in the Middle East and Balkan regions. Keeping all the necessary tools like knives or pizza rollers close at hand makes things easier. If a sheet is removed from the filo dough, the remaining dough should be covered so it stays hydrated. When they get too dry, the sheets become very brittle.
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