PHYLO DOUGH (Greece)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound of all purpose flour
• Half a cup of warm water
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Corn starch
• Teaspoon of salt

Preparation:

In a large bowl pour flour through a fine sieve. Add the teaspon of salt. Then add slowly water till make a dough. Place the ball of dough on a smooth surface. Grease hands with a little olive oil and kneaded dough until gets smooth and elastic, adding occasionally a bit of olive oil. This kneading is long and hard. Until you do not have pain in your arms you won't get the proper texture. Now make a big ball, leaving it on a plate covered with a wet cloth. Place the dough in a warm place for at least two hours.

Once two hours have passed divide the ball in another 10 balls, more or less equal size, and roll them over a bit of cornstarch. Leave again half hour and finally knead balls with a rolling pin until we get them thin as paper squares of 17 inches side length, approximately. Phylo should be used immediately or cover with a wet cloth till it can be used. You can also freeze.

As you can see a very arduous job.

I always recommend to buy phylo made. You save a lot of unnecessary work. However if you buy phylo be careful handling it. If you buy frozen layers the first mistake is to thaw the product on the marble of the kitchen. In this case the layers will merge and would become useless, even though they have some film protection in between. You should always thaw frozen phylo in the upper part of the refrigerator, which can take several hours.

Second : do not worry too much because when you extract these foils they get broken. Always happens and is inevitable. Ruptures can be repaired with butter or baking in a way that disguises the break up. And above all, patience. There is nothing comparable to the phylo dough ... nor can be frustrating that make or use it.