Börek and pites (pies)—a diverse group of large and small pastries, convenient everyday dishes that can be filled with all kinds of vegetables, greens, and cheeses—are all wrapped in sheets of phyllo. These pastries are the eastern Mediterranean equivalent of sandwiches, where the tasty, crumbly phyllo plays the role of fresh bread, of equal importance to the filling. Using frozen phyllo is a poor alternative, so it is worth it to try and roll your own sheets. Use a long, thin rolling pin or dowel and follow the traditional Turkish and Greek method. I perfected this dough recipe after years of attempts and countless variations. The result is a wonderful, resilient dough that yields silky sheets. If you are not sure that you will manage to roll adequately thin phyllo, add a dash of yeast to the dough (see Note); it will lighten the thick sheets that might otherwise be too firm.