Filo Pastry

Filo is a paper-thin pastry made with flour and water. Filo means ‘leaf’ in Greek, and is used widely in the Middle East, Turkey, Greece and Europe for making a variety of pastries and pies such as spanakopita and baklava, or it may be used to wrap seafood or vegetable fillings. The dough for filo is easy enough to make, but stretching it until it is tissue-thin requires great skill and patience. For this reason, commercially made filo, which is available fresh or frozen, is often used. If using frozen filo, thaw it in the packet, then take out the sheets and stack them on a cloth. Cover with a damp cloth and use one at a time as they dry out quickly when exposed to air.