Brik; Brek

These are paper-thin sheets of pastry dough sold packaged and ready for use, similar to phyllo dough or spring roll wrappers. Brik (also spelled brek) is actually the name of a savory pastry from Tunisia (comparable to the Moroccan pastilla, which is made with phyllo dough) that is filled with ground meat and a soft-boiled egg and wrapped in thin sheets of dough called malsouqa. These dough sheets are now sold under the name brik, taking their title from the end product for which they were originally used. The sheets are very thin, like phyllo dough, but they have a bit of elasticity. They are traditionally made by boiling semolina, then cooking the batter in a frying pan coated with olive oil, spreading it by hand with a practiced circular motion to produce the very delicate sheets. Sheets manufactured for commercial sale are, for the most part, produced using machines. In a pastry application, brik can be used like phyllo dough: brushed with butter and layered to enclose a filling. After baking, the crust becomes crisp and golden brown.