Homemade Dough
Description
Perfect with tea and coffee. Making phyllo dough at home is not difficult if you follow the recipe and the recommendations in it. Thin, almost transparent phyllo is the base for many Eastern and Mediterranean dishes: baklava, strudels, pies, and rolls. You can make it at home if you have patience and a little practice. Homemade phyllo turns out elastic, tender, and much more aromatic than store-bought. Serve cooled or slightly warm.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients according to the recipe. Heat the water to 50–60°C.
- 2
Step 2
Pour vinegar and vegetable oil into warm water; add salt.
- 3
Step 3
Add the flour and knead the dough. You can knead the dough by hand for about 7–10 minutes, or with a stand mixer for three minutes.
- 4
Step 4
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a floured bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 30 minutes.
- 5
Step 5
While the dough is "resting", prepare a mixture of 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of corn starch and mix. If you later run out of this mixture, make more in the same ratio: 1 part flour and 1 part starch.
- 6
Step 6
Divide the dough into 21 portions weighing approximately 21–22 grams each, trying to keep the portions even. Roll each piece into a ball and cover with plastic wrap.
- 7
Step 7
Dust the work surface with a mixture of flour and starch.
- 8
Step 8
Roll out a sheet of dough approximately 20 cm in diameter. Rolling is done in three stages; this is the first stage.
- 9
Step 9
Lay out the rolled sheets of dough, sprinkling them evenly with a starch-flour mixture.
- 10
Step 10
Roll out the next sheet of dough the same way, stack them on top of each other, and align the edges.
- 11
Step 11
In this way, stack the dough sheets in a pile of 5 to 7 layers.
- 12
Step 12
Transfer the dough to the table work surface for further rolling out using a dough scraper or a thin spatula.
- 13
Step 13
Roll out the entire stack of dough with light pressure from the rolling pin, without force, so the dough layers do not stick together. While rolling, rotate the dough on its axis not with your hands but with a bench scraper or spatula. At this stage, roll the dough out to a diameter of approximately 25 cm.
- 14
Step 14
On a table dusted with a starch-and-flour mixture, lay out the sheets of dough, carefully separating them from one another. Dry them for just a couple of minutes, then stack them again. If needed, you can lightly dust them with more of the starch mixture.
- 15
Step 15
Roll out the dough sheets again to approximately 30 cm in diameter. This is the final rolling. If there is still a lot of starch-flour mixture on the dough, brush it off with a pastry brush.
- 16
Step 16
Again, separate the dough sheets from one another and let them dry for one to two minutes before stacking them for cooking or storage.
- 17
Step 17
The dough turns out very thin and pliable.
- 18
Step 18
Through properly prepared dough, you can read the text of a book.
- 19
Step 19
If the dough has been prepared in advance, wrap it in silicone paper, then wrap it in plastic wrap.
- 20
Step 20
Place the dough in the freezer, where it can be stored for several months. Before use, thaw the dough in the refrigerator for several hours before cooking.
- 21
Step 21
From phyllo dough you can make a wide variety of both sweet and savory baked goods. It is incredibly delicious, flaky, and crispy!