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Phyllo Dough Recipe
Homemade Filo Dough Recipe

With this phyllo dough recipe, you can make this delicious and light dough in your own home.

What is phyllo dough?

Phyllo dough - also called fillo or filo dough - comes from the Greek word which means "leaf." It is pronounced FEE-lo. Phyllo dough is a tissue paper-thin dough made from flour, water, vinegar (or raki***) and a bit of oil. It is an unleavened dough.

***Raki: It is a non-sweet, anise-flavored liqueur consumed in Turkey as well as some other countries in this area.

Even though Phyllo dough is associated with Greece, this recipe was not born there but rather came from what is now Turkey. It was in fact made popular during the Ottoman Empire.

Now a warning: your homemade phyllo dough will not be as paper thin as the store bought variety which is not hand-made but rather is rolled by machine.

I make mine using a pasta maker like this one. With this device I can make the dough quite thin and rather than using many sheets of the store bought kind, I use one sheet of my homemade Phyllo dough.

Another bonus of any Phyllo dough recipe is that it is low fat! Try it, you will not be disappointed. If you feel inclined to leave a review or a recipe using this dough please do not hesitate. You may do so by using this simple form.

Homemade Phyllo dough recipe - Comments and reviews.

How to Make Phyllo Dough: Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon vinegar - I use white

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 to 3/4 cups HOT water

Homemade Phyllo Dough Recipe: Method

You certainly can make this dough by hand. I - for one - do not enjoy doing so. I use my stand mixer. Use whichever method is best for you.

By hand: Put the flour in a medium size bowl. Make a well. Pour the vinegar and the olive oil into the well, add the 1/2 cup of hot water and mix with a fork and then with your hands until you have a soft dough. Add more water if necessary. Knead your dough until elastic, soft and pliable. Let it rest 20 minutes - covered with a clean kitchen towel - before using.

With a stand mixer: Place the flour, vinegar, olive oil and 1/2 cup of the water into the bowl and turn the machine on. Add water if necessary. Let the machine knead your dough for about 5 minutes. Let it rest 20 minutes - covered with a clean kitchen towel - before using.

To roll it out:

Method 1: Place on a lightly floured surface and roll as thin as possible with a pastry roller.

Method 2: Use a pasta machine. Place a little flour on both sides of your dough and run it through the machine. I have gone as high as the number 8 on my dial. Any higher than that and my dough gets very hard to handle. 6 seems to me a good number, not too thick, not too thin. Don't worry you'll get a hang of it.

Keep any unused dough wrapped in plastic and in the fridge for up to one week. Leave out for 30 minutes before using.