Recipe: Homemade Filo Dough (phylo, phyllo, strudel dough)

Filo Dough (phylo, phyllo, strudel dough)
rec.food.cooking/Barrie Lax/1992

My Grandmother made it all the time. Greek or not, fillo is phylo is strudel dough.

Sift together:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Make a depression in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in:
1/2 cup oil
1 egg beaten lightly

Mix thoroughly, adding just enough warm water to make a soft spongy dough. Allow to rest a while covered with a towel.

As far as stretching the dough is concerned, I would have difficulty teaching this by message.

You divide the dough in two, keeping 1/2 from drying out, roll out as thinly as possible, preferably on a small or round table. You than place your hands under the dough palms down, and from the center you stretch the dough working your hands towards the edge. Hard to explain, doing it however explains itself. it is an art and takes practice. When the dough starts looking transparent it is thin enough. You trim the thicker edge all around with a scissors and brush the dough with warm oil or butter depending on what you will be making. I taught my kids to do this when they were about ten years old and they got quite good at it.