Homemade Filo Dough

Method

1. 01

   Step 1: Knead a firm dough

   Combine the flour, salt, warm water, oil and vinegar and knead for 10 minutes. Hydration is only 55%, so the dough is stiff — as it should be, since a slack one simply tears.

2. 02

   Step 2: Test the spring

   Press a finger into it: the dent should fill back slowly. If a piece tears when you stretch it, knead for another 3 minutes.

3. 03

   Step 3: Rest for an hour

   Wrap the dough and leave it at room temperature for an hour. The gluten relaxes; without that it pulls back after every pass of the pin.

4. 04

   Step 4: Divide into 12 balls

   Cut pieces of about 55 g, roll them into balls and keep them covered. Filo that has dried out cannot be rescued.

5. 05

   Step 5: Roll them out roughly

   Roll each ball to a 15 cm disc, dusting with cornflour, then let them sit another 10 minutes so the dough becomes more willing.

6. 06

   Step 6: Roll until translucent

   With a thin long pin, roll from the centre outwards, turning the sheet 90° each time and dusting with cornflour. The benchmark is simple: you should see the grain of the board through the sheet.

7. 07

   Step 7: Stack with starch

   Dust each finished sheet with cornflour and keep the stack under a damp cloth. Starch does not absorb into the dough, so the sheets separate later; flour would weld them together.

8. 08

   Step 8: Use it straight away

   Brush every sheet with oil or butter as you assemble. Exposed to air, filo dries and starts to crack within two minutes, so keep the rest of the stack covered.