Pantry
Phyllo
φύλλο
Also called filo, yufka, fillo pastry
Paper-thin wheat pastry sheets stacked with fat. Baklava, knafeh lids, brik and börek are built from the shatter. Filo, fillo and yufka are cousins; supermarket frozen phyllo is what most kitchens use.
Origin
Ottoman pastry kitchens refined the stretch to near-transparency. The freezer block is convenience, not a lesser ingredient if you keep it pliable.
Flavour
Almost none on its own — dry wheat and whatever butter, ghee or oil you brush between the leaves. The filling does the talking.
How it is made
A lean dough is stretched until you can read newsprint through it, then stacked. Factories sheet it and freeze it before the leaves dry into glass.
How to use it
Thaw in the fridge, still wrapped. Work fast: unused sheets under a barely damp tea towel, never a wet one. Brush each layer or the stack bakes pale and tough. Tears patch with another scrap. Bake hot so steam leaves and the leaves crisp rather than stew.
Storage
Frozen until the week you need it, then fridge to thaw. Opened packs dry out in a day; wrap tightly or cook the rest.
Recipes using it
Checking your allergy settings…