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Phyllo tip: use butter for sweet and olive oil for savory

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seleanor

seleanor

Active member
When baking with phyllo, use olive oil (not extra virgin) for savory treats like spanakopita and butter for sweets like baklava. :)
 
Thanks for the phyllo tip, never heard of this and we will try it next time we make spanakopita and/or baklava! ??
 
Might just be me, but I have NEVER had success using olive oil and filo pastry.
 
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Patisqua said:
Might just be me, but I have NEVER had success using olive oil and filo pastry.
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Do you use butter? I find that butter is good for sweet pastries but I like to use olive oil for savoury. The phyllo is always more flaky with butter though
 
Butter makes the pastry flakier. When olive oil is used, it gives it a different texture. It maybe feels a little denser, and can make even store bought phyllo feel homemade. For me, it all depends on the situation. Sometimes I even do a half butter, half olive oil blend.
 
Definitely butter for sweets. Recipes for homemade filo are made with lots of butter. Had a cooking lesson on the weekend. My cousin was teaching me to make Kastellorizian sweet - Katoumathia. Katoumathia is fried flaky pastry garnished with sugar, water and cloves - flour, water kneaded and rolled out. cut into pieces. Each piece rolled out again and lots and lots (and lots more) melted butter spread over, rolled into strands, squished and rolled out again and fried in butter. Unfortunately this cannot be made with filo. BUT, I have made similar with frozen roti and lots and lots of butter garnished with sugar, water and cloves.
 

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Ive never heard of this pastry, looks so yummy, thanks for sharing :) :) :) :) :)
 
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