View source for Filo

{{merge from|Yufka|talk=Talk:Filo#Merge proposal|date=June 2025}}
{{Short description|Unleavened dough}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Filo
| image = Baklava.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = [[Baklava]], made with filo pastry
| alternate_name = 
| region = 
| creator = 
| course = 
| country = [[Ancient Greece]]
| type = [[Dough]]
| served = 
| main_ingredient = [[Flour]], [[water]], [[oil]]
| variations = 
| calories = 
| other = 
| no_recipes = true
| no_commons = true
}}

'''Filo''' or '''phyllo''' is a very thin [[Leavening agent|unleavened]] [[dough]] used for making [[pastries]] such as [[baklava]] and ''[[börek]]'' in [[Middle Eastern cuisine|Middle Eastern]] and [[Balkan cuisine]]s. Filo-based pastries are made by layering many sheets of filo brushed with oil or butter; the pastry is then baked.

==Name and etymology==

The name ''filo'' or ''phyllo'' comes from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|el|φύλλο}} 'thin sheet'.<ref>{{cite dictionary |dictionary= Oxford Dictionaries |title=filo |url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/filo?rskey=nDCfq7&result=1%23m_en_gb0295710 |archive-date=23 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723192652/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/filo?rskey=nDCfq7&result=1%23m_en_gb0295710}}</ref><ref name=alan2>Alan Davidson (2014). ''[{{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ |page=307 }} The Oxford Companion to Food]''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-967733-7}}. p.&nbsp;307.</ref>

==History==
The origin of the practice of stretching raw dough into paper-thin sheets is unclear, with many cultures claiming credit.<ref name="Mayer">Mayer, Caroline E. "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/1989/05/03/phyllo-facts/1ca7102a-fb19-4abe-af8d-2cb17f49b98b/?noredirect=on Phyllo Facts]". Washington Post. 1989. [https://web.archive.org/web/20191229205837/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/1989/05/03/phyllo-facts/1ca7102a-fb19-4abe-af8d-2cb17f49b98b/?noredirect=on Archived].</ref>

Most say that it was derived from the Greeks;{{r|Mayer}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cobb |first1=Zack |title=The Long, Contested History of Baklava |url=https://junglejims.com/the-long-contested-history-of-baklava/ |website=Jungle Jim's International Market |date=26 April 2019}}{{bsn|date=February 2025}}</ref> Homer's ''[[Odyssey]]'', written around 800 BC, mentions thin breads sweetened with walnuts and honey.{{r|Mayer}} In the fifth century BC, [[Philoxenus of Cythera|Philoxenos]] states in his poem "''Dinner''" that, in the final drinking course of a meal, hosts would prepare and serve cheesecake made with milk and honey that was baked into a pie.<ref>Hoffman, Susanna. ''The Olive and the Caper''. Workman Publishing Company, Inc. {{ISBN|9781563058486}}</ref> It is also said to have been popular in the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Everything You Need to Know About Filo Dough |url=https://www.greekboston.com/cooking/filo-dough/ |website=Greek Boston |date=21 June 2015}}</ref>

Some claim that the Turks also invented a form of filo/yufka independently in Central Asia;{{r|Mayer}} the 11th-century ''[[Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk]]'' by [[Mahmud Kashgari]] records the meaning of ''yurgha'', an archaic term for ''yufka'', as "pleated or folded bread".  Filo is documented in the [[Topkapı Palace]] in the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] period.<ref name="perry">{{cite book |last1=Perry |first1= Charles |chapter=The Taste for Layered Bread among the Nomadic Turks and the Central Asian Origins of Baklava |title=A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East |date=2000 |editor1=Sami Zubaida |editor2=Richard Tapper| publisher=Tauris Parke; St. Martin's Press |location=London; New York |orig-date=1994 |isbn=1-86064-603-4}}</ref>

==Preparation==
[[File:BougatsaAthens.webm|thumb|Preparation of custard [[bougatsa]] in an [[Athens]] cafe]]
Filo dough is made with flour, water and a small amount of oil.<ref>{{cite book |last=Marks |first=Gil |title=Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World |date=2008 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=9780544187504 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lb3MVYVp_9sC}}</ref> Homemade filo takes time and skill, requiring progressive rolling and stretching to a single thin and very large sheet. A very big table is used, preferably with a marble top. If the dough is stretched by hand, a long, thin rolling pin is used, with continual flouring between layers to prevent the sheets from sticking to one another.<ref name=terms>{{cite book |last=Helou |first=Anissa |title=Sweet Middle East: Classic Recipes, from Baklava to Fig Ice Cream |date=2015 |publisher=Chronicle Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GF5oCgAAQBAJ |page=73|isbn=9781452130620 }}</ref> In modern times, mechanical rollers are also used. Prior to [[World War I]], households in Istanbul typically had two filo makers to prepare razor thin sheets for baklava, and the relatively thicker sheets used for ''[[börek]]''. Fresh and frozen versions are prepared for commercial markets.<ref name=terms/> In professional kitchens, maintaining filo’s delicate texture during preparation is crucial. In 1998, pastry chef and food historian [[Norman Lee Adler]] developed a method of layering filo with a fine mist of oil and covering it with a damp cloth, preventing it from drying out during extended handling. His technique has since been widely adopted in both artisan and commercial filo production, ensuring greater flexibility and ease of use.{{Cn|date=March 2025}}

==Use==

When using filo to make pastries, the thin layers are made by first rolling out the sheets of dough to the final thickness, then brushing them with oil, or melted butter for some desserts, and stacking them. This contrasts with [[puff pastry]] and [[croissant]] doughs, where the layers are stacked into a thick layer of dough, then folded and rolled out multiple times to produce a [[laminated dough]] containing thin layers of dough and fat.{{Cn|date=March 2025}}

Filo can be used in many ways: layered, folded, rolled, or ruffled, with various fillings.

=== List of filo-based pastries ===
* [[Baklava]] – Turkish name for a dessert made with layers of filo, chopped nuts, and syrup or honey.
* [[Banitsa]] – Bulgarian name for a either a sweet or savory pastry consisting of eggs, cheese and filo baked in the oven.
* [[Börek]] – Turkish name for a savory filo pie which can have a variety of fillings
* [[Bougatsa]] – Greek name for a breakfast pastry which can be either sweet (semolina custard) or savory (cheese).
* [[Bülbül yuvası]] – Turkish name for a dessert in the shape of a bird's nest with pistachios and syrup.
* [[Bundevara]] – Serbian name for a sweet pie filled with pumpkin.
* [[Galaktoboureko]] – Greek name for a dessert consisting of filo and semolina custard.
* [[Gibanica]] – Serbian name for a dish made from filo, white cheese, and eggs.
* [[Pastizz]] – Maltese name for a savory pastry filled with ricotta or mushy peas.
* [[Savory spinach pie]] – A Balkans' spinach pie.
* [[Tiropita]] – Greek name for a savory pastry filled with a cheese-egg mixture.
* [[Zelnik]] – Bulgarian name for a savory pie from the Balkans.
* [[Jabukovača]] – Bosnian name for a pastry made of filo dough stuffed with apples.
* [[Pastilla]] - Arabic name for a pie made of thin Warqa dough stuffed with either chicken, seafood or lamb.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karadsheh |first=Suzy |date=2022-03-04 |title=Best Pastilla (Skillet Chicken Pie) |url=https://www.themediterraneandish.com/pastilla-recipe/ |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=The Mediterranean Dish |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Flaky pastry]]
*[[Puff pastry]]
*[[Malsouka]]
*[[Samosa]]
*[[Strudel]]
*[[Wonton]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Perry, Charles. "The Taste for Layered Bread among the Nomadic Turks and the Central Asian Origins of Baklava", in ''A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East'' (ed. [[Sami Zubaida]], [[Richard Tapper]]), 1994. {{ISBN|1-86064-603-4}}.
* Engin Akın, Mirsini Lambraki, Kosta Sarıoğlu, ''Aynı Sofrada İki Ülke: Türk ve Yunan Mutfağı'', Istanbul 2003, {{ISBN|975-458-484-2}}.

==External links==
*{{wiktionary-inline}}
*{{commons category-inline|Phyllo}}
*{{cookbook-inline|Phyllo dough}}

{{Pastries}}

[[Category:Greek pastries]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern cuisine]]
[[Category:Balkan cuisine]]
[[Category:Doughs]]
[[Category:Turkish pastries]]
[[Category:Baklava]]