Phyllo calls for detailed steps

Q: I am a fairly seasoned cook and baker, but I am perplexed by phyllo. In using a recipe that involves phyllo, I find the directions nonexistent.

Am I to use only one sheet or multiple sheets? Using one sheet doesn’t seem realistic, as I can’t seem to peel off one sheet.

What is the secret? What are the guidelines? When I see baked goods using phyllo, they are beautiful, and it seems that more than one sheet has been used. I would appreciate your guidance.

A: Many recipes use multiple sheets of phyllo — each brushed with clarified butter as it is layered. The butter helps to create the flaky texture of the finished item and also the buttery flavor that is associated with phyllo pastries, including the iconic baklava.

Small, filled pockets or rolled pastries can be made from just one sheet of dough. In that case, you butter the dough every time you fold it to create the flaky layers.

A 1-pound box of phyllo has about 40 sheets of dough. To work with phyllo, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator or according to the package directions.

Open the package and unroll the dough on a baking sheet. If it is fresh, the dough should be soft and pliable, not dry and cracked, and it should fan apart easily so that you can pick up one sheet at a time.

Cover the top piece with a damp (not wet) dish towel to keep it from drying out as you work.

For a recipe such as baklava, butter the pan, lift one sheet, place it on the pan, brush it with butter, and continue with another sheet.

For an individual pastry, place the dough on the work surface, butter it, make the folds, add the filling, and continue to butter and fold until you have reached the desired shape — often a triangle or roll.

The dough tears easily, as if you are working with fragile tissue paper, but the process is fairly simple once you get the hang of it.

If your recipe doesn’t include helpful instructions, find one that is more clearly written.

Athens Foods in Cleveland manufactures phyllo dough and offers helpful videos on the company’s website, www. athensfoods.com.

Lisa Abraham

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