Cherry Filo Pastry Tart -- easy recipe | The Worktop (2024)

FAQs

How many layers of filo pastry should I use? ›

Typically, phyllo dishes should have a finished thickness of 3 to 10 sheets per layer. (A one-pound box of phyllo contains about 20 sheets.) Tip: Phyllo pastries can often be very brittle when baked. We recommend using a serrated knife to cut the finished dish to prevent all of the filling from squishing out.

Filo Pastry contains virtually no fat but a light brushing of melted butter, ghee or oil imparts a sheen to the baked recipe and adds to the eating qualities. Use a pastry brush and brush the sheets very lightly before using each one in the recipe. Brush the finished dish again before baking.

It needs to be blind baked first. Press the dough into your pie plate & poke a few fork holes in the bottom. Then cover it with aluminum foil and pour pie weights or dried beans on top, to keep the pastry from rising. 375 degrees for 12 minutes.

CLASSIC RECIPES using fillo usually calls for brushing dough with melted butter. This keeps the thin leaves separate – prevents “clumping” – so they will bake into flaky layers. USE OLIVE OIL – For healthier results, brush on a light olive or vegetable oil instead of butter.

In order to get golden, individual layers, you need to brush each layer of phyllo with butter or oil. Use a pastry brush, and remember that each sheet will soak up around 1 Tbsp. of fat, so plan accordingly.

While you're using the filo pastry, cover the stack with a sheet of baking paper or a clean, dry tea towel followed by a cool damp tea towel. Make sure the pastry is completely covered.

Phyllo pastry can be prepared ahead of time and covered and refrigerated or frozen and baked just before serving. This method makes phyllo the flakiest. You can sprinkle ingredients between the layers of phyllo or on top before baking.

Richard's solution: Tough pastry is very common, but easily avoidable. It usually occurs when you've been a bit heavy-handed with the water when you're initially bringing the pastry together (by adding water to the flour and butter), or if you have over-worked the dough and developed the gluten in the flour.

Pastries are done when they are baked to a nice golden brown, unless they contain chocolate, coffee, or something else that makes it difficult to tell. They should be crisp on the bottom, not soft or soggy. If they involve batter, a tester inserted in the center will come out clean or with only a few crumbs.

Phyllo needs butter or olive oil brushed between all sheets to get it's crispy texture. If they are sticking together, two sheets can be used at once and it will work. I use sweet unsalted butter, or extra-virgin olive oil. Use a soft bristle pastry brush, so not to tear the dough.

Can I freeze filo pastry? ›

Filo pastry

It can be frozen, but dries out very quickly and becomes harder to work with. YES if you're scrunching on top of a fish pie (like our filo-topped fish pie). NO if you're using to make parcels or samosas.

If you were to use any other flour, like all-purpose flour, the thin dough would be more prone to ripping or simply not keeping its shape. Furthermore, bread flour gives phyllo dough its signature crunch once baked. It is possible to use all-purpose flour for phyllo, but the crunch will be less prominent.

Filo pastry dries out and cracks very quickly when it comes in contact with air.

After all, the traditional process of making “regular” filo pastry from wheat flour relies pretty much exclusively on gluten when it comes to achieving its extreme, delicate thinness.

Phyllo sheets are generally sold in one-pound packages. Phyllo is sold in different thicknesses and shapes. Phyllo for pastries is very thin, used for delicate pastries like baklava, and rolled pastries. Each one-pound box contains approximately 24 sheets.

Yes, but you might want to use an eggwash or water to make sure the two layers stick together. Yep, there are recipes that call for exactly that.

A typical Puff Pastry can have a ranges of between 500 - 700 layers depending on the total of folds involved. You can fold the dough in a number of different ways and the two most common ways are called the " Single Fold / Letter Fold" and "Double Fold/ Book Fold".