To start off, I will give you a basic filo recipe, there are many others but the more important thing about bougatsa recipe is the way you open the filo. It is not done with a rolling pin but by stretching. I cannot stretch and throw it about so I do it with a rolling pin. Make sure that it is opened up as thin as you possibly can and if you do need to flour the board (although we should be using oil or butter the hand stretch) make sure that the flour on the board is rice flour otherwise to much gluten will then make you filo hard. If making your own filo is much to difficult use a ready made one but please make sure it is not the super fine one for baklava. I know that the commercial companies are making a slightly thicker these days one then the baklava quality.
Basic filo recipe
* this is a large quantity but halve it if you want to make smaller quantity
Ingredients
1 kilo of plain flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons good white wine vinegar
2 cups (approximately) of warm water
1 cup rice flour for the opening of the filo
Greasing the filo
1/2 cup of melted margarine
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 cup of butter
Method
1. In a bowel sift the flour with the salt
2. Create a hole in the centre of the flour and add the oil, vinegar, and water
3. Mix all this by hand till you have a ball of pastry
4. Cover the pastry and allow to rest
5. In about an hour divide the pastry in 24 pieces
6. Oil each ball and spread putting one on top of the other and stretching or rolling out
Note: If you are going to make it like a galatopita you will need 12 sheets for the bottom layer and 12 for the top. If you are going to make individual bougasta in the traditional way, two sheets, stretched well for each bougatsa. Feel your way around this and make it the way that you’re at ease with unless you have someone around you who knows how to do this well.
