Aish baladi (Egyptian whole-wheat pita)
This home adaptation of Egyptian aish baladi uses a refrigerated yeast biga, whole-wheat dough, bran dusting and a very hot baking surface to make 16 pocketed rounds.
Traditional method
Feteer meshaltet
Fteer meshaltet
Egyptian layered pastry made from a soft wheat dough stretched thin, folded with ghee, and baked until crisp and golden. Serve plain with sweet or salty accompaniments.
A plain layered pastry
This plain feteer meshaltet uses soft wheat dough stretched by hand into a thin sheet, folded repeatedly with ghee, rested in a pan, then baked and browned under a broiler. Filled versions place a filling between pastry layers; this preparation remains plain. Serve it with sweet or salty accompaniments.
The dough is meant to be soft and sticky so it can stretch. A clean, broad work surface helps; marble is suggested, but no special oven or commercial equipment is required. Stretch slowly and gently. If the dough tears, continue folding it into the layered square rather than trying to gather and re-knead it.
Sources for this section
History
The recipe source identifies feteer meshaltet as an Egyptian specialty but gives no reliable dated evidence for its earliest attestation. Claims about ancient Egyptian origins are not used here.
Ingredients
Yield 4 plain feteer pastries · Scaling: source batch only
710 mL3 cup as recorded
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
355 mL1½ cup as recorded
approximately; add gradually and use only enough to make a smooth, sticky doughGheeMelt before using.
Amount not stated
1 to 2 cups, for coating the dough and brushing between folds; generous amountMethod
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour
Uncooked flour can carry germs; the dough is handled before baking.
Hazard sourceDo not taste or serve the raw dough; bake the pastry before eating and wash hands, utensils, bowls, and work surfaces after handling flour or dough.
Control sourceThe recipe gives no fixed bake time; watch for puffing and a golden bottom, then closely watch the broiler until the top is golden.
Use care with the hot oven, broiler, baking pans, and melted ghee.
- Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the warm water gradually while kneading until the dough is smooth and sticky. Knead for 10 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook, or 15 minutes by hand.
- Divide the dough into four portions. Coat them generously with melted ghee and leave them to rest for 1 hour.
- On a clean work surface, preferably marble, spread a little melted ghee. Gently stretch one portion with your hands into a very thin circle.
- Fold one third of the circle over the middle third and brush the exposed dough with ghee. Fold the other third over it and brush again. Fold one third over the middle, brush with ghee, then fold the remaining third over it to make a layered square. Repeat with the other portions.
- Place each folded square in its own baking pan and rest for 30 minutes. Gently spread each square thinner in its pan.
- Bake on the central rack in an oven preheated to 190°C (380°F) until the bottom is golden and the pastry has puffed. No fixed bake time is given, so watch the pastry closely.
- Switch on the broiler for a few minutes, watching closely, until the top is golden. Remove the hot pans carefully and serve the plain feteer with sweet or salty accompaniments.
Conditions
Yield4 plain feteer pastries
Temperature190°C
Places
Egypt
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe author identifies feteer meshaltet as an Egyptian specialty. The source does not identify a more precise place.
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Sources
Chef in disguiseMethod · Geography
Feteer meshaltet “Egyptian layered pastry”The author identifies feteer meshaltet as an Egyptian specialty and says a family recipe was shared for the Arabic flavor challenge.
The plain recipe gives ingredient quantities, dough consistency, kneading, resting, thin stretching, ghee layering, pan rest, oven baking, broiler browning, and accompaniments.
Cited in: A plain layered pastry
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSafety
Raw Flour and DoughRaw flour can carry germs; do not eat raw dough; bake according to recipe directions and wash hands, utensils, bowls, and countertops after handling raw flour or dough.