Homemade Gluten Free Filo Pastry (Phyllo Dough)
This gluten free filo pastry (phyllo dough) is the real deal: it’s paper thin (so much so that you can actually read through it!), it bakes up beautifully crisp and tender, and it’s shockingly easy to make. You can use it to make everything from gluten free apple strudel to baklava and spanakopita. Here, I’ve included a detailed guide to the PERFECT gluten free filo pastry: from how to make the dough and the correct way to roll it in order to avoid tearing, to storage instructions so you can prepare it in advance.This recipe makes enough dough for three large, about 12x16 inches (30x40cm) filo pastry sheets, but you can easily scale the recipe up or down depending on your requirements and the recipe you intend to make.
Ingredients
- 5 g (1 tbsp) whole/rough psyllium husk ((If using psyllium husk powder, use only 4g.))
- 150 g (½ cup + 2 tbsp) lukewarm water
- 200 g (1 ⅔ cups) plain gluten free flour blend, plus extra for flouring the surface
- 15 g (4 tsp) caster/superfine or granulated sugar
- 5 g (2 tsp) xanthan gum
- 2 g (½ tsp) salt
- 30 g (¼ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
Directions
- 1
In a small bowl, mix together the psyllium husk and 100g (⅓ cup + 1 ½ tbsp) water. After about 30-45 seconds, a gel will form.
- 2
Tip 1: I recommend that you check out the blog post for detailed step-by-step photos of the rolling out process.Tip 2: As the filo pastry needs to be rolled out into large, thin sheets, you’ll need to work on a large surface, like a kitchen counter or a kitchen island. If at all possible, choose a work surface that you can access from at least three sides (that is, where you can move around the work station and work from at least three sides).
- 3
The method outlined below works both as a preventative measure to avoid the pastry from sticking to the surface, as well as for "unsticking" gluten free filo pastry that got stuck in places.
- 4
Once your filo pastry reaches a thickness of less than 1mm, it's best to trim its edges to make an approximate rectangle. I recommend using a pizza cutter for this. Try to cut away only a minimal amount of pastry. Remove any scraps.Tip: It’s okay if the filo pastry sheet isn’t perfectly rectangular and 100% neat – as you’re trying to cut away the least amount of pastry, your corners might not be perfectly sharp and the edges might be slightly uneven still. But you should be left with a more regular shape and, as you’ve removed most of the splits and tears around the edges, it will be easier to roll it out further.
- 5
Now that your gluten filo pastry sheet is as thin as possible, you need to move it out of the way so that you can start rolling out the next one. At the same time, you need to prevent the pastry sheet from drying out.
- 6
To prepare the filo pastry sheets for long-term storage, you need to roll them up with sheets of plastic wrap (cling film) in between.