I just love phyllo dough...

Phyllo (Pronounced fee-low) – known also as Filo / Phylo – is a unique paper-thin pastry dough that is used extensively in Greek cooking.
It's a very fine, but strong dough, made of flour, water, salt and in some cases with vinegar, baking powder, soda water and/or butter or margarine.

The layers are stacked with butter between them for a flaky consistency. Those of you who have had the middle eastern dessert baklava have had phyllo.
Filo, in greek, means leaf. It is much like the flaky pastry found in strudels, baklava.

The dough can be tricky to work with as it dries out quickly, so be sure to keep the portions you are not immediately working with covered with a damp cloth.

While you can make your own phyllo dough, it is tricky and time consuming. You can, however, buy frozen phyllo dough at the grocery store (the commercial kind which is produced by machine and is stretched to a fine sheet). It can be found in your grocer's freezer / refrigerator section. (I strongly recommend this option!)

In a commercial box of phyllo you will find about 28 to 30 sheets or leaves of this fine dough.
If it is dry around the edges, you may have trouble working with it. The trick to keeping filo pliable is to make sure it does not dry out.
So, it should be covered with wax paper and on top of that a damp, well-rung out towel. If filo is left exposed to the air, it will dry out like paper and blow away.

Different shapes of products can be produced: triangles, rolls or just... plain pies (which is very simple)

Fillings can be various, limited only by your imagination: cheese, spinach, cheese & spinach (called Spanakopitakia), chicken, seafood, pumpkin etc.

• You have here a collection of phyllo recipes.

 For a quick delicious pumpkin pie... 

Remove the phyllo dough from the freezer and gently unroll. Cover them with plastic (so they don't get dry). Work quickly...
 

Step 1:	Work quickly... Lay a sheet of phyllo on a griddle (medium size – or a small one, for beginners!). With a pastry brush, brush liberally with melted butter (or margarine). Add 2 more sheets of phyllo, brushing each with butter. Spread 1/3 of the pumpkin eavenly on the surface.
Step 2	Repeat step 1
Step 3	Repeat step 1
Step 4	Cover the pie with another 2-3 sheets of dough, brushed with melted butter (margarine).
Step 5	OVEN TIME ! Bake at 400 degrees F, for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crispy.
Step 6	Eat with moderation ...