Homemade Spinach Pastries

Ingredients

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 2 tablespoons powdered milk
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup oil
• Spinach filling:
• 2 kg spinach
• 2 large onions
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil or olive oil
• 2 lemons or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sumac
• Salt to taste
• Chili powder to taste
• How to make the spinach filling:
• Pick over the spinach carefully and wash it repeatedly to remove all sand — washing spinach usually takes time.
• Drain the spinach well, then chop it and sprinkle with salt; mix so the salt is absorbed and some of the water is released.
• Squeeze the spinach well by hand so excess liquid is removed; otherwise the dough will get soggy and the pastries may split during baking.
• For more reliable pastry dough recipes see Sambousek Dough

Method

1. Mix the flour with the sugar, yeast, and powdered milk.
2. Add the oil and stir, then gradually add the lukewarm water and knead to obtain a cohesive dough.
3. Leave the spinach-pastry dough to rise for at least one hour.
4. Roll out the dough on a clean surface, sprinkling a little flour to prevent sticking.
5. Roll it with a rolling pin and then cut it into circles of the size you want.
6. Fill them with the spinach filling and close them into triangles.
7. Place them on an oiled baking tray and bake in a preheated oven until the bottoms brown, then brown the tops. If you want to freeze the spinach pastries, bake them from the bottom only, let them cool completely, then place them in airtight freezer bags and store them in the freezer until needed.
8. Clean the spinach well and wash it repeatedly to remove all the sand — washing spinach usually takes time.
9. Drain the spinach very well, then chop it and sprinkle with salt and mix so it absorbs the salt and releases some of its water.
10. Squeeze them well by hand so there is not too much liquid remaining, otherwise the dough will become soggy and the pastries may open during baking.
11. Add sumac, lemon juice, hot pepper, finely chopped onion and oil, and mix.