ChefLina Hajij
The Perfect Dough for Pastries, Pies, and Pizza
The perfect dough for making all kinds of pastries, pizzas, and baked goods! This dough relies on a secret in its ingredients that makes its flavor, aroma, and tenderness outstanding.
The Dough:
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons powdered milk
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups whey
Dough Preparation:
We start by preparing the whey. Separate the milk with a tablespoon of white vinegar. Reserve the curd that forms; you can use it to make cream. The water left after curdling is the whey we will use for kneading.
Mix the flour with the powdered milk, yeast, salt, and oil, and knead the ingredients with the whey.
Let the dough rest, well covered, to relax and rise.
When the dough has risen, cut it into wide strips lengthwise, wrap them around foil cones shaped like cones, and bake in a preheated oven until cooked and browned. Then remove from the oven and let cool before filling as desired.
Filling for the Pastries:
Salty cheese
Or
Bulgarian cheese or feta
Fresh mint
Olives
Green bell pepper
Filling Preparation:
Finish by finely chopping the vegetables and mixing them with the cheese of your choice, whether salty Bulgarian cheese or feta.
A dough recipe and method for pastries from a friend and chef at Shou Tabkhin Today:
Lina Hajij
Click Lina’s name to visit her page on our site
Ingredients
Start here, then move straight into the method.
- 5 cups flour (sifted)
- 2 tablespoons powdered milk
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups whey (the liquid remaining after separating the curds)
- Filling (optional): a salty cheese, Bulgarian cheese, or feta
- Filling additions (optional): chopped fresh mint, sliced olives, chopped green pepper
Method
Follow the cooking sequence without leaving the page.
- Prepare the whey: curdle the milk with 1 tablespoon white vinegar, reserve the curds (qareesh) for later use, and keep the remaining liquid (whey) to use for the dough.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour with the powdered milk, yeast, sugar, and salt well.
- Add the oil, then pour in the whey gradually while kneading until you have a soft, tender dough; knead about 7–10 minutes until smooth and elastic.Timers: 10 min
- Cover the dough and let it rest and rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30–45 minutes.Timers: 45 min
- After rising, press the dough down slightly and cut it lengthwise into wide strips.
- Wrap each strip around aluminum foil shaped into a cone, or shape them as desired.
- Preheat the oven to 180–200°C, and bake the pastries in a hot oven until cooked through and browned on the outside, about 12–20 minutes depending on size.Timers: 20 min
- Remove the pastries from the oven and let them cool before unwrapping them from the foil and filling them.
- To prepare the filling: finely chop the vegetables (mint, green pepper, olives) and mix them with your chosen cheese until well combined.
- Fill the pastries after they have cooled, and serve warm or at room temperature as desired.
