Feteer Meshaltet
A layered Egyptian flaky pastry whose name, meaning roughly 'unraveled,' describes its thin, pull-apart layers. Popular claims tying it to pharaonic temple offerings, or crediting it as a direct ancestor of the croissant via the Mamluk era, are widely repeated in food writing but not rigorously documented in Egyptology or culinary history, worth treating as folklore rather than verified fact. Real feteer meshaltet is genuinely labor-intensive: dough is stretched paper-thin by hand, much like phyllo or strudel technique, layered generously with ghee or butter between each fold, then coiled and baked into a flaky, pull-apart bread that can be finished sweet, with honey or jam, or savory, stuffed with cheese or minced meat.
⚠ Contains: Gluten, Dairy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups warm water
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 cup ghee or butter, melted, for layering
- Honey or jam (for sweet version) or cheese/minced meat (for savory version)
Steps
- Make a soft dough from the flour, salt, water, and oil. Knead well and rest 1 hour.
- Divide into balls, coat each in oil, and rest another 30 minutes.
- Stretch each ball by hand into a paper-thin sheet, brushing generously with melted ghee as you go.
- Fold and coil the sheet into a spiral, then flatten gently into a round.
- Bake at high heat, around 220°C/425°F, until golden and flaky.
- Serve warm, drizzled with honey or stuffed with cheese, as preferred.