Michel Roux's filo pastry recipe

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This homemade filo pastry recipe takes only 5 steps to make. Celebrity chef Michel Roux shows you how to easy it is to make filo pastry from scratch.

Filo pastry recipe
(Image credit: TI Media Limited/Essentials)
Makes
Cost RangeCheap
Nutrition Per PortionRDA
Calories1625 Kcal81%
Sugar6.0 g7%
Fat32.7 g47%
Saturated Fat4.7 g24%
Salt6.04 gRow 4 - Cell 2
Protein40.0 g80%
Carbohydrates286.2 g110%
Salt6.04 gRow 7 - Cell 2

Learn how to make filo pastry with Michel Roux Jr - one of the best chefs in the business.

Making your own filo pastry may sound tricky, but this five-step method has been streamlined - making it satisfyingly simple to make. Michel Roux’s method eliminates the faff often associated with filo, allowing even amateur cooks to master this technique. Just remember that filo is a very delicate pastry so working with it may be a little fiddly so have patience and dedicate a little bit more time if this is your first go at making it.

Please note: the nutritional information provided for this recipe is calculated as a whole recipe and not per portion, jar, or person.

Ingredients

  • 400g plain flour
  • 6g fine salt
  • 330ml water, heated to 50ºC
  • 30ml olive oil
  • Cornflour, to dust

WEIGHT CONVERTER

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Method

  1. Combine the flour, salt and water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix at low speed. As soon as the ingredients start to come together, pour in the oil in a thin stream.
  2. Stop mixing as soon as the dough is amalgamated. Use a spatula to scrape down any dough sticking to the sides of the bowl and the dough hook. Switch the motor to medium speed and work the dough for 3-4 minutes. It will almost come away from the bowl when it is fairly soft and slightly sticky.
  3. Put the dough on the work surface and shape it into a ball. Pull into pieces about 60g each. Shape each piece into a ball and place on a baking sheet dusted with cornflour, spacing them several centimetres apart. Cover with cling film and leave to rest somewhere fairly cool (14-16ºC if possible) for at least 2 hours before using the filo.
  4. Lightly dust a 60cm round wooden board with cornflour and place a ball of filo in the middle. Using a long, thin wooden pole (or piece of dowelling) as a rolling pin, roll it into a 14-16cm disc. From this point on, press down with your hands on each end of the pole to stretch the pastry sideways. It is essential to keep dusting the top of the filo as you stretch it. As soon as the sheet of filo is the perfect thinness (0.5mm), lay it on a baking sheet and immediately cover with a lightly dampened tea towel or cling film to prevent it from drying out.
  5. Make another sheet of filo using another ball of dough. Dust the first sheet with cornflour, then place the second sheet on top and cover this sheet with the tea towel or cling film. Continue in this way until you've used all the pastry, covering the final sheet with the tea towel or cling film.

Top tips for making Michel Roux's filo pastry:

When assembling filo - most recipes will call for interleaving layers of filo. The sheets of filo will need to be brushed quite generously with melted butter or light olive oil as you pile them one on top of another, so have a bowl of melted butter or olive oil and a pastry brush to hand before you start to assemble the dish.

Once you’ve got to grips with filo, try Michel Roux’s rough puff pastry recipe. 

Follow the famous french chef’s lead and use yours to make Michel Roux’s filo pastries with figs. Or try something savoury like this delicious filo pastry fish pie or dainty goats cheese and cranberry parcels.

Michel Roux Jr.
Michelin-starred celebrity chef

Michel Roux Jr. was born in Kent where he was brought up around cooking. His earliest memories are playing in the kitchens where his father, the famous Albert Roux, worked as a private chef for the Cazelet family. He left school at 16 and worked he was around the Paris restaurant scene learning how to cook his now signature style of classic French food with a modern twist. 

In 1991 Michel took over his father and uncle’s restaurant La Gavroche. It has since been awarded three Michelin stars- the first ever in the UK- and was the first-ever Michelin-starred restaurant to offer a set-price lunch to make fine dining more accessible. Michel is now best known for presenting BBC’s Masterchef: The Professionals and the ‘Great British Food Revival.’ Michel also has a number of best-selling recipe books, including  The French Revolution, which aims to teach you simple yet delicious French recipes from scratch. If you’re looking to impress your friends and family with tasty dishes, sauces, and pastries, try our Michel Roux Jr's recipes.