Sambousek Dough
This Syrian sambousek dough recipe is based on 500 g of flour with water, salt, baking powder, and butter. The portions are rolled out and stacked with oil and starch between the layers, then rolled thin and briefly heated on a pan over the stove. They are then separated, cut, and stored for use or freezing.
A dough recipe for sambousek, the stuffed pastry used for savory fillings.
Like a basic dumpling or hand pie dough.
This is mainly the wrapper dough, so fillings can be added later.
Ingredients
- 500 g [3.5 cups] all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cups water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup oil
- ½ cup starch
- a little a little flour
Instructions
- Place the room-temperature water in the mixing bowl.
- Add the all-purpose flour to the mixing bowl.
- Add the baking powder and salt to the mixing bowl.
- Mix the ingredients in the mixing bowl, then finish bringing the dough together.
- Knead the dough on the work surface, adding water gradually if the dough needs it, until it is relatively firm and not soft like pastry dough.
- Add the butter to the dough on the work surface, then continue kneading until the dough is smooth.
- Knead the dough on the work surface for about 7 minutes.
- Place the dough in a bowl, cover it, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Put a little flour on a tray.
- Roll the dough inward on the work surface until it forms a ball.
- Cut the dough on the work surface into pieces weighing approximately 50 to 55 g each.
- Shape the dough pieces into balls on the work surface, trying to make them uniform in size.
- Place the dough balls on a tray, cover them, and let them rest for 5 minutes.
- Roll out each piece of dough on the work surface with a rolling pin, using flour, and try to make each piece round and about the size of a coffee finjan saucer.
- Remove the excess flour from the dough rounds after rolling them out.
- Brush the surface of the first dough round with oil on the work surface, then sprinkle it with a little starch.
- Brush the surface of the second dough round with oil on the work surface, then sprinkle it with a little starch. Place it on top of the first round so that the oiled, starch-coated sides are between the two rounds.
- Repeat stacking on the work surface in the same way until every five pieces are stacked on top of one another.
- In each stack of five pieces, leave the top surface of the fifth piece unbrushed and leave the bottom surface of the first piece unbrushed.
- Roll out each stack of dough on the work surface, using starch and making sure the thickness is even on all sides.
- Place a pan over the stove and first raise the heat to high.
- Place the rolled-out dough stack on the pan over the stove, then reduce the heat to medium.
- Briefly heat the dough stack on the pan, turning it repeatedly until the heat reaches the inside without it cooking through completely or browning.
- Let the dough stack cool slightly after removing it from the pan.
- Separate the dough layers after briefly heating and lightly cooling them.
- Stack the dough layers on the work surface, then cut them to the desired size and shape for sambousek.
- Wrap the prepared sambousek sheets in a plastic bag or kitchen plastic wrap.