Kataifi dough

Commonly found in Turkey, Israel, Greece, kataifi dough serves as the basis for the most delicious sweet desserts, as well as second courses. Kataifi dough (kadaif) is the thinnest, intertwining web with a neutral taste. From such a base, you can prepare a variety of interesting dishes, especially eastern sweets made from kataifi are particularly good.

Such dough is rarely found for sale, and it is also quite expensive. However, it is quite possible to make it yourself, especially since the ingredients needed are the most ordinary, and no additional utensils are required at all.

Yield: 1 serving (190 grams).

Cooking time: 40 minutes.

Caloric content: 175 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Ingredients

• flour (wheat) – 90 g;
• cornstarch – 50 g;
• fine salt – a pinch;
• vegetable oil – 15 g;
• warm water (38-40 degrees) – 190 ml.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients. Cornstarch can be replaced with potato starch, but with cornstarch, the dough will be lighter and airier. Use refined vegetable oil with no smell.

2. Sift the cornstarch together with the flour into a bowl.

3. Add salt to the mixture.

4. Pour all the water in at once.

5. Add the vegetable oil.

6. Now this mixture needs to be thoroughly blended with an immersion blender to ensure there are no dry lumps. Scrape the mixture from the walls of the bowl with a silicone spatula and swirl it under the blender blades – unblended spots are unacceptable.

7. As a result, you should get a smooth, absolutely homogeneous mass, similar in consistency to pancake batter.

8. No matter how well the dough is blended with the blender, individual flour granules may still remain unbroken. To avoid problems later, the mixture must be passed through a sieve – then its texture will definitely become silky and uniform.

9. Next, transfer the mass into a piping bag, tightly twist the top and secure it with a binder clip or a regular clothespin. Cover the leftover dough with plastic wrap and let the filled piping bag sit on the table for about 10 minutes, after which the dough will become more pliable and elastic.

10. During this time, prepare a deep container where you can place the piping bag to prevent the dough from spilling out, and get a baking sheet or large tray for storing the finished kataifi. Cut the tip of the piping bag near the very edge (then the flowing stream will be very thin).

11. Heat a frying pan with a good non-stick coating over medium heat (there's no need to grease it). Start applying a spiral pattern from the center, holding the bag as close to the pan as possible (if the stream flows from a great distance, the lines will be thick). Do not press too hard on the bag – the liquid dough flows out onto the pan almost by itself.

12. After the first spiral is drawn, continue applying the pattern again, trying to fill in the empty spaces.

13. In just a few seconds, the thin web of dough will begin to detach from the surface of the pan – do not over-dry or brown the dough too much.

14. Lift the edges of the dough using a silicone spatula.

15. Roll the web up into a roll and transfer it to the baking sheet.

16. Remove any crumbs from the pan with a dry napkin.

17. At first, the kataifi dough will be a bit dry, but if covered with a towel, it will gain elasticity and softness.

18. The finished dough can be used immediately for making various products, or it can be packed in a bag and stored in the freezer for several months. Before use, it should be moved to the refrigerator until completely thawed.

Thin, airy, and indispensable in Eastern cuisine, kataifi dough (kadaif) is ready and waiting for its application. It is suitable for Egyptian kunafa, baklava, knafeh, baked seafood, and many other dishes. Give it a try, bon appétit!