Cheese Fatayer
Cheese Fatayer (fatayer bi jibneh) are a delicious pastry from the Levant. Enjoy fatayer as a savoury breakfast or for brunch, with each bit offering a beautifully soft dough and irresistible flavourful filling.
Servings 20 fatayer (pies)
Ingredients
Fatayer Dough
- 2 cups plain flour
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp instant yeast
- ½ tsp salt
- 110 grams (6 tablespoons) plain yoghurt at room temperature
- ⅓ cup dairy milk of choice
- ¼ cup flavourless oil sunflower or similar
Cheese Fatayer Filling
- 10 sprigs parsley finely chopped
- 1 ¾ cup haloumi cheese grated
Instructions
To make the dough and filling
- Sift the flour, instant yeast, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Mix milk and oil in a measuring jug and heat in the microwave in 20 second intervals until lukewarm, but not hot.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add yoghurt and milk mixture. Combine with your hand until a dough forms. If using a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, be sure to stop and scrape down the bowl.Cover and let rise in a warm spot for an hour, or until doubled in size (usually no more than 90 minutes should do it).
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling by combing grated halloumi and finely chopped parsley in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
To assemble the fatayer
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (375ºC) fan forced / 200ºC (400ºF) conventional.
- When dough has doubled in size, divide into 20 equal pieces. Roll each ball of dough into a ¼ inch thick (about ½ centimetre) oval/football shape. Add a heaped teaspoon of the filling into the centre of the oval and fold about centimetre (½ inch) of the long edges of the dough over filling while pinching the top and bottom to create a shape that looks like a boat.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the edges with milk or heavy cream. Repeat with the rest.