It’s the simplest recipe with the most rewarding results. The only tricky part is the technique. If you don’t feel confident about making a big pie at once, try making small pies first.
Total time: 45m / Cooking time: 10m / Servings: 8 pieces
Ingredients
- 250gr whole grain flour
- 1 ½ tsp dry yeast
- 3 tbsp Eumelia extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 135 ml warm water
- 150 gr Greek feta cheese
- 50 gr milk
- 3 mint leaves
- one tomato (optional)
- freshly ground black pepper
- a pinch of sugar
- plenty of Eumelia extra virgin olive oil for frying
Method
In a small cup, put the yeast, a pinch of sugar and 3 tbsp of the warm water. Mix until the yeast dissolves and becomes creamy. Leave in a warm place and wait until the yeast rises and becomes foamy.
In a large bowl, put the flour, the olive oil and the salt. Add the activated foamy yeast and gradually add the water and start kneading the dough. The dough should be soft but not sticky. In case of sticky and watery dough, add more flour. Keep kneading the dough for 3 minutes. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place to let the dough rise. It will take approximately 30 minutes. If you want to accelerate this step, put the bowl in the oven, in low temperature (50 °C).
In a separate bowl prepare the feta filling. Crumble the feta with your hands or with a fork, add the milk, the finely chopped mint leaves and some freshly ground black pepper to your taste. Mix until well combined in a thick cream.
When the dough has doubled in volume, separate it in two. Apply olive oil on two big flat plates and also rub your hands with it. Take the one piece of the dough and start gently pulling it to give it the shape of the dish. It is easier to put it on the oily plate and stretch the dough evenly with your fingertips, until it covers the plate, avoiding holes. Do not press the dough with your palms because you will lose the volume, using your fingertips you’ ll leave the air bubbles intact.
Once you reach the desired size, put a layer of thin slices of tomato, then evenly spread the feta filling all over, leaving the edge clean (about 5 cm).
Repeat the stretching process with the second half of the dough, in another oily plate. The top layer should be a little smaller that the bottom.
Cover the feta filling with the top layer and fold the edges of the bottom layer upon the top. Seal the pie by gently pressing the edge with a fork.
In a big frying pan heat approximately 5cm of olive oil. Slide the pie from the plate to the pan. Fry for 4 minutes until the bottom is golden and crusty. Flip the pie and fry the other side for another 4 minutes. Remove from the pan, put the pie on a paper towel and let the extra oil to be absorbed.
Serve and eat it warm when the feta filling is still creamy.
