Join me in my kitchen today and as I go into the art of making a traditional Turkish Spinach Börek Pastry, filled with a scrumptious no-cook spinach filling! In this detailed tutorial, I’ll guide you through making Turkish Spinach Börek Pastry from scratch and focusing particularly on the dough preparation using a simple rolling pin. I’ll demonstrate that if I can roll out this dough, you certainly can too – it’s easier than you might think!

Turkish Spinach Börek Pastry

Introduction for Turkish Spinach Börek Pastry

We’ll begin by preparing a fresh, uncooked spinach filling. Bursting with flavor and this is perfect for our Turkish Spinach Börek Pastry. Then, I’ll show you how to mix, knead, and roll out the ideal Turkish pastry dough which we call “yufka”. You’ll learn the technique of layering the dough with starch to achieve that quintessential flaky texture and deep flavor.

Ingredients for Turkish Spinach Börek Pastry

The Spinach Filling:

  • About 600gr. spinach
  • 1 medium to big onion
  • Tsp each salt, black pepper and pul biber (chili flakes) (You can use more spice if you prefer a bit hot)
  • 1-2 grated potatoes (optional) or about half to 1 cup crumbled Turkish white cheese or feta cheese
  • 1/4 olive oil to drizzle over the filling

Phyllo Dough:

  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • Half cup vegetable oil and half cup yogurt
  • 1 egg (keep the yolk for topping)
  • 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp baking powder
  • About 4+1/2 cups flour

For the Layers to Brush:

  • 100gr. butter melted and 100ml. olive oil or mix of olive oil and vegetable oil
  • about 200-300gr. corn or wheat starch to roll out the dough pieces

For egg wash:

  • 1 egg yolk and 3-4 tbsp or leftover melted butter mix
  • 2 tbsp yogurt

Instructions for Turkish Spinach Börek Pastry

Portioning dough into balls to make "yufka" phyllo sheets
Portioning dough into balls to make “yufka” phyllo sheets

Dough:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients and add 4+1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 2 teaspoons of baking powder. Knead the dough until it is smooth, non-sticky, and playable.
  2. Shape the dough into a log and divide into three. Then divide each dough into 6 or 7 and make small balls. Sprinkle starch on top of them, cover with a damp kitchen towel and rest until you prepare the spinach filling.
Easy uncooked spinach filling for borek, gozleme or savory pastries
Easy uncooked spinach filling for borek, gozleme or savory pastries

Spinach Filling:

  1. Chop the spinach finely. Then dice one onion, and rub it with a tsp of salt, grate two potatoes if using.
  2. Put everything in a bowl, season the mixture with salt, black pepper, and paprika and mix everything thoroughly.
  3. For extra richness drizzle olive oil over the filling mixture and mix well. Our spinach filling is ready.

Assembly:

  1. Roll out each dough piece into about 20 cm or size of a dessert plate as we say in Turkish, on a starch-dusted surface. Group three sheets together, sprinkling generously starch between each layer.
  2. Continue to roll the dough pieces, and group them in to three. You will have three groups of dough at the end. Melt about 100 grams of butter and mix it with 100 ml of vegetable or olive oil.
  3. Get one group of dough and roll out thin as much as you can with a rolling pin, working from center to the sides and using starch.
  4. Drizzle the melted butter and oil mixture over the layered dough sheets and spread the spinach filling generously over the top of the dough.
  5. Roll the dough sheets with the filling loosely to create a log. Then stretch it to make it longer, this way the phyllo sheet will be even more thinner when baked.

  6. Place the dough on the tray, starting from the middle and wrapping it around. Prepare the other dough in the same way and continue placing them on the tray. If you are using a rectangular pan, then place the logs like a stick and make a U turn:) and continue to place them until your tray is full.

Finishing and Baking Turkish Spinach Börek Pastry

  1. For the egg wash, mix an egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of yogurt with the left-over butter oil mixture if you have, or melt a tbsp more butter. Brush the egg wash mixture over the top of the borek
  2. Finally, bake the börek in preheated 200C degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until both the top and bottom are golden brown. If it browns quickly, lower the heat after 10-15 min. We want inside to be fully cook too.
  3. Let it cool for 10 min, slice and enjoy the flaky and flavorful homemade Spinach Börek!
Cutting spinach borek with a borek knife

As you savor each bite, you will taste the crispy outer layers enveloping the rich spinach filling; the homemade dough truly elevate this borek to a level that store-bought alternatives can’t match.

Turkish rolled spinach borek

Feel free to experiment with the recipe and adjusting the spice levels or try different fillings. You can also shape the dough individually to create crispier sides. The joy of creating something so delightful from basic ingredients is a culinary experience like no other.

Here are other börek videos you can make using ready phyllo sheets or from scratch with different methods on my YouTube channel:

Check these recipes that would go well with börek

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