Kataifi Pastry (also known as Shredded Phyllo Dough and Kadaifi) is a popular Middle Eastern pastry. It's used to make various delectable desserts, including kunafa and bird nest baklava. Learn how to make this simple pastry dough at home with this easy 5-ingredient recipe.
Besides the Middle East, Kataifi is also popular in the Mediterranean and Balkan region (including Turkey and Greece) where desserts made with kataifi, like Kadayif, are quite popular!
Although Kataifi Pastry is commonly referred to as Shredded Phyllo Dough, that's not technically accurate. Unlike phyllo dough (paper-thin sheets of dough) Kataifi pastry is spun and sometimes compared to shredded wheat.
So, how do you make it at home? Easy! All you'll need is a large flat pan, a squeeze bottle, and a few simple ingredients.
Jump to:
😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Kataifi is hard to find, especially in small towns. Making your own is a great way to still enjoy desserts that require it.
- It's cheaper to make it from scratch.
- This recipe only requires a few simple ingredients that almost everyone has at home.
- You can make it ahead of time and freeze it until you need it!
🛒 What Goes into This Recipe
🔖 Ingredient & Substitutions
- Flour: I use all-purpose white flour in the batter. I have not tried the recipe with other flours so I can't say with certainty if they would work or not.
- Oil: Vegetable works well in this recipe and does not impart a strong flavor like, for example, olive oil would.
- Salt: I prefer sea-salt.
*Find a full list of ingredients in the recipe card below.
🍰 How to Make Kataifi
Step 1: Whisk flour, cornstarch, and sea salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Step 2: Add oil and water and whisk until smooth.
Step 3: Strain the batter through a sieve to make sure the batter is lump-free.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Step 4: Pour the batter into a squeeze bottle with a very small hole cut into the top.
Pro Tip: The size of the hole is very important. If it's too large, the strands of Kataifi will be too thick. You want them as thin as possible.
Step 5: Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat until it's very hot. Gently squeeze the bottle to dispense a very thin stream of batter in a circular motion, starting from the center of the pan and working towards the edge of the pan.
Pro Tip: After 5 to 10 seconds, the pastry will begin to peel off of the pan. Once it does, gently pick it up with a spatula and drop it into a bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and continue this process until all the batter is used up. See the video below.
Step 6: Shred the strands into smaller sections before using them in your baklawa, Kanafeh, or Kadaif recipe.
Looking for other easy recipes? Be sure to try my new puff pastry baklava recipe!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Kataifi Pastry is made with a mixture of flour, cornstarch, salt, oil, and water. This thin batter is then spun to make the pastry's fine strands.
Yes, you can freeze Kataifi. In fact, when purchasing Kataifi, it is usually found in the frozen aisle of your grocery store. It is recommended that the frozen pasty is not defrosted on the counter, but instead, overnight in the refrigerator.
There seems to be a misconception that you can make Kataifi by shredding phyllo dough. However, phyllo dough and Katiafi are two different products and you can't make one with the other.
Phyllo dough is made with a dough that is rolled out into very thin and delicate sheets. Kataifi is made with a batter that is spun into fine strands that look similar to vermicelli.
Kataifi is usually used to make Middle Eastern and Greek desserts, including Baklava and cheese kunafa. Kataifi is used to make Turkish Sari Burma Baklava.
One way to use this "shredded dough" is to mix it with melted butter, then add half of it to a pan. Next, sprinkle the kataifi with chopped nuts (pistachios, walnuts, or almonds) and spices (cinnamon, cloves, and cardamon). The next step is to add the remaining Kataifi and bake it in the oven until golden brown. The final step is to drizzle the pan with cooled syrup made with honey, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, and cloves.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Even though your dough might seem very smooth, you're going to want to strain it before transferring it to the squeeze bottle, otherwise, the tiny hole will get clogged.
- Keep in mind you want the strands to be as thin as possible. If you don't have a squeeze bottle, another option is to use a piping bag.
- If you notice that the pastry is brown when you remove it from the pan it means the heat is too high and needs to be adjusted. The strands should remain white.
- If you dispense the batter side to side, instead of a circular motion, the edges of the pastry will be too thick. For this reason, I recommend going in a circular motion instead.
🥮 More Mediterranean Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook. Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!
📖 Recipe
How to Make Kataifi Pastry From Scratch
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Whisk flour, cornstarch, and sea salt in a medium-sized bowl.
- Add oil and water and whisk until smooth.
- Strain the batter through a sieve to make sure the batter is lump-free.
- Pour the batter into a squeeze bottle with a very small hole cut into the top.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat until it's very hot. Gently squeeze the bottle to dispense a very thin stream of batter in a circular motion, starting from the center of the pan and working towards the edge of the pan.
- After 5 to 10 seconds, the pastry will begin to peel off of the pan. Once it does, gently pick it up with a spatula and drop it into a bowl. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel and continue this process until all the batter is used up.
- Shred the strands into smaller sections before using them in your recipe.
Notes
- Even though your dough might seem very smooth, you're going to want to strain it before transferring it to the squeeze bottle, otherwise, the tiny hole will get clogged.
- Keep in mind you want the strands to be as thin as possible. If you don't have a squeeze bottle, another option is to use a piping bag.
- If you notice that the pastry is brown when you remove it from the pan it means the heat is too high and needs to be adjusted. The strands should remain white.
- If you dispense the batter side to side, instead of a circular motion, the edges of the pastry will be too thick. For this reason, I recommend going in a circular motion instead.
Tina Janjic says
Hi can you please give everthing in grams. I have different cups😅
Hilda Sterner says
Here's an easy tool you can use to convert ounces to grams.You can use it to convert more recipes, if you'd like! https://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/ounces-to-grams.htm
Peggy says
Here is the conversion I used (my cups are also different) and it worked well.
208 g flour
128 g cornstarch
3/4 tsp sea salt
30 ml vegetable oil
480 g water
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, Peggy!!
Scott says
Worked great! Finally happy to have found a recipe instead of having some of it shipped all the way here.
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Scott, I know what you mean! I can't get it where I am either, which is why I had to come up with a recipe for it!
Amanda Nielsen says
This is a great, super easy recipe!! I'm so glad I don't have to spend over $20 to get a small bag of it shipped to my house!! Now I can make my own and have it in the freezer for when I need it! Thanks a bunch!!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Amanda, I know what you mean. I personally can't find it here in Montana which is why I started making it myself. Enjoy!
Edwina says
How do you shred the dough
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Edwina,
You can just use scissors to cut it into smaller pieces
Annie says
good recipe but you may need to adjust the amount of water to make the batter. the cooking is also very time consuming, but it makes a good product in the end. I have one question though, how would you store it if made in advance? In the fridge or on the countertop?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Annie,
If I were to make it in advance, I would refrigerate it for a few days or freeze it. Thanks!
Varya says
Thank you, I cooked kataifi using your recipe, I tried three times to make them thin and they are actually very good (sorry if it have mistakes, I’m from Russia)
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Varya, your English is definitely better than my Russian! Thank you so much for your review!