How to make Byrek me Mish (Flaky Meat Byrek)

Instructions

1. Make the dough

   • In a large bowl, add the bread flour and the salt.
   • Pour in the water and mix with a spatula until there is no dry flour left.
   • Then knead it with your hand in the bowl until it all comes together into one ball.

   

   • You need
   • 600 g bread flour
   • 1 tbsp salt
   • 450 ml water

2. Let it rest

   • Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for about 1 hour, so it becomes elastic.

   

   Start a 1 hr timer

3. Make the filling

   • While the dough rests, make the filling, so it has time to cool.
   • Caramelize the onions in a large pan, with enough olive oil to cover them.
   • Add the ground beef and cook it all the way through, to 160°F (71°C) on a thermometer.
   • Pour off the extra fat.
   • Add the tomatoes and cook them down.
   • Season with salt and black pepper.
   • Spread it in a shallow dish and put it in the fridge until it’s cold.

   • You need
   • olive oil
   • 2 onions
   • 1 lb ground beef
   • 6–10 fresh tomatoes
   • salt
   • black pepper

   Cold filling, or it melts the dough.

4. Cut it into 8 pieces

   • Turn the dough out on the counter and cut it into 8 equal pieces.
   • Round each piece into a ball under your palm.

   

5. Roll the sheets

   • Roll each ball into a small round sheet, about the size of a dinner plate.
   • Dust with a little flour if it sticks.

   

   • You need
   • flour

6. Butter and stack

   • Put the first sheet on a large plate and spread it with room temperature butter.
   • Lay the next sheet on top, butter it, and repeat until all 8 sheets are stacked.
   • Use about 1 cup for all the layers.
   • No butter on the bottom of the stack or on the top sheet.

   

   • You need
   • 1 cup salted butter

   No butter on the top or the bottom.

7. Chill it

   • Cover the stack and let it rest in the fridge for another 1 hour.
   • Resting is very important here, so don’t skip it.

   Start a 1 hr timer

8. Roll it out

   • Take the stack out of the fridge and sprinkle some flour on your counter.
   • Roll it out until it’s flat and the same thickness all over.

   

   • You need
   • flour

9. Stretch it by hand

   • Now start pulling each side of the dough to make it bigger.
   • Lift an edge, pull it gently, and work your way around the sheet.
   • Keep going until it’s as thin as a cloth.
   • It’s easier to see than to explain, so watch my video for this part.

   

10. Cut the strips and add the filling

    • Cut the thin sheet into 8 equal strips.
    • Put a heap of the cold filling at one end of each strip.

    

    Turn the oven on now, so it’s hot by the time the triangles are folded.

11. Fold the triangles

    • Fold the corner of the strip over the filling, so it makes a triangle.
    • Fold the triangle up, then across, and keep folding it over itself to the end of the strip, like a flag.
    • Tuck the last bit of dough under the triangle.

    

12. Bake

    • Put the triangles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
    • Bake at 350°F (175°C) to 375°F (190°C) for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
    • Every oven is different, so test yours and take them out when both sides are golden.

    

    Start a 25 min timer

    Flip them halfway.