Before the First World War, it was the custom for the great houses of Istanbul to keep two cooks whose sole responsibilities were to make filo pastry. One made a stronger sort of the stuff used to wrap savoury pies.
The other was in charge of making a finer, thinner version necessary for the preparation of that popular sweet flaky sweetmeat, baklava. Lucky for us, if we want filo pastry we don't need to employ even one cook. Instead you can get a workable version at most grocery stores.
And as the food writer Anissa Helou told Anna McNamee this version is good enough to make your own version of one of the classic baklavas at home...
