Phyllo dough

Phyllo dough is paper-thin, unleavened dough used raw, straight from the package, as the base for layered pastries like spanakopita, baklava, borek, and apple strudel. Individual sheets are brushed with melted butter or oil and stacked between layers of filling to build a crisp, flaky, shattering texture once baked, and the dough is delicate enough to tear or dry out into brittle shards if it isn't kept covered while you work with it. Savory fillings like spinach and feta or ground meat are just as common as sweet ones like the honeyed nuts used in baklava.

Keep it frozen until you're ready to use it, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight rather than at room temperature, and once thawed keep the sheets covered with a damp towel while assembling so they don't dry out and crack before you can layer them. Unused thawed dough shouldn't be refrozen, since the texture suffers. At 299 calories per 100g, about 84 calories per 1oz (28g) sheet portion, phyllo itself is fairly lean before butter or oil is brushed on. It provides 7.1g protein per 100g and stands out for iron at 18% DV, though the 483mg sodium per 100g comes from the dough itself, before any filling, butter, or salt is added on top.