Flaky Gluten Free Phyllo Dough – Filo – Fillo Substitute

One way of working around the lack of thin phyllo dough sheets is to make homemade phyllo dough with alternating layers of butter and dough. Use it to make traditional baklava and other sweet or savory recipes that require multiple layers of phyllo dough.

While it is spelled three different ways, filo, fillo, and phyllo, it is a super flaky and buttery dough, usually used for croissants, baklava, and other pastries. I have a Gluten Free Phyllo Dough Recipe that I developed over two years ago, but it is a simple version of this laborious task. While it was fine for a quick, flaky crust, it is a flaky pie crust. Everyone raves about it.

However, with all of the requests for a closer to the real thing gluten free phyllo dough recipe I have received over the many years, I thought it was time to create one. We’ll never be able to duplicate phyllo dough made with gluten. This gluten free version is similar to Julia Childs croissant dough and makes an excellent substitute for gluten phyllo dough.

I used this mock gluten free phyllo dough to make Flaky Gluten Free Croissants. You can get it to crisp more like phyllo dough by baking it in a container that is more open on the sides, rather than up against a baking dish edge, and omitting the yeast. Baking for extended periods also creates a flakier, crispier dough.

This dough may be used when several sheets of phyllo dough are called for in a recipe. For those not familiar with homemade phyllo dough, the thin layers of butter melt away during baking, leaving super-thin layers of dough similar to the extremely thin sheets of phyllo dough you purchase in stores, but without the gluten.

While never having made homemade gluten free phyllo dough or a gluten one for that matter, the one thing I can tell you is that this recipe is not for a beginning baker.

I started with half a recipe of Julia Child’s Phyllo Croissant Dough, using my gluten-free all purpose flour blend, which calls for superfine rice flour, added additional milk and yeast, and rolled the dough thinner.

It takes a lot of time and effort to make homemade gluten free phyllo dough, but it was worth every bite!

Read the instructions and all of the above material all the way through before making this dough.

Gluten Free Phyllo Dough – Filo Dough – Fillo Dough

Yield: Makes approximately twelve 3 to 4 inch croissants.

Gluten Free Phyllo Dough – Filo Dough – Fillo Dough

This phyllo creates multiple layers of dough that slightly separates when baked, creating a flaky delight. It is a buttery gluten free phyllo dough that you can use for croissants, baklava, and both sweet and savory recipes.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  1. Make the Puff Pastry dough as instructed, but omit the baking powder and yeast.
  2. Roll out the dough per your recipe’s instructions.

Tips

Use this dough to make Gluten Free Baklava.

For a savory use, use this rolled dough as a substitute for several layers of traditional phyllo dough to make spanakopita, a delicious Greek dish. The filling consists of a mixture of cooked spinach, Feta cheese, green onions, butter, olive oil, and raw egg. You may use the filling to create triangular-shaped pastries or alternate layers of the dough and mixture in a casserole dish.

18 Replies to “Flaky Gluten Free Phyllo Dough – Filo – Fillo Substitute”

  1. That’s not even close to filo dough – it’s more like puff pastry or croissant dough – a completely different type of pastry.

    1. I must agree that this is a pasty not phyllo recipe. I am looking for something that can be rolled out thin for spanakopita or baklava. Do you have a recipe like that? Thanks!

  2. I need to go egg and dairy free I can use cocunut milk and butter flavored pressed palm oil as butter. Is that ok? Can I follow your recipe or do I need different amounts! And for egg it said to use cream( in the croissant recipe). What should I use?

    Thanks!

  3. Hi Carla,
    My sister Carla is gluten and rice flour intolerant. Can you sub tapioca flour or potato flour and or cornstarch when making breads, especially the croissants?
    Perhaps just using less rice flour and more of something else? Love your recipes!
    Thank You!
    Ollie

    1. Hi Ollie,

      If you are seeking a gluten free flour blend that is rice-free, you can try using this flour blend: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/sorghum-flour-blend/. Just expect the dough to turn out a bit different. I cannot tell if you are asking to substitute another flour for tapioca flour, potato flour, and cornstarch, or if you wish to use them to substitute rice flour. Also, note that in the U.S., potato flour is not the same thing as potato starch. Potato flour is light yellow in color and looks and acts nothing like cornstarch. While potato starch is very white and is starchy like cornstarch.

      I hope this helps.

      Carla

  4. would you recommend coconut milk or almond milk instead of dairy if trying to make Paleo??

    or as close to paleo as possible??

    1. Alison,

      The milk substitute you use will depend upon the fat content in the butter replacement you use. Coconut milk is a better choice if you will be using something like Earth Balance spread as coconut milk is high in fat and saturated fat.

      Good luck!
      Carla

  5. Hi Carla
    How does superfine rice flour look? I am in South Africa, and majority South Africans are not aware of gluten sensitivities.I have bought white rice flour it looks almost like cornstarch?

  6. I don’t mean to be critical but phyllo dough by definition is unleavened super thin sheets of flour, oil and acid (vinegar or lemon). Your recipe is more like a puff pastry than a phyllo. Croissants are more puff pastry in description than phyllo as well. I have only made phyllo once and that was in a cooking class and I probably would never do it again. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I will be giving it a try.

  7. I am looking forward to trying this recipe as I really enjoy flaky biscuits and croissants. These look simply luscious! ;)

  8. Thanks for sharing the recipe! I’m in the process of trying it out. In the recipe, it says 1 3/4 of Carla’s AP flour blend. Did you mean 1 3/4 cup or 1 3/4 times 4 1/2 cups that’s yielded from Carla’s recipe?
    I used 1 3/4 cup of flour first but it became a pancake batter instead of a dough. So, could you clarify it?
    Thanks in advance!

    1. Hi Cindy,

      I am so sorry you ran into trouble. You were correct in using 1 3/4 cup. Did you use my flour recipe with “superfine” rice flour? That is the key. When readers have trouble with my recipes calling for my all-purpose flour blend, they often use regular flour, which turns dough into batters. Superfine rice flour(s) are very dense compared to normal rice flour because of the fine texture. Let me know. Then we can go from here.

      Carla

  9. Thank you for this Gluten-free recipe. Question: To make this recipe “vegan”, will it work with coconut oil instead of butter?

    1. Hi LuAnn,

      I haven’t tried coconut oil in this recipe. I know it make a wonderful butter substitute in cakes, but I am uncertain how this gluten free phyllo dough recipe would turn out using it. I suggest making 1/4 of the recipe and experimenting with it. If you do, please let us all know how it turns out.

      Carla

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