Flaky, layered Egyptian flatbread baked with a simple tomato and fresh basil topping, savory-style fatteer.
Fatteer meshaltet is Egypt's flaky layered pastry, made by stretching and folding dough with ghee or oil repeatedly, similar to laminated puff pastry, then baking it into a bread with distinct, pull-apart layers. It's traditionally served plain with honey and cream as a breakfast pastry, but savory versions topped with cheese, vegetables or minced meat before the final bake are equally common street-food fare in Egypt. A tomato and fresh basil topping isn't classic — most savory fatteer leans on white cheese, egg or ground meat — but it's a natural extension of the technique for a lighter, more vegetable-forward version, closer to a flatbread pizza built on real laminated dough rather than a simple crust. The dough itself is the real technical challenge: it needs to be stretched paper-thin by hand, brushed generously with ghee, and folded into a coil before being flattened again into the layered disc that bakes up with its signature shatter-crisp texture. Baked in a very hot oven until deep golden and crisp at the edges, this tomato-basil fatteer makes a satisfying light lunch or appetizer, torn apart by hand at the table the way fatteer is traditionally eaten.
Serves 6
Mix flour, salt, water and oil into a soft dough. Knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide into 6 balls, coat in oil, and rest covered 30 minutes.
On an oiled surface, stretch each ball paper-thin by hand. Brush generously with melted ghee, then fold and gather into a loose coil.
Let the coiled dough rest 15 minutes, then flatten each into a round disc about 8 inches wide, pressing gently.
Preheat oven to 240C (465F). Arrange sliced tomato, basil and cheese over each disc, sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake on a hot baking sheet or pizza stone for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges are deep golden and crisp and the cheese is bubbling.
Stretch the dough as thin as you can without tearing it — the paper-thin layers brushed with ghee are what create fatteer's signature flaky texture.
Don't skip the resting time between stages; rushed dough resists stretching and tears easily.
Bake on the hottest setting your oven allows, ideally on a preheated stone or steel, so the bottom crisps before the topping overcooks.
Top with ground spiced beef instead of tomato and basil for a more traditional savory fatteer.
Make a sweet version by skipping the toppings and drizzling the baked, plain fatteer with honey and cream.
Add crumbled feta alongside the mozzarella for a saltier, more traditional Egyptian cheese flavor.
Best eaten fresh and hot from the oven. Refrigerate leftovers up to 2 days and reheat in a hot oven, not the microwave, to re-crisp the layers.
Fatteer meshaltet is a traditional Egyptian pastry with roots going back centuries, its name meaning 'unraveled' in reference to the pull-apart layers created by the lamination technique, and it remains popular both as a sweet breakfast and savory street food.
It won't be the same — fatteer's texture comes from hand-stretched dough and ghee, not butter-laminated puff pastry, though puff pastry can work in a pinch for a different but still tasty result.
It likely wasn't rested long enough or wasn't oiled generously; let the dough rest fully covered and keep your hands and surface well oiled while stretching.
Yes, the stretched and coiled dough can be refrigerated for a few hours before the final flattening and topping; bring it to room temperature first.
Per serving (220g / 7.8 oz) · 6 servings total
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