Bake Off Recipe: Paul Hollywood’s Spanakopita

It was pastry week on last night’s episode of Great British Bake Off. After being tasked with making frangipane tarts for the signature bake, it was time for the technical challenge, which saw Paul Hollywood challenging the contestants to make a traditional Greek pie. Spanakopita is a savoury pie traditionally made with filo pastry, with a filling of spinach, feta and seasonings. Keen to give it a go? Here’s the full recipe.

Great British Bake Off Technical Challenge No. 5: Spanakopita

‘Conjuring up the chilled vibes of a beachside Mediterranean taverna, spanakopita evokes all the delicious contentment of any favourite holiday. The crisp filo pastry is homemade in this recipe, and rolled out using a pasta machine to save time. But, of course, if you don’t fancy the challenge of homemade filo, shop-bought will do the job (Paul says so).’

Ingredients:

For the pastry

• 300g strong white bread flour, plus extra if needed
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 140ml lukewarm water
• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• Cornflour, for dusting
• 100g butter, melted
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp crushed sea salt

For the filling

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 900g baby leaf spinach finely grated
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 25g flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and tender stems finely chopped
• 25g dill, leaves and stems finely chopped
• ⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 200g feta cheese, crumbled
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tzatziki

• ¼ cucumber
• ¼ tsp salt
• 150g full-fat Greek yoghurt
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed or finely grated
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp tzatziki seasoning

Equipment

• 90cm sheet of non-stick baking paper
• Pasta machine
• 26cm springform tin, greased with melted butter, base and ring separated

Method:

1. Make the pastry dough. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Mix the water and oil together and gradually pour it onto the flour, mixing as you go. You’re looking for a soft, but not sticky dough. If the mixture is too wet, add a sprinkling more of flour.
2. Once the dough has come together, take it out of the bowl and start kneading. It should be at a consistency where you shouldn’t need any flour to knead it. Work the dough for about 10 minutes, or until it looks smooth. Place it in an airtight container and rest it in the fridge for 1 hour.
3. Make the filling. While the dough is resting, heat the oil in a large, wide pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 5-7 minutes, until soft. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the garlic, then scrape the onions and garlic into a large mixing bowl and leave to cool.
4. Return the pan to a medium heat. Add the spinach, squashing it down if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and put the lid on the pan. Leave the spinach to wilt for about 5 minutes, removing the lid to stir occasionally, until it’s completely cooked. Drain it into a colander and press it with the back of a spoon to get rid of as much liquid as possible. Press with kitchen paper to remove any excess moisture.
5. Add the spinach to the bowl with the onion and garlic and leave to cool. Once cooled, add the lemon zest, parsley, dill and nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the beaten egg, then fold in the crumbled feta. Set aside.
6. Lay out the sheet of baking paper on your work surface and dust it generously with cornflour. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6.
7. Make the pastry sheets. Divide the rested dough into 5 equal balls.
8. One ball at a time, flatten each dough portion to a rough rectangle using a rolling pin. Sprinkle your hands and the pastry rectangle liberally with cornflour. Pass the portion through the pasta machine, working from the widest setting to the thinnest setting, until you have a thin length of pastry about 70cm long. Using the backs of your hands gently stretch the pastry sheet widthways until you can almost see through it. Don’t worry about the odd hole, as the layers should cover this up. You should have a long, rectangular sheet measuring about 90 x 17cm. Lay the pastry onto the cornflour-dusted baking paper and brush with melted butter.
9. Repeat for each of the remaining balls of dough. Each time you roll a sheet of pastry, lay it over the top of the previous sheet, brushing with butter between each layer. Continue until you have finished the pastry.
10. Place the spinach filling along one of the long edges of the rectangle. Fold over the short ends of the pastry (this prevents any filling escaping as you roll it up). Using the baking paper underneath to help, roll up the spinach inside the pastry, so that you form a long sausage shape. Then, starting at one end, curve the sausage into a spiral shape and gently slide it onto the buttered base of the springform tin.
11. Add the egg yolk to the remaining melted butter and brush this over the top and sides of the spanakopita. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and crushed sea salt and secure the buttered tin ring to the base. Bake the spanakopita for 40-45 minutes, until the pastry is dark golden-brown and the filling is piping hot.
12. Make the tzatziki. While the spanakopita is baking, grate the cucumber into a sieve set over a bowl and sprinkle over the salt. Mix the salt into the cucumber in the sieve, then leave to drain for 10 minutes. Squeeze any remaining liquid out of the cucumber with your hands.
13. Spoon the yoghurt into a bowl, add the drained cucumber, along with the garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar and tzatziki seasoning and fold together. Transfer to a serving bowl and chill until required.
14. Once the spanakopita is ready, remove it from the oven. Serve warm or cold in slices with the tzatziki in a bowl on the side.

Recipe from thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk