Quick answer
Feteer meshaltet is a round, flaky Egyptian pastry made by stretching dough paper-thin, brushing it generously with ghee and folding it into dozens of layers before baking it in a very hot oven. Plain feteer is eaten with honey, molasses, cheese or cream; feteer shops also bake filled versions, sweet or savoury, to order. It is vegetarian but rarely vegan.
What is feteer meshaltet?
Feteer meshaltet is a large, round pastry of many paper-thin layers of dough and ghee, baked until golden and pulled apart with the hands. It is often called Egyptian pie or Egyptian pizza in English, but it is closer to a giant croissant or a flaky paratha: rich, buttery and crisp at the edges.
Its home is the Egyptian countryside, particularly the farming villages of the Nile Delta. Village women bake it in a domed mud-brick oven, and it is the classic thing to bring to relatives in the city, to serve guests or to give a new bride's family. A plain round of meshaltet keeps for days, which made it a practical travelling food too.
How is feteer made?
Feteer is all about technique: the dough is stretched until it is see-through, smeared with ghee, folded, rested and stretched again to build up layers. In a feteer shop this is a performance worth watching.
- A soft dough of flour, water and salt is divided into balls and rested in ghee or oil.
- The baker flattens a ball on an oiled marble counter, then flips and spins it in the air, as with pizza, until it becomes a huge, almost transparent sheet.
- The sheet is brushed with melted ghee and folded into a square parcel. Several parcels may be stacked, wrapped in a final sheet and gently pressed into a round.
- The round is baked in a very hot oven, traditionally wood-fired, until puffed and golden, then brushed with more ghee.
The baker is called a fatatri, a word also used for the shop itself. A good fatatri works fast, and you can usually stand at the counter and watch your feteer being made.
Sweet or savoury: what should you order?
Order plain meshaltet if you want the traditional experience, or a filled feteer if you want a meal; feteer shops offer dozens of both.
| Style | Typical options | When it's eaten |
|---|---|---|
| Plain meshaltet | Served with honey, black honey (sugarcane molasses) mixed with tahini, mish (aged salty cheese), white cheese or eshta (clotted cream) | Breakfast or with tea |
| Sweet filled feteer | Custard, cream, sugar and nuts, coconut, banana, chocolate, raisins | Dessert, evening snack |
| Savoury filled feteer | White or rumi cheese, egg, vegetables, minced meat, basterma (cured beef), sogo' (spicy sausage) | Lunch or dinner |
Filled feteer is made like a closed pie, with the topping folded inside the layers, and is cut into wedges to share. One medium feteer is plenty for two people.
How do you eat feteer meshaltet?
Tear it by hand while it's warm, and dip each piece into what's on the table. The classic pairing is honey or black honey (asal eswed) with tahini swirled through it, which gives a sweet, nutty, slightly bitter contrast to the buttery pastry. Savoury eaters prefer it with salty mish cheese, or with white cheese and olives. In the countryside, a piece of meshaltet with fresh milk or cream is a farm breakfast.
Feteer is rich. A few pieces with a glass of sweet black tea is a satisfying breakfast, and many travellers find a whole feteer to themselves too much. Our guide to tea and coffee in Egypt explains how to order tea to go with it.
Where can you try feteer in Egypt?
In Cairo, the lanes around Al-Hussein Mosque and Khan el-Khalili are a traditional place to eat feteer, and fatatri shops are found in every neighbourhood across the country. Evening is a good time: families come for sweet feteer after dinner, and the bakers are in full flow. Visiting Khan el-Khalili and walking Al-Muizz Street at dusk pairs well with a feteer stop.
Gad, the Egyptian chain, also sells feteer, and many hotels and Nile cruise breakfasts include a version. For the home-baked meshaltet of the villages, ask your guide; on some private Delta or countryside excursions it can be arranged with a local family, and in Luxor's west bank villages bread and pastries are still baked in clay ovens. As always, businesses change, so ask locally for current favourites.
Tips for ordering your first feteer
Order one feteer between two, decide between plain and filled before you reach the counter, and allow 15 to 20 minutes for it to be made and baked. A few pointers make the experience smoother:
- Sizes: most shops bake small, medium and large rounds. A medium filled feteer is a meal for two; a large one feeds a family.
- Half and half: many fatatri will happily make one half sweet and one half savoury, or split two fillings, if you ask.
- Watch the show: stand where you can see the dough being spun; bakers are used to an audience, but ask before filming.
- Eat it hot: feteer softens as it cools, so eat it at the shop or soon after. Plain meshaltet is the exception and travels well.
- Breakfast option: if your hotel serves plain feteer at breakfast, try it with honey and tahini before you tackle a filled one at night.
Is feteer vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free?
Plain feteer is vegetarian but not vegan, and it is made from wheat flour, so it is unsuitable for coeliacs. Ghee or butter is essential to the layers, and many sweet fillings use milk, cream or custard. Some bakeries make an oil-based siyami (fasting) feteer during Coptic fasts; ask for it if you're vegan, and check the filling. Our vegetarian and vegan guide covers other options, and if you have a sweet tooth, the Egyptian desserts guide picks up where feteer leaves off.
Frequently asked questions
What does feteer meshaltet taste like?
Buttery, lightly salty and flaky, like a cross between a croissant and a paratha. On its own it is quite plain; the honey, molasses or cheese you eat with it supplies most of the flavour.
Is feteer the same as Egyptian pizza?
Filled feteer is sometimes called Egyptian pizza, but it is a layered pastry with fillings folded inside, not a flat bread with toppings. Plain feteer meshaltet has no filling at all.
Can you bring feteer meshaltet back to Australia?
Baked goods are often allowed, but anything containing meat, dairy fillings, honey or cheese may be restricted, and all food must be declared. Check the Australian Government's current biosecurity rules before you pack it.
How long does feteer meshaltet keep?
Plain meshaltet keeps for several days at room temperature, which is why villagers bake it for travel and gifts. Warm it briefly in the oven to refresh it.
