Baklava

This is the “sandwich” approach often used for baklava where the entire nut mixture is sandwiched between two large sections of phyllo. The alternative is to drop four or five buttered layers as a base (and as a top) but to make the middle layer by layer sprinkled lightly with the nut mixture after each buttered sheet of phyllo. It makes for amazing texture. Also, be careful not to pulverize the nuts or it becomes a gummy filling. I still chop walnuts by hand as did all the Greek grandmas!

In my family we do a few things differently. First we leave the bottom layer of the phyllo uncut while scoring the upper layers so that the syrup, when poured hot, soaks into the upper layers. We don't use orange water or rose water which I think is more Lebanese. After cutting the diagonals we put a clove bud in the center of each diamond which is admittedly a bit finicky but looks nice and imparts a nice flavor. We also use clove and lemon juice in the syrup.

This is a lovely recipe. I only had half the amount of pastry and it still worked. Admittedly it was probably falling apart more than it should have hit no one cared. It tasted great. AND I did not cool the syrup.

So many different traditions, here… handed down to me were key steps of: brush every layer — not too bad if two people do this together; a 4” pastry brush is a modest investment; clarify the butter to avoid burnt bitter bits of solids on top; cut before and after baking - easier to serve; syrup only after everything has cooled if you prefer a more pastry-like flaky outcome; and… a full pound of butter for one package of phyllo; simple syrup, no honey.

I've been making Paklava (Armenian) since I was young and the one thing that I don't see mentioned is when you melt your butter, the foam that forms is what we always skimmed off and used on the bottom of the pan. The rest will be the nice clear butter that you pour over the completed and cut paklava before you bake it-no brushing. And I was always taught Either room temp syrup on hot paklava or hot syrup on cooled paklava. I tell my friends ..the cutting is the hardest part.

I agree with the warm/hot syrup. My recipe uses 1.5 cups sugar and 3/4 cup water with the honey and a slice of lemon. No sugar in the nuts, with clove and nutmeg too. I do 10 sheets each on the bottom and top with 4-5 layers of the nuts and two sheets between each. I brush every layer with butter, just like my mom, aunt, and YiaYia’s did. Some extra work, but everyone raves about it.

The Turkish version I was taught uses sugar syrup (no honey) and mixes olive oil and melted butter to coat every sheet of yufka (Turkish equivalent of phyllo). Admittedly, I have to halve the amount of sugar, as I do not share the *insanely* sweet Turkish tooth. But with a cup of Turkish coffee, there is nothing better. I shall try this two-sheet version next weekend . . .

I’m not going to make baklava, but I am going to make the syrup to roast Bartlett pears, copying a restaurant dessert I had (roasted pears with crème fraiche ice cream and toasted almonds). I frequently do this with NYT recipes, using one element in a different way.

VERY lightly spritz a tea towel or flour sack towel with water and keep the phyllo covered with that in between laying the layers. If the phyllo dries out, which it otherwise will, it will be a crumbly mess.

Absolutely no to the damp towel. That tends to make the phyllo soggy. Instead, unroll the phyllo on to a dry dishtowel. Gently loosen one sheet, brush it with butter and move it to the baking pan. Then repeat that step as needed. If the phyllo starts to feel like it's drying out. carefully take the stack of phyllo and turn it over, so that the bottom sheet becomes the top. Resume working with one sheet at a time. I use this method for making baklava and for making spanakopita.

Over 40 years ago, a friend gave me her Greek grandmother's baklava recipe. The elderly lady was almost blind and had stripped the recipe to its basics--cinnamon sugar, a bag of chopped walnuts, a jar of honey.... She brushed the phyllo with melted butter, but didn't make a syrup, just heated the honey to liquify it, and poured it over the the hot pastry. The baklava has a drier texture, but it's delicious. I do add lemon peel and other flavorings when I heat the honey.

When I was taught how to make baklava many years ago, I was cautioned to never pour the syrup immediately onto the hot-fresh-out-of-the-oven baklava, but always to let it cool a bit. I also pour about 1/2 the syrup and a few minutes later the rest - so it has time to absorb up from the bottom without making the bottom soggy. I also butter each sheet (more challenging), rather than doing them two by two.

Baklava is also a staple in the Middle East. I do not add honey to the syrup . Just mix 1 cup if sugar with 1/2 of water. I do not use spices at all , I find them overpowering. I use a lot of orange blossom water in both the syrup and the filling .

A note to over-ambitious bakers like myself: it is not at all worth it to make your own phyllo dough. It’s nothing but an all-day, boring, heavy kitchen labor. And the homemade isn’t as ideal as the store-bought because the homemade is inevitably thicker, irregular edges, etc. Love yourself and buy the dough.

My daughter in law, who is of Greek heritage, said her Yiayai (spelling?) taught her to make baklava by rolling the nut filled phyllo into long logs, and slicing into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces before baking on a parchment lined baking sheet. She also uses the juice of an orange instead of lemon , and orange juice instead of the orange blossom water, in making the syrup.