Baklava - Trial #1
My mother used to make the best walnut baklava in the world ... IMNSHO. :) She never had a recipe written down, and I neglected to watch carefully while she was baking so I am winging it based on the recipes that I've found on the net that seem most similar to what I remember.
My first attempt wasn't bad though, of course, I have several ideas of what to do the next time to make the result better. I used half the phyllo to make the traditional diamond shapes and the rest I shaped into baklava rolls. My mom made a kind of roll that wasn't crinkled and, based on my experience with the diamonds, I understand why and will probably end up doing it as well. :)
http://www.greek-recipe.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article294
Baklava - makes 2 - 9x13" pans of baklava
For filling:
1 package phyllo pastry sheets **
6 cups walnuts very finely chopped, or ground
1 cup unsalted melted butter
1 tbsp ground cinnamon (optional if not using cinnamon stick in syrup)
** The Irresistibles brand of phyllo pastry I bought has sheets that are 12"x18" in size and there are 18 sheets in the package. I'm going to look for the Greek Krinos brand next which is what my mom used.
For syrup:
3 cups water
2 1/3 cup sugar (plus 2/3 cup honey)
1 lemon zest strip
1 1/2" stick of cinnamon
2 tablespoons (juice of 1/2 lemon) lemon juice
Lightly butter 2 9x13" inch glass baking pans.
Preheat oven 325 deg Fahrenheit.
1. In a small saucepan, mix water, sugar, honey, lemon zest, cinnamon stick and lemon juice. Stir and bring mixture to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer another 15-20 min without stirring. The syrup should have thickened somewhat. Remove lemon zest and cinnamon stick and let syrup cool completely. The syrup can be made the day before and refrigerated if needed.
(2. In a separate bowl, mix the nuts and cinnamon well if using.)
3. Next, lightly butter pan. On a cutting board lay the first phyllo sheet and brush it with butter. Repeat until you have 9 sheets of phyllo on the bottom. Cut the stack of sheets in half.
Cover the remaining pastry sheets with a large towel so they don't dry out while assembling the baklava.
You should be able to fit one stack of phyllo sheets in the bottom of the baking pan with just a bit of excess along the narrow edge. You can trim off the excess but it's not necessary. Sprinkle half (3 cups) of the nuts evenly over the pastry. Place the other half stack of buttered phyllo sheets over the nuts, buttered side up.
Press down gently with your hand and cut down through the top layers of sheet but not into the nut layer. (Use a very sharp knife. )Make 4 lengthwise cuts and then diagonal cuts 1 1/2" apart. Repeat for the 2nd tray. Bake until the tops are golden brown. Approximately 35-40 minutes. If your oven runs hot, you might want to reduce the heat to 300 deg F as you don't want to burn your nuts.
4. When the baklava is baked cut all the way to the bottom layer of phyllo sheets using the same cuts as above and pour the cooled syrup over the baklava immediately. Allow to soak in and cool before serving. Overnight is preferred.
Note: You'll find that the syrup is not as sweet as you may find in most middle eastern bakeries. If you want a sweeter and thicker syrup, increase the white sugar to 3 cups total and add a cup of honey. A water to sugar ratio of 1:1.5 is common.
My first attempt wasn't bad though, of course, I have several ideas of what to do the next time to make the result better. I used half the phyllo to make the traditional diamond shapes and the rest I shaped into baklava rolls. My mom made a kind of roll that wasn't crinkled and, based on my experience with the diamonds, I understand why and will probably end up doing it as well. :)
http://www.greek-recipe.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article294
Baklava - makes 2 - 9x13" pans of baklava
For filling:
1 package phyllo pastry sheets **
6 cups walnuts very finely chopped, or ground
1 cup unsalted melted butter
1 tbsp ground cinnamon (optional if not using cinnamon stick in syrup)
** The Irresistibles brand of phyllo pastry I bought has sheets that are 12"x18" in size and there are 18 sheets in the package. I'm going to look for the Greek Krinos brand next which is what my mom used.
For syrup:
3 cups water
2 1/3 cup sugar (plus 2/3 cup honey)
1 lemon zest strip
1 1/2" stick of cinnamon
2 tablespoons (juice of 1/2 lemon) lemon juice
Lightly butter 2 9x13" inch glass baking pans.
Preheat oven 325 deg Fahrenheit.
1. In a small saucepan, mix water, sugar, honey, lemon zest, cinnamon stick and lemon juice. Stir and bring mixture to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer another 15-20 min without stirring. The syrup should have thickened somewhat. Remove lemon zest and cinnamon stick and let syrup cool completely. The syrup can be made the day before and refrigerated if needed.
(2. In a separate bowl, mix the nuts and cinnamon well if using.)
3. Next, lightly butter pan. On a cutting board lay the first phyllo sheet and brush it with butter. Repeat until you have 9 sheets of phyllo on the bottom. Cut the stack of sheets in half.
Cover the remaining pastry sheets with a large towel so they don't dry out while assembling the baklava.
You should be able to fit one stack of phyllo sheets in the bottom of the baking pan with just a bit of excess along the narrow edge. You can trim off the excess but it's not necessary. Sprinkle half (3 cups) of the nuts evenly over the pastry. Place the other half stack of buttered phyllo sheets over the nuts, buttered side up.
Press down gently with your hand and cut down through the top layers of sheet but not into the nut layer. (Use a very sharp knife. )Make 4 lengthwise cuts and then diagonal cuts 1 1/2" apart. Repeat for the 2nd tray. Bake until the tops are golden brown. Approximately 35-40 minutes. If your oven runs hot, you might want to reduce the heat to 300 deg F as you don't want to burn your nuts.
4. When the baklava is baked cut all the way to the bottom layer of phyllo sheets using the same cuts as above and pour the cooled syrup over the baklava immediately. Allow to soak in and cool before serving. Overnight is preferred.
Note: You'll find that the syrup is not as sweet as you may find in most middle eastern bakeries. If you want a sweeter and thicker syrup, increase the white sugar to 3 cups total and add a cup of honey. A water to sugar ratio of 1:1.5 is common.