75 replies to this topic

[ChefCrash]

We made half the recipe in a 9"x13" glass pan.


2 sticks butter and 1.5 sticks margarine.


The foam is skimmed completely. The foam can burn and cause the baklava to look blotchy.


The unused butter solids along with the skimmed foam is equivalent to a stick of butter.


Baked for 1 hour @ 350*F. It's overdone. Should've pulled it out while blond in color.


Still tasted good.

[Redsugar]

I must not hesitate to praise the masterful appearance of ChefCrash's baklava creation.

Here is a historical backgrounder to the development of the Middle-Eastern baklava:

* The name baklava is based on the Arabic word for nuts.

* The name for the thin dough, phyllo, is a Greek word meaning leaf.

* In the Byzantine era, cinnamon and cloves were added.

* The Arabs introduced rosewater and cardamom.

* The Ottoman Empire added walnuts and honey.

Ground and finely chopped nuts are still layered between the sheets—most often used are walnuts and pistachios, but the nuts can vary based on what is available in the area. The whole is baked and soaked in a solution of sugar and either lemon juice or honey, spices and rosewater. Each region of the world has its own variations on the syrup in which the baklava is baked. Sometimes it contains honey and sometimes it doesn't. Today's baklava may also contain dried or fresh fruits or even chocolate.

Source: She Knows Cooking Smart (Coincide Publishing | March-April, 2006)

Toward “perfecting” baklava: “Layer store-bought phyllo dough with three separate layers of nuts (a combination of almonds and walnuts) flavored with cinnamon and cloves. Clarify the butter for even browning. Be sure to cut the baklava completely (don't just score it) before baking, then pour over a sugar syrup flavored with honey and lemon. Finally, allow the baklava to sit overnight before eating—the flavor improvement is worth the wait.”

Source: COOK’s ILLUSTRATED | March 2004 (A pistachio version containing cardamom & rose water is appended to the feature article.) When shopping for rose water, look for the superior triple-filtered product which isn't based on alcohol.

Orange-flower water is used in the syrup for a recipe delineated in Saveur (issue #54).

An equal weight of strüdel pastry can be substituted for the phyllo. Or a 13-oz. packet of storebought puff pastry can be used rather than the commonly designated 1-lb. quantity of phyllo sheets. Cut the puff pastry into six equal pieces and roll out thinly to fit dimensions of the baking pan. Layer the pastry with the nut mixture, using only 2 oz. melted butter.

The richest version of baklava I’ve prepared was filled with a chocolate-date-nut mixture soaked with a spiced syrup. Nevertheless, I expect most people would prefer a basic chopped-nut product -- served with an optional iced mint tea or, perhaps, a glass of sweet Sherry or Sauternes.

Lawrence

Edited by Redsugar, 30 September 2007 - 03:01 PM.

[hummingbirdkiss]

ok question I am going to make a large pan of this for company coming in two weeks ..if I want to make it this weekend and freeze it how is the best way to wrap it so it stays as absolutely wonderful tasting as possible ..or should I just wait and make a few days before the visit

I have not made this before but the person who is coming is so completely in love with this pastry she buys it wherever she sees it ... she will absolutely adore that I made it for her....so I really want to make it perfectly!

also what is really better for this walnuts or pistachios?

and should I use some honey or just the syrup as above ..that recipe sounds so great and easy...I would love to just try it as is .

Edited by hummingbirdkiss, 02 October 2007 - 12:50 PM.

[gfron1]

When I make it next I'll use either a nut mix or pistachios, and honey - not simply syrup.

[maurdel]

ok question I am going to make a large pan of this for company coming in two weeks ..if I want to make it this weekend and freeze it how is the best way to wrap it so it stays as absolutely wonderful tasting as possible ..or should I just wait and make a few days before the visit

I have not made this before but the person who is coming is so completely in love with this pastry she buys it wherever she sees it ...  she will absolutely adore that I made it for her....so I really want to make it perfectly!

also what is really better for this walnuts or pistachios?

and should I use some honey or just the syrup as above ..that recipe sounds so great  and easy...I would love to just try it as is .

I would choose the nut which I can find that is the freshest and best tasting. Nothing is worse than old, stale tasting nuts. Pistachio is nice when you can find tasty ones. Sometimes here in the South I make it with pecans (lightly pre-toasted) because they are often the freshest nuts I can find. They make a pretty tasty Baklava.

I suggest you make it the weekend before and NOT freeze it. Just keep it well wrapped in a very dry place.

[tryska]

wow. i'm so glad i saw this thread. my technique differes, but for soem odd reason, i have never thought to cut the triangles before baking. no wonder everyone's baklava looks so pretty compared to mine. how did i never learn that crucial step i wonder?

[prasantrin]

When you cut through the phyllo, do you cut straight to the bottom, or just through the top layers? I was thinking of doing this for spanakopita, so I'm planning to cut into squares.

[baroness]

Rona,
Cut all the way through so the butter can penetrate.

[prasantrin]

Rona,
Cut all the way through so the butter can penetrate.

I was afraid of that! I'm going to have to get a sharper knife before I can give this a try. I wonder how a ceramic blade would cut through phyllo...

Thanks!

[scubadoo97]

walnuts or pistachios

Both work well. My Syrian G'mother used pistachios exclusively.

[Patrick A.]

Today, i made this recipe and by far it is the best i have had compared to the other old recipe of brushing each layer with butter(This recipe was way easier). It by far was the best! my hat's off to chefcrash.

[Patrick A.]

Oh, i forgot to mention i did it as a demo for the class i am in.

[Desiderio]

Last saturday I made this recipe for a party, it was very very good and quite easy to make ,I like the fact that you butter every 2 sheets and spread the nuts mixture in between , plus I think n=honey is a must and cinnamon and clover as well.
http://allrecipes.co...ava/Detail.aspx

[hummingbirdkiss]

my amature opinion on this technique for making baklava is ..I just love it!..it is perfectly easy and a really nice pastry to make!!! right now the thing is tormenting me on the counter right this second.

and I can not even imagine ever buttering every layer it was self buttering!!!....I am no expert in these matters of baking this ... but I have consumed probably more than my share of baklava in my life ...all shapes sizes and varying degrees of goodness..this tops the charts for me right now ..there is a very nice crispy to melt in your mouth consistancy to this ..and it is way too tempting for a sugar junky like myself to have just sitting around on the counter ..I just keep tasting!!! everyone who has passed it this morning already has tasted and the eyes rolled back with delight...

I put it together exactly as directed by Chef Crash ....quantities the same ...but I did use 1 part honey to one part simple syrup ..in my syrup with a tbl of lemon zest and orange flower water

I mixed half and half walnuts to pecans ..cardamom along with more orange flower water a pinch and a half of salt and vanilla sugar ground into the nut mixture

all butter

thanks so much for sharing with us! I am very happy with this and hopefully when the guest of honor shows tonight we have enough left to offer her at least a piece!!!

[Tri2Cook]

I made an experimental baklava tuesday night at work (after closing). I wasn't feeling too good the next day (turned out to be some sort of stomach flu that's going around here) and completely forgot about it when I left work. Then I was off yesterday after a rough night with the flu (first day off sick from work in 4 years other than an unexpected appendectomy a couple years ago but it was a stomach bug and some sounds just aren't pleasant in a place where people are eating) so I still didn't go get it. Sooo... no pics. Somebody from work called and asked if they could get into it so I told them to go ahead. A couple people liked it, the rest seemed to think I shouldn't mess too much with a good thing (which is what I suspected when I was doing it). Instead of the traditional warm spices I used key lime zest and macadamia nuts in the layers and more of the zest in the syrup. The people who liked it have never had baklava before so maybe it's a taste association thing.

[prasantrin]

Yesterday, I was determined to make spanakopita the easy way. I tried very hard to remember to buy a ceramic knife, so I could cut through the layers of phyllo easily, and I did! I was so proud of myself. Then I got home and remembered that I had forgotten to buy spinach. Oops.

So tonight, I just finished my spanakopita the easy way. I only made 1/4 the quantity of the original proportions ChefCrash posted, and since he mentioned his sister used less butter for savoury applications, I only used about 250g butter. It looked like too much, but now I'm thinking it might not have been enough. The layers don't look quite as nice as ChefCrash's baklava looked. If I had my camera here (it's at work), I'd take a picture. I sure hope it tastes good, but I won't be able to find out until tomorrow. It's too late to eat for me, so it will be tomorrow's lunch!

Pics--should I have used more butter? More filling?




Still haven't tried it.

Edited by prasantrin, 22 October 2007 - 04:18 PM.

[M. Lucia]

Having spent some time touring professional baklava shops in the Middle East, I thought I'd chime in. The professional way of making baklava is quite similar to ChefCrashes method, ie the sheets are not brushed individually.

As I observed in a workshop, one person is rolling out fresh phyllo. The fresh phyllo is layered in a tray with the nuts and then scored (cut all the way through). The trays were tossed onto the floor (crash), then someone poured melted samne (ghee) all over the tray to saturate, then baked. Cool syrup is poured on the hot baklava immediately after baking.

This technique was used for almost all shapes of baklava, including fingers and birds nests.

I actually asked one guy about brushing each layer individually with butter, he laughed and said it was unnecessary. But this is because the phyllo they are using is fresh, whereas purchased phyllo is slightly drier and I believe this is why some people choose to brush each layer individually, ensuring it is moistened.

However, I think if ChefCrashes method works in the home kitchen, it sounds good to me:-)

Though I'll admit it always kind of hurts my arteries to watch that huge mount of melted butter slogged over the pastries.

[susiew]

If you are going to the trouble to make it, I agree ALL BUTTER. That's the traditional way and if you do a side by side comparison there is no contest to baklava that uses margarine.

If you're concerned about calories there are definitely ways to achieve a "baklava" effect like rolling the nuts in a small filo sheet instead of all the layers (the "fingers").

The raw cashew filled fingers are my favorites. Pure fatty sugary goodness!

[kbjesq]

Wow, Rona, that looks great! I don't know how I missed this post earlier.

Your version looks perfect to me. I like how the top is obviously crunchy. Too much butter in baklava, spanakopita, etc. is a turn-off to me. How did it taste, when you finally tasted it? (And how did you exercise such restraint . . . .)

I'm sure that this is not conventional but I sometimes make spanakopita with layers as follows: dough/spinach/dough/spinach/dough. Also probably not conventional, but I like how it affects the texture: I crumple up a few of the leaves as I am laying them out within the dough layers. It seems to give some height to the dough layers (esp. to the middle layer of dough) so that the end product is not just flat and weighed down by the filling.

[Natho]

Tomorrow I'm making a hazelnut baklava with a coffee syrup. Anyone ever made it with hazelnuts before and was it any good? I'm only really using them because i have a large pile that i need to use up.

[prasantrin]

Wow, Rona, that looks great!  I don't know how I missed this post earlier.

Your version looks perfect to me.  I like how the top is obviously crunchy.  Too much butter in baklava, spanakopita, etc. is a turn-off to me.  How did it taste, when you finally tasted it?  (And how did you exercise such restraint . . . .)

Thanks, but it wasn't so good. The bottom layer of phyllo was quite greasy, while the top layer was very dry. I don't know what happened. I think if I make it again, I'll have more phyllo/filling layers, like you do for your method. I might also make different cuts--maybe using diamond-shaped cuts would help distribute the butter more evenly??

[Pam R]

I've made baklava with a mix of nuts - hazelnut, pecan, walnut, cashew - they all worked.

[alanamoana]

Tomorrow I'm making a hazelnut baklava with a coffee syrup. Anyone ever made it with hazelnuts before and was it any good? I'm only really using them because i have a large pile that i need to use up.

i think this sounds like a nice combination. i've used hazelnuts and gianduja for an untraditional cigar shaped baklava.

[Natho]

well it's been baked and is sitting on the bench absorbing the syrup. It smells really good..
I am a bit apprehensive that maybe i didn't use enough butter but i guess i will find out in a few hours

[maurdel]

Tomorrow I'm making a hazelnut baklava with a coffee syrup. Anyone ever made it with hazelnuts before and was it any good? I'm only really using them because i have a large pile that i need to use up.

I think this sounds good too. If I were to try this I would chop the hazelnuts finely. For some reason I think they are harder than other nuts. (Is this true????)

.... what about some chocolate in there too?
mmmmm it all sounds so good.

[Natho]

I used about 400 gms of hazelnuts. I roasted them and tried to skin them (about 30% success) and then chucked them in the food processor. It got them about 70% finely ground and the other 30% large chunks so i think it will have a good texture contrast. I love the hazelnut/coffee mix. I put in some cinnamon as well.

[Natho]

Well it's definitely up there with some of the best baklava i've had, if I do say so myself. The hazelnuts worked great and the coffee syrup was just right, not too strong or bitter but just a nice flavour. I think maybe i needed a bit more syrup but it still works fine. The nuts were mixed with castor sugar and it is a bit grainy from the sugar, i think next time i would really grind up the nuts and use less sugar to hold it together. One thing though, the top layers of pastry are loose, especially around the edges. Has anyone else had this problem? I used the afore mentioned assembly technique of just ladleing in the butter and then pouring more on top.

[Natho]

A thought..
After making the baklava, instead of making a syrup, how about pouring a whole bottle of creme de cacao or kahlua or something over it and letting it soak in.. Obviously the baklava would need to cool down a bit first so the alcohol didn't evaporate..

[maurdel]

A thought..
After making the baklava, instead of making a syrup, how about pouring a whole bottle of creme de cacao or kahlua or something over it and letting it soak in.. Obviously the baklava would need to cool down a bit first so the alcohol didn't evaporate..

That would probably make the pastry wet.
One uses a syrup because it does not make it wet (if it's a well made syrup),
yet it sort of glazes everything with sugar and flavor.

[Pam R]

How did you make the coffee syrup? Just coffee and sugar?