Baklava
How to Make Baklava by Candace Murphy
You can enjoy a taste of the Middle East with this recipe for baklava,
a
flaky, scrumptious dessert of Turkish origin dating back to the 15th
century. Yields about 30 squares or diamonds.
Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease the bottom and sides of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with
butter or cooking spray.
3. Toast the chopped nuts and then finely chop them.
4. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 c. sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon.
Set aside.
5. Melt 1/2 lb. unsalted butter. Set aside.
6. Stack the phyllo dough on a work surface and trim it into
13-by-9-inch sheets. Set the scraps aside.
7. Cover the trimmed phyllo with plastic wrap and a dampened
towel.
8. Put two phyllo sheets in the baking pan. Brush the top sheet with
melted butter.
9. Add two more sheets and brush with melted butter. Repeat once
more for a total of six phyllo sheets.
10. Sprinkle half of the nuts and then half of the sugar mixture
over
the six sheets of phyllo.
11. Cover the filling with two phyllo sheets and butter the top
sheet.
Repeat as before, until there are six sheets of phyllo dough
on top
of the filling.
12. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and sugar mixture over the phyllo.
13. Cover with the rest of the phyllo sheets, stacking them two
sheets
at a time and buttering the second sheet each time.
14. Brush the top of the assembled baklava with the remaining
butter.
15. Take a very sharp, serrated knife and cut through the layers and
make 2-inch diamonds or squares.
16. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 300
degrees F. Bake until the baklava is golden, about 45 to 60
minutes.
17. During the final 30 minutes of baking, combine remaining 1 1/3
c.
sugar, water, honey, lemon juice and orange zest in a
saucepan.
Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
18. Strain the hot sugar mixture and pour evenly over the baked
baklava.
19. Let baklava cool at least four hours at room temperature.
Serve.
Tips
It's important to keep the phyllo covered with the plastic wrap and
damp towel to keep it from drying out, which it does very quickly.
If
it dries out, it becomes impossible to work with.
You must cut the baklava before baking, because if you try to cut it
afterward, the dough will crumble and the pastry will be one huge,
crushed mess.
Instead of nuts, try filling the baklava with dried fruits, sesame
seeds, coconut or pineapple.
Phyllo, also sometimes called filo, can be found in the freezer
section of the supermarket. Be sure to let the phyllo thaw
thoroughly before working with it.
Bobbie
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