Homemade Baklava Food

GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325. Layer half of the sheets of phyllo one sheet at a time, in a greased 11x7x2 baking pan, brushing each sheet evenly with butter and folding ends over if necessary to fit into pan.
• Keep unused sheets covered with plastic wrap while assembling baklava to prevent drying.
• Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar and cinnamon; stir in walnuts.
• Sprinkle nut mixture evenly over buttered phyllo in pan.
• Layer remaining phyllo, one sheet at a time, over nut mixture, brushing each sheet evenly with butter.
• Cut diagonally into squares, cutting completely through all layers.
• Bake in preheated oven until crisp and golden, about one hour.
• Combine remaining sugar, the water, lemon juice and honey in small saucepan; cook and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves.
• Heat to boiling; pour evenly over hot baklava.
• Let stand loosely covered 8 hours or overnight.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cloves; set aside. Brush a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with some of the butter. Unroll 1 package phyllo dough; cut stack into a 10-1/2x9-in. rectangle. Repeat with remaining phyllo. Discard scraps., Line bottom of prepared pan with 2 sheets of phyllo dough (sheets will overlap slightly). Brush with butter. Repeat layers 14 times. (Keep dough covered with a damp towel until ready to use to prevent it from drying out.) , Spread with 2 cups walnut mixture. Top with 5 layers of phyllo dough, brushing with butter between each sheet. Spread with remaining walnut mixture. Top with 1 layer of phyllo dough; brush with butter. Repeat 14 times. Cut into 2-1/2-in. squares; cut each square in half diagonally. Brush remaining butter over top. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown., In a large saucepan, bring syrup ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and discard zest; cool to lukewarm. Pour syrup over warm baklava.

EASY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Toss together cinnamon and nuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half to fit the dish. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to keep it from drying out.
• Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish. Brush generously with butter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about 6 sheets of phyllo. Using a sharp knife, cut baklava (all the way through to the bottom of the dish) into four long rows, then (nine times) diagonally to make 36 diamond shapes.
• Bake in preheated oven 50 minutes, until golden and crisp. While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon zest, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before serving. Store uncovered.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Make syrup first so that it can come to room temperature: In a small saucepan, combine honey, sugar and water. Bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and peels and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove peels and cinnamon sticks and allow to come to room temperature before using.
• Combine walnuts, almonds, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and 3 tablespoons melted butter together in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Place phyllo between sheets of waxed paper and cover with a slightly damp towel to prevent phyllo from drying out. Brush bottom and sides of an 18x12-inch inch pan generously with melted butter.
• Place 8 phyllo sheets into bottom of pan, brushing each sheet generously with butter. Take an additional 4 sheets of phyllo and place in pan allowing sheets to drape over each of the 4 sides of pan. Brush these with melted butter.
• Spread 2 cups of nut mixture into pan, distributing evenly over bottom. Fold over the overlapping phyllo sheets brushing each with butter, to envelop the nut mixture.
• Repeat layering process 2 more times to form 3 nut layers.
• Top pastry with remaining phyllo dough and generously brush top layer with melted butter. Tuck in the buttered phyllo neatly around.
• Score through top layers of pastry with a sharp knife making 6 strips lengthwise then cut 10 strips diagonally to form diamond shaped pieces. Stud each diamond-shaped piece (and any odd looking ones near the ends of the pan) in the centre with a whole clove per piece. Pour remaining melted butter over pastry and lightly sprinkle some water on top too (wet your hand under the tap twice and shake this out over the pastry).
• Bake pastry in a 325°F oven for 1 hour to 75 minutes, until nicely golden-brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully spoon cool syrup over seam in pastry. Allow to stand at least 3 hours or overnight. Cut through the scored pieces and serve.
• Note: The clove studding each piece is not traditionally eaten, it is removed by the person whose piece it is before eating. The clove is there to add its 'perfume' to the piece as it bakes (and it looks pretty, too).

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• You will need a 23 x 33 cm / 9 x 13" baking pan.

BAKLAVA RECIPE

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo dough by package instructions (this is best done overnight in the fridge, then place it on the counter for 1 hr before starting your recipe to bring it to room temp).
• Trim phyllo dough to fit your baking dish. My phyllo package had 2 rolls with a total of 40 sheets that measured 9x14 so I had to trim them slightly. You can trim one stack at a time then cover with a damp towel to keep from drying out.
• Butter the bottom and sides of a 13x9 non-stick baking pan.
• In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup honey, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, and 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil over med/high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat to med/low and boil additional 4 min without stirring. Remove from heat and let syrup cool while preparing baklava.
• Pulse walnuts 10 times in a food process or until coarsely ground/ finely chopped. In a medium bowl, stir together: 4 cups finely chopped walnuts and 1 tsp cinnamon.
• Place 10 phyllo sheets into baking pan one at a time, brushing each sheet with butter once it's in the pan before adding the next (i.e. place phyllo sheet into pan, brush the top with butter, place next phyllo sheet in pan, butter the top, etc. etc.). Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel at all times. Spread about 1/5 of nut mixture (about 3/4 cup) over phyllo dough.
• Add 5 buttered sheets of phyllo, then another layer of nuts. Repeat x 4. Finish off with 10 layers of buttered phyllo sheets. Brush the very top with butter.
• Cut pastry into 1 1/2" wide strips, then cut diagonally to form diamond shapes. Bake at 325˚F for 1 hour and 15 min or until tops are golden brown.
• Remove from oven and immediately spoon cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklava (you'll hear it sizzle). This will ensure that it stays crisp rather than soggy. Let baklava cool completely, uncovered and at room temp. For best results, let baklava sit 4-6 hours or overnight at room temperature for the syrup to penetrate and soften the layers. Garnish baklava with finely chopped nuts or drizzle with melted chocolate. Store at room temp, covered with a tea towel for 1 to 2 weeks.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease a 21cm x 21cm square cake tin with butter. Chop the nuts into small pieces using a food processor, taking care not to blitz them to a paste. Put them into a bowl, stir in the honey and a pinch of salt and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat. Cut the first pack of filo pastry sheets in half (so that they fit the tin). Put one sheet in the tin and brush with the melted butter. Lay another sheet on top and brush with butter again, keep layering like this until the whole pack is used up.
• Spread the honey and nut mixture over the pastry and press it down lightly with the back of a spoon. Open the other pack of filo, cut in half and continue the layering and buttering process. When you reach the last sheet pour any remaining butter over the top to finish. Use a sharp knife to cut deep lines into the pastry to create either squares or diamond shapes then bake in the oven for 20 mins.
• Reduce the heat to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and bake for a further 45 mins. While the baklava cooks put all the syrup ingredients into a saucepan and add 200ml water. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved then boil the mixture for 8-10 mins or until it has reduced to the consistency of runny honey.
• When the baklava comes out of the oven, pour the warm syrup over the top, allowing it to run into the lines you have cut. Leave it to soak in and serve when it's completely cold.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Remove the thawed phyllo from the fridge 1 hour before using. When working with the phyllo dough, only remove the sheets you immediately need, keeping the other sheets covered in plastic wrap, then a damp cloth.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) of the butter in a small saucepan.
• Toss together the chopped pecans and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.
• Thoroughly butter a rectangular baking pan with the melted butter. Make sure the sheets of phyllo will generally fit in the pan. (If they're a little bigger, that's okay; if they're much bigger, just trim them with a sharp knife.)
• Butter the top sheet of phyllo with melted butter, then grab it and the unbuttered sheet below it. Flip the sheets over and set them in the pan buttered-side down. Press them lightly into the pan. Repeat this twice more, so that you have 6 sheets of phyllo in the pan, 3 of the sheets buttered.
• Sprinkle on enough pecans to make a single layer. Butter 2 sheets of phyllo and place them on top of the pecans buttered-sides down. Add more pecans, then 2 more buttered phyllo sheets. Repeat this a couple more times, or until you're out of pecans. Top with 4 more buttered phyllo sheets, buttered-sides down. Butter the top of the final sheet.
• Cut a diagonal diamond pattern in the baklava using a very sharp knife. Bake until very golden brown, about 45 minutes.
• While the baklava is baking, combine the honey, sugar, vanilla, 1/2 cup water and the remaining 1 stick butter in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
• When you remove the baklava from the oven, drizzle half of the honey mixture evenly all over the top. Allow it to sit and absorb for a minute, then drizzle on a little more until you think it's thoroughly moistened. You'll likely have some of the honey mixture leftover, which you can drink with a straw. Just kidding.
• Allow the baklava to cool, uncovered, for several hours. Once cool and sticky and divine, carefully remove from the pan and serve with coffee (or give as gifts!).

MIXED NUT & HONEY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Place all the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan with 300ml of water and bring to a gentle simmer. Let it bubble away, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by a third. Leave to cool. (The syrup must be cool when it is poured over the pastry otherwise the pastry will go soggy.)
• Blitz the nuts in a food processor until coarse, then tip into a bowl and stir through the cinnamon and cloves.
• Melt the butter, using a little of it to lightly grease a 40 x 25cm shallow tin with a pastry brush. Gently unfold the filo and cover with a damp tea towel to stop it cracking.
• Layer sheets of filo in the tin and brush each layer with melted butter. After 4 layers, scatter over half the nut mixture; repeat with 4 layers of filo, then the rest of the nuts. Top with the last 4 layers of filo, then generously butter the top. Cut into diamonds with a sharp knife - ensure the blade goes right to the bottom.
• Bake on the middle shelf of the oven on a hot baking sheet for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp, reducing the temperature to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3 if the baklava looks as though it is browning too quickly.
• Remove the baklava from the oven and spoon half the cooled syrup over the top. Leave for 5 minutes, then spoon over the remaining syrup. Allow the baklava to cool before removing the individual pieces from the dish with a palette knife.

EASY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Place 1 cup sugar, water,& lemon juice in a pan& bring to boil.
• Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Cool.
• Lay out phyllo dough, cut in half& trim to fit a 9 by 13" pan.
• Place 1/2 of dough in pan.
• Combine filling ingredients, and spread over phyllo dough.
• Cover with 2nd half of dough.
• With a serrated knife, cut into triangles.
• Drizzle evenly with melted butter.
• Bake at 350 degrees for appproximately 30 minutes, till golden brown.
• Remove from oven& pour cooled syrup over hot baklava.

HOMEMADE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the almonds, pistachios, 2/3 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon ground cardamom in a medium bowl; stir to combine.
• Brush a 10-by-13-inch baking dish with clarified butter. Lay one half-sheet of phyllo in the prepared dish, and brush with clarified butter. Repeat with five more sheets of phyllo, brushing them with butter and stacking them in dish.
• Sprinkle one-third of the nut mixture over the phyllo, and top with the remaining six sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet with clarified butter before adding the next. Repeat two times, until all the nuts and phyllo are used.
• Using a very sharp knife, cut phyllo stack lengthwise into seven strips. Cut across strips diagonally, 1 1/4 inches, apart to make diamonds. Pour the remaining clarified butter over the pastry. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Place remaining 1 1/3 cups sugar and the water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon cardamom; continue to boil for 10 minutes until syrup has thickened slightly. Remove from heat, and stir in the lemon juice and rose water. Pour over the baked pastry.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt the butter over low heat. Pour 2 tablespoons of the butter into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Layer 3 sheets of the phyllo dough in the pan. Trim dough to fit. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of pecans over the phyllo dough. Layer 3 more sheets of dough, brush generously with the melted butter, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of pecans. Continue dough -butter- pecan layers until pan is 3/4 full.
• With a sharp knife, score phyllo dough to form diamonds. Press a clove at each end of the diamonds. Pour remaining butter over the dough.
• Bake 45 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, combine the sugar, water and cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan, and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the honey and simmer for 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and discard cinnamon stick. Pour honey mixture over hot baklava. Let cool on wire racks. Cut into diamonds.
• Pour honey mixture over hot baklava. Let cool on wire racks. Cut into diamonds.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Grease a 17cm x 28cm (11in x 7in) baking tray with butter.
• Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over low heat or in a microwave.
• Lay 10 sheets of filo pastry, one at a time, into the tray, brushing each sheet with butter before adding the next.
• In a clean bowl, mix together the nuts, sugar and cardamom and spread the mixture over the pastry in the tray.
• Layer up the remaining sheets on top of the nut mixture, brushing each sheet with butter, as before.
• Using a sharp knife, cut a criss-cross pattern into the top layers of the pastry.
• Place baklava in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes, then decrease the oven temperature to 150C/300F/Gas 2 and cook for an additional half hour to 40 minutes, or until the pastry is slightly puffed and golden on top. Do not allow the top to burn. Remove and allow to cool slightly.
• For the syrup, heat the sugar, water, lemon juice and orange blossom water in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over a medium heat until the sugar has melted and a syrup is formed. (This will take about 20 minutes or so.)
• Pour the syrup into the slits in the baklava and leave to cool. Cut into small diamond-shaped pieces and serve.

PAKLAVA (ARMENIAN BAKLAVA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan.
• Prepare the filling by mixing together the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
• Open the package of phyllo dough and lay it out on the table or a clean work surface. Cover with a clean cloth when not using it so it doesn't dry out. Take one sheet of phyllo and fold it to fit the inside of the pan (it may not be folded exactly in half in order to fit). Lightly brush/blot with melted clarified butter.
• Repeat with another sheet of phyllo, but this time place the folded sheet facing the other way so you alternate directions of where the dough is folded. Again, blot with butter and continue like this until half the dough is arranged in the pan. The box will tell you approximately how many sheets it contains, but feel free to count it to be more exact on when to stop.
• Spread the filling evenly over the dough. Continue folding and arranging the phyllo as above until you reach the last layer. For the last layer while the sheet is still on your work surface brush the dough lightly with clarified butter before folding it (so there is butter in the middle), then carefully flip it over and place it in the pan so the top is a smooth sheet of dough and the uneven folded part is hidden underneath.
• Cut diamonds with a very sharp knife by cutting lengthwise into 1 ½ inch wide strips, and then start at one corner with 45° diagonals spaced about 2 inches apart until you make diamond shapes with the whole pan.
• Spoon the remaining hot clarified butter evenly over the top, using the back of the spoon to gently spread the butter, if needed, without disturbing the top layer of phyllo.
• Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely before moving on.
• Prepare the syrup by dissolving the sugar in the water over high heat. Bring to a boil then add the lemon juice and cloves, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and rest for about 17 or 18 minutes until the syrup is warm, but not too hot (about 160 to 165°F).
• Discard the cloves and ladle the very warm syrup over the pan of paklava and let it soak until mostly absorbed, about 1 hour. There may still be some syrup left in the pan, but most of it should soak into the dough. Use a sharp knife and go over all the previous cuts, making sure the paklava is cut all the way through before serving. Store at room temperature.

BAKLAVA RECIPE- HOW TO MAKE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat stove-top, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Add the honey, orange extract if using, and whole cloves; stir to mix. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes. Remove syrup from heat and let cool to lukewarm. Add lemon juice. Remove the whole cloves.
• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, add the pistachios, walnut, and hazelnuts. Pulse a few times to chop. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add sugar, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Mix well to combine.
• Unroll the thawed phyllo pastry and place the sheets in between two clean kitchen towels. This will help keep the phyllo from breaking while you work.
• Prepare a 9"x 13"x 2" baking pan. Brush the interior of the baking pan with some of the melted butter. To assemble the baklava, take one sheet of phyllo and place it in the pan (for this size pan, I typically fold my phyllo sheet in half, and it fits perfectly. You can also do a bit of trimming using a pair of kitchen shears). Brush the top of the phyllo sheet with the melted butter.
• Repeat this process a few more times until you have used up about 1/3 of the phyllo pastry, each layer being brushed with the melted butter.
• Now, distribute about ½ of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo.
• Continue assembling the baklava, one sheet of phyllo pastry at a time using another 1/3 of the phyllo. Again, brush each layer with a bit of the melted butter.
• Distribute the remaining ½ of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo.
• Finish the remaining 1/3 of the phyllo pastry following the same process, laying one folded sheet at a time and brushing each layer with melted butter. Brush the very top sheet of phyllo with butter.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 24 diamond shaped pieces (you can get up to 36 smaller pieces). (Review the tutorial above to see how I cut baklava).
• Place the baking dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes or until the top of the baklava turns golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. (IMPORTANT...Because ovens vary, be sure to check your baklava half-way through baking).
• As soon as you remove the baklava from the oven, pour the cooled syrup all over the hot baklava.
• Allow baklava to sit for a few hours before serving or for at least 1 hour. Cut through the earlier marked pieces. Serve with a garnish of chopped pistachios, if you like.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Combine the nuts, cinnamon and ground crackers in a bowl.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with some of the butter. Layer 10 pieces of phyllo in the dish, brushing each piece with butter before adding the next (keep the remaining dough covered with a damp towel). Sprinkle a quarter of the nut mixture over the dough. Layer 4 pieces of phyllo on top, brushing each with butter before adding the next; sprinkle with another quarter of the nut mixture. Add 4 more phyllo pieces on top, brushing each with butter, then add another quarter of the nut mixture, 4 more pieces of phyllo with butter, and the remaining nuts.
• Layer the remaining 10 pieces of phyllo on top of the nuts, brushing each with butter; brush the top piece with extra butter. Cut into the baklava to make strips, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Then make diagonal slices, about 1 1/2 inches apart, to create a diamond pattern. Bake until golden, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the syrup: Bring the sugar, honey and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and boil 2 more minutes, then let cool slightly.
• Pour the syrup over the warm baklava; let soak, uncovered, at least 6 hours or overnight. Garnish with nuts.

EASY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Toss together cinnamon and nuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half to fit the dish. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to keep it from drying out.
• Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish. Brush generously with butter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about 6 sheets of phyllo. Using a sharp knife, cut baklava (all the way through to the bottom of the dish) into four long rows, then (nine times) diagonally to make 36 diamond shapes.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and crisp, about 50 minutes.
• While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon or orange zest; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
• Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before serving. Store uncovered.

GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
• Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
• Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
• Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.