No Measure Baklava Food

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:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Make the filling: Arrange the walnuts in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake until fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. (Leave the oven on to bake the baklava.) Let the walnuts cool until just warm to the touch. In a food processor, combine the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and process until the mixture looks like sand and small pebbles. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and set aside.
• Make the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, honey, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon stick (if using), and orange rind (if using). Bring to a boil over medium heat (watch carefully so it doesn't boil over), reduce the temperature to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Let the syrup cool until you are ready to use it.
• Prep: Near a flat, clean work surface, place a 9x13-inch baking dish, a pastry brush, and the melted butter. Gently lay the phyllo on the work surface and, using a sharp knife, trim the sheets into 8x12-inch rectangles to fit the baking dish. (You can discard the portions you cut off.) Cover the phyllo with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out.
• Assemble the baklava: Brush melted butter on the bottom of the pan. Add the phyllo, 2 sheets at a time, drizzling with 2 to 3 teaspoons of butter after every 2 sheets. When you get to the 14th sheet, add ⅓ of the filling (about 1¼ cups), spreading it evenly over the surface. Then add 6 more phyllo sheets, drizzling butter after every 2 and adding another third of the filling on top of the 6th. Repeat the 6 layers of phyllo and butter, and add the remaining third of the filling over top. Finish the layering as you started with 14 more layers of phyllo, buttering after every 2. Do not butter the top layer.
• Score: To cut the baklava, use a very sharp knife and cut all the way through the layers. You can keep it simple and make 24 squares, or cut each square into a diamond. If this is your first time making baklava, start with the squares to get used to cutting the phyllo. If any butter remains, spoon it into the cut lines.
• Bake: Bake the baklava for 40 to 45 minutes. The top should be golden brown, and you should hear it bubbling.
• Add the syrup: Let the baklava cool for 5 minutes; then use a spoon to drizzle the syrup into all of the cuts. Allow the baklava to cool completely before enjoying, a few hours or overnight.
• Make-Ahead Instructions: The baklava can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. For longer storage, the baklava can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
• Note: The number of sheets of phyllo dough in each package varies by brand (and even by box). You will need a total of 40 sheets of phyllo dough for this recipe. Frozen phyllo dough should be thawed in the refrigerator 12 to 24 hours before using.

NUT FREE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• 1. You will need a 8-9 inch square pan. Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees.
• 2. To make the filling, simply mix together the sesame seeds, sugar, orange zest, and spices.
• 3. Next, cut your phyllo sheets with a knife to fit the pan.
• 4. Butter your pan, or use cooking spray. Then, add a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Add 3 more sheets, brushing with butter after each sheet. Then add a thin layer of the filling. Add three more sheets, (buttering each sheet) then more filling, and keep repeating this until you've used up the filling, topping it off with three sheets of phyllo, and a brushing of butter.
• 5. Now, cut it into squares, since it will be difficult to do this after it has baked.
• 6. Toss it into the oven for 1 hour.
• 7. While it's baking, make the syrup. To make the syrup, just toss all of your syrup ingredients (sugar, water, honey, lemon zest) into a pot and stir, until the sugar dissolves. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until it has a thin but syrup-like consistency. When your baklava is finished baking, pour the syrup over it, and enjoy!

NO-MEASURE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo dough inside sealed pkg on counter at least an hour (it can still be cold).
• Start preheating your oven to 300.
• Roll the walnuts, a couple handfuls at a time, inside a large freezer ziplock bag with a rolling pin. I can only get them as fine as about the size of pearl barley before I say "good enough" and it seems to work fine but one person say it should be finer (but they eat it up immediately so nobody's tastebuds are complaining).
• Place a 13x9 pan with 1 tbsp butter/margarine in the oven for a couple minutes to melt the butter, remove it back out. If there is any excess pour it into your saucepan.
• Melt your butter in a saucepan on low heat putting any whole spices (such as whole cardamom or whole cloves) in to release their flavor.
• Lay 6 layers or so of phyllo dough in pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 c rolled walnuts (should almost cover), 1-2 tbsp of cinnamon (should cover) and drizzle 1-2 tsbp melted butter and 1 tbsp of honey.
• Layer 4 layers of phyllo (I found I could use broken sheets in the middle layers as long as I used whole sheets for top and bottom and it was unnoticeable) and repeat. Aim for 4 layers of walnut. You will not use up the whole pkg of phyllo. Wrap tighly and refreeze.
• Top with the last layers of phyllo, cut with a sharp knife lengthwise to make 4 rows (don't cut all the way to the bottom) and then diagonally crossways every 1.5 inches or so (start by cutting a triagle shape at the top of each row, diagonals all the way down and end with a triangle again).
• Drizzle with 2 tbsp melted butter, bake 1 hr or until top is golden brown. Remove and let cool to room temp (few hours), then liberally drizzle honey into every crack,and around the edges. The cracks should be full to the top. And drizzle a little across the surface.
• Let sit until honey is absorbed (another hour or as long as you want) then cut with sharp knife ALL the way through to the bottom, layer in stacks on a plate, and serve.
• Cover like on a cakeplate or under a large bowl.