Greece. Turkey. Lebanon. Syria. Baklava is treasured by a wide array of cultures and countries, and for good reason. The combination of flaky phyllo and sugary walnuts is almost irresistible, and even if you can resist Baklava…why would you want to?
Baklava, by the way, just so happened to be the first pastry Steve ever learned to make. Although this recipe went on to become a Steve’s Backroom classic, Steve’s foray into baking had humble beginnings. “I burned six trays of Baklava because I forgot them and they kept cooking at the bakery,” Steve recalls of his first attempt at baking Baklava by himself. “The temperature was 300 degrees and I put six pans in a pizza oven. I came back the next day and they looked beautiful…but they were all black.”
With that said, keep a steady eye on your oven’s timer to avoid disaster! Now, a few words on the ingredients you’ll see listed below. Ghee, a Persian word for butter, is simply butter that has been clarified through boiling. This recipe requires quite a bit of fillo dough (also called “phyllo”), which you will need to pull, fold, tuck, and press at various intervals. We recommend using fresh fillo if at all possible to keep the dough from sticking together. Don’t be afraid to get handsy with your dough, by the way—it’s stronger than it looks. We’re particularly partial to Athens Fillo, and that’s not just because Steve used to distribute it. Stop by The Pantry to learn more about the Athens brand and story.
BAKLAVA
Special Supplies
- Standard half sheet pan measuring 13″ x 18″
- Spray bottle
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs clarified butter (ghee)
- 2 lbs Athens Fillo dough (TIP: Make sure to purchase fillo dough that is 14″ x 18″ in size)
- 2 lbs shelled walnuts (or chopped walnuts)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 TBL orange blossom water (optional)
- 2 ½ cups Heavy Syrup
Directions:
Notes: If your fillo is frozen, you will need to thaw it out before assembling your Baklava. Making Baklava is a lengthy and specific process, so if you have any questions along the way be sure to watch the video demonstration included below. If you follow our cutting recommendation, this recipe will yield 88 bite-size pieces.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Put walnuts into a food processor and pulse a few times until evenly chopped. In a clean bowl, mix sugar and chopped walnuts. If desired add in orange blossom water and stir to combine.
Take ghee out of the jar and put into a small saucepan over medium-low heat until just melted—take care to ensure ghee doesn’t get too hot. Remove pan from stove. Dip a pastry brush into melted ghee and thoroughly coat a sheet pan. (Note: You may need to reheat ghee if it starts to solidify.)
Start with 1 pound of fillo and set the other aside—the second pound will used after the nuts have been added.
Pick up 2 sheets of fillo and place down the length of the sheet pan—approximately 1 inch of dough should hang over one side of the pan. Brush with melted ghee.
Pick up 2 more sheets of fillo and place on the sheet pan, allowing 1 inch of dough to hang over the opposite side. Brush each layer thoroughly with melted ghee. Repeat this process until all 4 sides have a 1 inch overhang, using 8 pieces of fillo total.
Pick up 2 more sheets of fillo and lay directly into the middle of the pan. If necessary, fold the edge of the dough inward to prevent any additional overhang. Brush each layer thoroughly with melted ghee. Continue this process until you have just 3 sheets of fillo dough left from the first pound.
Next, spread half of the walnut mixture across the top layer of fillo dough. Use your pastry brush to drizzle ghee over the walnuts. Cover the walnut layer with 2 additional sheets of fillo. Brush with ghee, then top the fillo with remaining walnut mixture, again drizzling with ghee. (Like Lisa says, “You want to make sure every bite of Baklava contains nuts,” so be sure to spread the walnuts into the corners of your sheet pan.)
Cover walnuts with 1 sheet of fillo dough, then fold in all 4 sides of the overhanging edges. Brush ghee over the entire layer.
Fold the next 2 sheets of fillo dough in half lengthwise and place in the middle of the pan—the purpose is to even out the thickness of the sides.
Now take out the second pound of fillo dough and continue to layer 2 sheets at a time, brushing thoroughly with melted ghee as you go. Repeat until you have used all the dough, leaving the top layer unbuttered.
Use the dull edge of a knife on the edges of the pan to help tuck the dough securely beneath the lip.
Get out a ruler. Beginning in the middle of the pan and moving outward, use your knife to make guide marks every 1 ½ inches down the length of the pastry. Deepen the guide marks one by one, then repeat the entire process on the other side of the pan. Cut the pastry with a knife without slicing through the bottom layer—the bottom of the pastry should be perforated, but not sliced through to ensure that ghee does not leak out while baking. Use a cutting board as a guide while cutting to help you create straight lines. Once all of the first cuts have been made, coat the entire surface of the pastry thoroughly with ghee using your pastry brush. (As Steve says, “The more butter on there, the better it bakes.”)
Cut the pastry diagonally (Note: Refer to the cutting pattern below), repeating all the way down the pan to create the final diamond shape of your bite-size pieces. A cutting board is not needed for this part. After all cuts have been made, use your pastry brush to coat with additional ghee, being careful not to lift any of the layers—you may have to pat with your pastry brush rather than actually brushing. Use a spray bottle to distribute water over the surface of the ghee—this will keep the edges of the pastry from curling up while baking.
cutting pattern
Bake at 300 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown, turning halfway through to ensure even baking. Remove Baklava from the oven and drizzle Heavy Syrup over the top of the pastry (drizzle ½ cup at a time until you have poured 2 ½ cups total over the surface—a glass measuring cup will work best for this as the syrup is very thick). Let the Baklava sit at room temperature for an hour to let the syrup to soak through each layer, then cut and serve. Check to make sure that your Baklava is completely cooled before cutting and serving—if it starts to fall apart as you’re cutting, it’s still too warm.
There are a lot of steps involved with making Baklava, we know. Check out this video to see how Steve tackles the process!