So many people have asked me about baklava all these years. Well, too many. When somebody heard that I came from Turkey, most of the time they said, “oh baklavaaaa, do you know how to make baklavaaa?”. Frankly, I’m tired of it as I don’t like baklava myself, and there are so many more delicious dishes in Turkish cuisine. But well, here I am, writing this recipe.
At least, making this type of baklava is fun. Of course, I used ready phyllo sheets suitable for baklava and didn’t roll the layers myself because I like my lower back too much. What I mean by that is, one time, I made baklava from scratch, and I can almost swear that my lower back problems started that moment.
So, if what I read in some places correctly, and I believe it is, the original, authentic baklava is made with honey, not syrup made out of sugar. But today, it is sweetened with simple syrup, and this is what I used as well.
It is surprisingly easy to make this baklava if you are using the ready phyllo. And it surprisingly consists of very few ingredients. People, most of the time, use a very thin rolling pin to make the rolls. I didn’t have that. Instead, I have a slightly thick stick which is a cake dowel. I used that one, and it went excellent. Frankly, if you are careful, you wouldn’t even need that.
Enjoy your baklava recipe!
—
Ingredients:
Difficulty: Medium
(makes 1 baklava in a 24cm oven dish)
For the syrup* (make this at least a few hours before)
5 dl (or 2 cups) granulated white sugar
5 dl (or 2 cups) water
a slice of a lemon
For the baklava:
100 gr vegan butter, melted and cooled a little
12 sheets of phyllo**
150 gr lightly toasted hazelnuts, crushed well (but not powdered)
the syrup you made, completely cooled down (you can make the evening before)
If possible, find a stick not too thick to help with rolling. I used a cake dowel.
*I didn’t put the photos of the syrup’s ingredients, sorry. I’m also not writing the instructions for it in this post. Instead, find the instructions in this sekerpare recipe, steps 1 and 2. Be careful; the syrup measurements of the two recipes are different.
**I bought mine from the Turkish market “Alanya” in Itäkeskus in Helsinki.
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Use some of the melted butter to grease your oven dish.
2. Take one phyllo sheet and brush some melted butter on it. Put a second sheet on top of it to completely cover it.
3. Spread a handful of hazelnuts on the two phyllo sheets glued with butter.
4. Put your stick closer to the lower long side of the phyllo sheets. Start rolling the sheets. Roll the sheets very loosely; otherwise, you will not be able to carry out the next step.
5. Squeeze the rolled phyllo sheets from both sides, and then take the stick you used to roll them out.
6. Without using the squeezed shape, put the dough inside the edge of the dish. Continue doing this for the remaining sheets two by two, and attach each new piece to the end of the previous one. For a 24cm dish, 6 such pieces, each composed of 2 phyllo sheets, should be enough. When you have all the sheets in the dish, brush the remaining melted butter on the surface of the sheets.
7. Put the baklava in the middle section of your oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the surface gets nicely golden-browned. When ready, take it out of the oven and leave it for about 5 minutes to rest. After that, using a ladle, pour syrup on every part of the baklava evenly. Let the baklava sit for a few hours and then serve. Enjoy!
My Dear Kitchen in Helsinki 