Baklawa
Abuja, Nigeria · Voir toutes les recettes
Aperçu
Baklawa is layered phyllo pastry filled with crushed nuts and soaked in honey syrup, and in Algeria it is festive food, made for occasions rather than everyday. It is an Ottoman inheritance, and versions of it are made from the Balkans to Egypt under closely related names. The regional differences are real. Turkish fistikli baklava is made with pistachios and a simple sugar syrup. Middle Eastern versions scent the syrup with rosewater. Greek baklava uses walnuts with a generous quantity of cinnamon. The Algerian version leans on almonds and walnuts with honey, and this recipe follows the walnut and cinnamon line, which sits closer to the Greek than to the Turkish. Three components make it, and thinking about it that way makes it manageable: the phyllo, the nut mixture, and the syrup. The rule that decides whether it works is temperature. Cooled syrup goes onto hot pastry, never hot onto hot, and you should hear it sizzle when it hits. Get that wrong and the layers go soggy instead of staying crisp. It then needs four to six hours, or overnight, for the syrup to work through, so it cannot be made and served the same afternoon.
Note de Patrimoine AFN
Baklawa is an Ottoman-inherited pastry prepared in Algeria for festive occasions, with closely related versions made across the Balkans, Turkey, the Levant and Egypt.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
Thaw the phyllo dough according to the package, ideally overnight in the fridge then an hour at room temperature.
- 2
Trim the phyllo to fit your baking dish, one stack at a time, keeping it covered with a damp towel so it does not dry out.
- 3
Butter the bottom and sides of a 13x9 inch non-stick baking pan.
- 4
Make the syrup first, since it needs time to cool. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, honey, lemon juice and water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then reduce to medium-low and boil a further 4 minutes without stirring. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
- 5
Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- 6
Pulse the walnuts about 10 times in a food processor until coarsely ground, then stir together with the cinnamon.
- 7
Place 10 phyllo sheets into the pan one at a time, brushing each with butter before adding the next. Keep the remaining phyllo under a damp towel. Spread about a fifth of the nut mixture over the top.
- 8
Add 5 buttered sheets, then another layer of nuts. Repeat four times in total.
- 9
Finish with 10 layers of buttered phyllo and brush the very top with butter.
- 10
Cut the pastry into strips about 4cm wide, then cut diagonally to form diamonds.
- 11
Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
- 12
Remove from the oven and immediately spoon the cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklawa. You should hear it sizzle.
- 13
Let it cool completely, uncovered, at room temperature. Leave it 4 to 6 hours or overnight for the syrup to penetrate.
Notes de l’Africook
- Cooled syrup onto hot pastry, and you should hear it sizzle. Hot syrup onto hot pastry gives soggy layers, and this single rule decides whether the baklawa works.
- Keep the phyllo under a damp towel at all times. It dries and cracks within minutes of being uncovered.
- Cut it into diamonds before baking, not after. Cutting baked baklawa shatters the layers.
- Butter every sheet. Dry patches stay pale and go stale instead of crisping.
- Leave it 4 to 6 hours or overnight before serving. It is not ready straight from the oven and cannot be rushed.
- The nut mixture is flexible: walnuts, pistachios or hazelnuts, alone or combined. Use enough of whichever you choose.
Questions fréquentes
What is the difference between the regional versions?
The nuts and the syrup. Turkish fistikli baklava uses pistachios with a plain sugar syrup. Middle Eastern versions scent the syrup with rosewater. Greek baklava uses walnuts with plenty of cinnamon. The Algerian version leans on almonds and walnuts with honey. This recipe follows the walnut and cinnamon line.
Why does the syrup have to be cool?
Because hot syrup onto hot pastry makes it soggy. The pastry needs to be hot and the syrup cool, so that the syrup is absorbed without steaming the layers. You should hear it sizzle as it goes on. This is the single most important rule in making baklawa.
Should I use phyllo or puff pastry?
Phyllo. The source's prose says puff pastry in one place, which is wrong: baklawa is built from many separate paper-thin sheets brushed with butter, which is what gives the shattering layers. Puff pastry is a laminated dough and behaves nothing like it.
How long does it keep?
Two weeks at room temperature, covered loosely, and it is often better after a day or two once the syrup has fully worked through. Do not refrigerate it: the cold makes the phyllo tough and the butter set hard, and the texture never fully recovers.
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