Ingredients

About 40 sheets of thin phyllo pastry (about 30cm x 30cm each), ¾ cup of sugar, 1 ¼ cup of water, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, 300gr of ghee (or clarrified unsalted butter), 300gr of crashed walnuts (or pistachios).

Preparation and Cooking

• To prepare the syrup, combine water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring this mixture to a boil over high heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, and introduce the lemon juice, and continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes until it begins to slightly thicken. Remove from heat and let it cool.
• Grease a baking tray (approximately 30cm x 30cm x 5cm) evenly with ghee.
• Begin assembling the baklava by first allowing the phyllo pastry to thaw in its sealed packaging at room temperature for roughly 2 hours. Then, arrange 3 sheets of phyllo pastry in the tray, leaving some space for air gaps. Brush or spray the layers with a mixture of ghee. Repeat this step about 5 times, leading to a total of 15 layers.
• Spread the crushed walnuts evenly across the arranged pastry layers, and continue the process of layering and brushing ghee until all the remaining phyllo sheets are used (approximately 20 layers). Ensure the final layer consists of a single sheet.
• Cut the baklava into your preferred shapes using a sharp knife. Use a ruler or wooden template as a guide to achieve uniform cuts. Clean the knife with a damp kitchen towel after each cut. For a neater look, trim any excess dough and tuck the uneven edges under the layers.
• Drizzle the remaining ghee mixture uniformly over the cut baklava.
• Mist the top layer with water before baking.
• When the temperature of the wood-fired oven is between 180-200^oC, bake the baklava for about 30 minutes, until the top layer is golden and crusty. Consider baking in the middle of Area E where there’s no active fire, or at the onset of slow cooking in Area G.
• Upon removing the baklava from the oven, carefully retrace the cut lines to separate the pieces. Drizzle the cooled syrup evenly over the warm baklava and allow it to sit for a few hours to fully absorb the syrup.
• Allow the baklava to cool for approximately 10 minutes so it can fully absorb the syrup before serving. You may serve it plain or with your favorite toppings, or even can be served cold.

Hints and Comments

• This classic baklava recipe featured crushed walnuts, though variations may include pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds, or peanuts, and is often garnished with powdered pistachio and served in small servings with Turkish coffee, tea, or ice cream.

For exceptional baklava, quality samna (ghee or clarified butter) and proper air gaps between phyllo layers are crucial. Ghee is preferred in baklava for its unique flavour and acidic taste, and its resistance to burning. Homemade ghee can be made from ordinary butter through careful heating, chilling, and skimming processes.