Egyptian Baklava or baqlawa

Baklava

"Baklava is a dessert of Turkish origin, dating from the fifteenth century, today popular also in Greece and throughout the Middle East specially  here in Egypt ^_____^  Layered with nuts and drenched in sugar syrup or honey, it is the best known of all the phyllo pastries.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1.5 lbs UNSALTED Butter
• 2 Package Filo(Phyllo) dough
• 1 lb package of walnuts (may substitute pecans, macadamias or pistachios)
• 3-4 capfuls of  honey
• 1 and ¼ cups of sugar (separately 1 cup and ¼ cup)
• ½ cup water
• 1-2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Let Phyllo dough thaw

2.  Butter (not hard but liquified).

3. By hand or in a food processor – grind the walnuts to your desired consistency.

4. Mix a quarter cup of sugar and 2 tbsp of honey  into the nut mixture and set aside.

5. Place paper towels on the table, roll open one package Phillo dough so it is laying flat, leaving second one sealed until ready to use.

6. Use the brush to butter the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan. Peel one sheet of dough off the top of the pile very slowly so it does not tear. Place on the bottom of the pan so it lies as flat as possible with the least amount of wrinkles.

7. Butter the top of this sheet. Peel a second piece, place on top of first sheet and butter top. Repeat this process until the whole first roll of dough is used.

*Please note if the dough is too dry it will crumble easily and if it is too moist it may be difficult to separate the layers. An extra person to separate the layers helps it go along quicker.

If it is too dry lay a moist paper towel over the top for a few minutes.

If it is too moist let it sit for a few minutes or flip it over and use layers that were on the bottom.

8. Spoon the nut mixture over the top and even out.

9. Open the second package of dough and layer the same as first package.

*Please note: the first few sheets will be a little more challenging to do as they move around, have patience it will get better.

10. DO NOT butter the top of the last layer.

11. Using a large sharp knife cut the product all the way thru to the bottom into approximately 2” diamonds or squares.

12. Butter top layer AFTER cutting is completed.

13. Bake @ 350° for approximately 1 hr until top layer of dough lifts and browns (should be a golden nutty brown color). Top layers should be light and flakey. Baking time may vary with ovens. meanwhile prepare the syrupwhile the Baklava is still in the oven.

Syrup:

While baklava is baking, in a small sauce pan, combine together:

1 cup of sugar

½ cup water

Lemon juice of half a lemon plus the lemon zest

2  tbs of honey

Bring to a boil. Boil until sugar is completely dissolved and becomes clear (water like – you shouldn’t seen any grains of sugar floating). Let it cool to lukewarm. Once the baked Baklava is cooled to lukewarm, pour the syrup evenly over the top.