Traditional Walnut Baklava
The secret to baklava isn't the nut blend, but the hydration of the pastry. You are building a tower of brittle paper that must be shattered by the syrup without turning into a soggy mess.
Mind the temperature of your syrup.
Your syrup must be completely cold before it touches the hot, straight-from-the-oven pastry. This thermal shock is what keeps the phyllo crisp.
- 9x13 inch metal baking pan
- pastry brush
- sharp chef's knife
- saucepan
What goes in.
- 1 lbphyllo dough, thawed
- 1 lbwalnuts, finely chopped
- 1 cupunsalted butter, melted and clarified
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- 1 cupgranulated sugar
- 1 cupwater
- 1/2 cuphoney
- 1 tspvanilla extract
The cold-pour method
By pouring cold syrup over the scorching hot pastry, you force the liquid to absorb instantly while maintaining the integrity of the delicate buttered layers.
The method.
Prepare the syrup
Combine sugar, water, and honey in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and set aside to cool completely in the refrigerator.
Layer the phyllo
Brush the bottom of your pan with butter. Place two sheets of phyllo down, brushing the top lightly with butter. Repeat until you have used one-third of the sheets.
Add the nut filling
Mix the walnuts and cinnamon. Spread half of the mixture evenly over the phyllo stack. Layer another third of the phyllo sheets, buttering between each pair, then add the remaining nuts and top with the final third of phyllo.
Score before baking
Using a sharp knife, cut through the layers into diamonds or squares before it goes into the oven. If you wait until after baking, the pastry will crumble.
Bake
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 45 to 50 minutes until the top is deep golden brown and the edges look toasted.
Soak
Remove the pan from the oven and immediately pour the cold syrup over the entire surface. Listen for the aggressive sizzle. Let it stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours before serving.
Other turns to take.
Pistachio Baklava
Replace walnuts with roasted, unsalted pistachios for a brighter, vibrant green contrast.
Citrus Infusion
Add a strip of lemon peel and a stick of cinnamon to the syrup while it simmers for a sharper aromatic profile.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Keep a damp kitchen towel over your stack of phyllo sheets while working to prevent them from drying out and cracking.
If your butter has milk solids at the bottom, skim them off; they burn easily during the long bake time.
Use a metal pan for better heat conduction, which helps the bottom layer crisp up.
The ones that keep coming up.
Why is my baklava soggy?
Usually, this happens if the syrup was too hot when added, or if it wasn't allowed to rest long enough to fully absorb and cool.
Can I store it in the fridge?
Baklava is best kept at room temperature in an airtight container; the fridge tends to soften the crisp pastry.
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