HOMEMADE BAKLAVA RECIPE FROM SCRATCH - Easier Than You Think and Amazingly Delicious!

HOMEMADE BAKLAVA RECIPE FROM SCRATCH

Music: Hala Lala Layya - Lebanese Folk Song
Arangement and piano: Elvan A. ULUCINAR

In this episode, I'd like to share with you BAKLAVA recipe, the sultan of sweets. I worked with a young assistant when making this video and he did almost everything. His homemade baklava was so yummy! If you are a baklava expert no need to watch this video, but if you are a first timer I suggest to give it a try.

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INGREDIENTS
3 cups flour
1 egg
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sun flower oil
3 real tablespoonful thick yogurt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups chopped walnuts (or pistachios)
200 gr. (7 oz) butter
TO DUST DOUGH WHEN ROLLING
1 cup wheat starch
1/2 cup flour
SYRUP RATIO FOR DRY BAKLAVA
2 cups sugar - 3 cups water - 1/8 wedge of a lemon
You can also use:
4 cups sugar - 5 cups water - 1/8 wedge of a lemon, if desired.
*Explained in the video.
* I use a 36 cm. (14 inches) enamel round baking dish.

DIRECTIONS
For the dough: Beat egg in a large bowl, add milk and sun flower oil.
Add vinegar and yogurt, mix then beat well.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt.
Sift 3 cups flour&1 tsp baking powder into another bowl, mix.
Add flour gradually, into the wets and mix using a fork.
Once dough becomes thicker, start working with your hands.
You may need to use a little more or less flour, depending on how thick the yogurt is.
Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth.
Shape into a ball.
It should be a soft and only slightly sticky dough.
Put it into a bowl, cover and let rest for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, sift 1 cup starch and 1/2 cup flour into a bowl.
Toast the walnuts for about 3-4 minutes, over medium low heat, stirring constantly.
To make 'Sade Ya' (Ghee): Transfer butter into a saucepan and melt over medium heat, on the smallest burner.
Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 10 minutes (for 200 gr. butter.)
You may scrape the sides of the pan occasionally, no need to mix.
Remove from heat, let cool for 5 minutes and drain slowly into a bowl.
Wash and pat dry pan, then pour the sade ya back into it.
Grease bottom and sides of baking dish with sade ya, set aside.
When the time is up, lightly flour working surface and put the dough.
Using your hands, roll dough into a log shape.
Slice the log into 4 pieces.
Then slice each into 10 pieces, about the size of a walnut.
Roll each piece into a ball, flatten and keep in between layers of plastic wrap, making sure they don't touch each other.
Repeat until all is used, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
To roll baklava sheets: Work with 5 balls at a time and keep the others covered.
Dip 5 balls into the starch mix, and using a thin rolling pin, roll one into a round shape, about the size of a dessert plate.
Dust with a little starch, as needed.
Then dust with starch on top, set aside.
Repeat the same with other 4 balls and stack each one, on top of each other.
Then take all 5 of them and roll out together, on a surface with starch, until you reach size of baking dish.
Keep rotating 45 degrees and rolling, making sure to dust with starch, as needed.
Roll them around pin and keep rolling, moving your hands to edges of pin.
When rolling baklava, make sure to keep windows closed.
When you reach right size, roll around pin.
Lift by holding edges of pin, slowly unroll over baking dish.
Trim off excess dough.
Melt sade ya again if needed, using a brush ligthly grease the top of first group of 5.
Repeat same and roll second group of 5.
Unroll over first group of 5, lightly grease.
Repeat same with third group of 5, then divide nuts into 4 portions.
Spread one portion of nuts, on top of third group.
Repeat same after fourth, fifth and sixth groups, grease then spread one portion nuts.
After seventh group, lightly grease.
After eighth group, cut baklava with a sharp knife all the way to bottom of pan, making sure not to press down. *'Baklava' means: diamond shape in Turkish.
Drizzle leftover sade ya on top, spread.
Preheat the oven to 160C (320F), prepare syrup.
I like 'DRY BAKLAVA', which baklava doesn't swim in the syrup but still wet.
Combine 2 cups sugar&3 cups water in a pan, but feel free to use 4 cups sugar&5 cups water.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar is melted.
Reduce heat to medium low, add lemon wedge, simmer 30 minutes.
Transfer baklava into oven, bake 35-40 minutes.
When the time is up, discard lemon, turn off the heat, let syrup rest 10-15 minutes.
Make sure to bake baklava until throughly cooked, for 35-40 minutes.
Take baked baklava out of oven, let rest 5 minutes.
Slowly scoop 10-15 minutes rested syrup, over 5 minutes rested baklava.
*If using dry baklava syrup, make sure to work really slow, so they all get wet.
Wait 5-6 hours before serving.
Keep and serve at room temp.