baklava.
Dense, chewy, crisp, sweet, nutty, rich.
Ingredients:
ghee:
3lbs unsalted butter.
phyllo dough:
450g bread flour.
190g hot water.
10g white vinegar.
8g lemon juice.
4g kosher salt.
10g olive oil, plus more.
10g ghee/clarified butter.
syrup:
250g sugar.
80g muscovado sugar.
15g lemon juice.
250mL water.
1 cinnamon stick.
2 cloves.
2 green cardamom pods.
1 tbsp rose water, (optional).
assembly:
28 sheets phyllo dough, shaped roughly to 9x13”.
~300mL syrup
300g raw shelled pistachio, or any nut.
350g ghee/clarified butter.
pinch kosher salt.
1 tsp ground cinnamon.
Equipment:
saucepan.
9x13” deep baking dish.
brush.
pasta roller.
Yield:
Execution:
ghee.
Add the butter to a saucepan set over medium heat, bring to a gentle simmer.
Skim off any white milk solids risen to the top.
Continue to cook until the butter is clear and any remaining milk solids have sunk to the bottom.
Strain the ghee through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth.
2. dough.
Optionally, just use store-bought phyllo dough.
Add flour and salt to a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine.
Create a well in the center of the flour and add the water, vinegar and lemon juice.
Knead everything together until you have formed a shaggy dough, add the olive oil and ghee, continue to knead until everything is well combined.
Transfer to an unfloored work surface and knead for an additional 5 minutes until smooth.
Lightly brush the dough with olive oil, allow to rest on your work surface for 15-20 minutes.
Split the dough into 28 portions.
Roll the dough through a pasta roller to the thinnest possible setting, the dough should be paper thin. Throughout this process you will have to continue to dust the sheet with a generous amount of flour.
Repeat with each portion of dough.
3. syrup.
Add everything to a saucepan except the rose water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over low heat and cook for 5 - 7 minutes or until you have reached a loose syrup consistency.
Keep at room temperature.
4. assembly & bake.
Preheat a convection oven to 400°F
Process the pistachios in a food processor until you form a very coarse crumb, with large chunks still remaining. Add the ground cinnamon and salt, mix to combine.
Brush a 9x13” baking dish with ghee, line a single layer of phyllo dough across the bottom, lightly brush the ghee overtop the dough, place another layer of dough on top and apply more ghee.
Repeat this process until you have 16 layers of phyllo dough.
On the 16th layer, sprinkle on the pistachios, flick some ghee overtop the nuts and repeat the layering process as stated above for another 12 layers of phyllo dough.
Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into diamond shapes by cutting 4 strips length wise all the way to the bottom, then cut diagonal to form diamonds.
Pour the remaining ghee over top.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Immediately after removing form the oven, pour the syrup overtop the baklava.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Remove from the baking dish and place onto a wire rack and let cool for another 15 minutes or until fully cooled before serving.