Baklava

Alton Brown

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2008

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Switched on Baklava

Rated 5 stars out of 5
  • Rate This Recipe
  • Read 58 Reviews
Total Time:
10 hr 0 min
Prep
1 hr 0 min
Inactive
8 hr 0 min
Cook
1 hr 0 min
Yield:
about 28 pieces
Level:
Intermediate
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Ingredients

For the filling:

  • 1 (5-inch piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 teaspoons ground
  • 15 to 20 whole allspice berries
  • 6 ounces blanched almonds
  • 6 ounces raw or roasted walnuts
  • 6 ounces raw or roasted pistachio
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon rose water
  • 1 pound phyllo dough, thawed
  • 8 ounces clarified unsalted butter, melted

For the syrup:

  • 1 1/4 cups honey
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 (2-inch) piece fresh orange peel

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the cinnamon stick and whole allspice into a spice grinder and grind.

Place the almonds, walnuts, pistachios, sugar and freshly ground spices into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but not pasty or powdery, approximately 15 quick pulses. Set aside.

Combine the water and rose water in a small spritz bottle and set aside.

Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch metal pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with butter; lay down a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat this step 9 more times for a total of 10 sheets of phyllo. Top with 1/3 of the nut mixture and spread thinly. Spritz thoroughly with the rose water. Layer 6 more sheets of phyllo with butter in between each of them, followed by another third of the nuts and spritz with rose water. Repeat with another 6 sheets of phyllo, butter, remaining nuts, and rose water. Top with 8 sheets of phyllo brushing with butter in between each sheet. Brush the top generously with butter. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cut into 28 squares. Return pan to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for 2 hours before adding the syrup.

Make the syrup during the last 30 minutes of cooling. Combine the honey, water, sugar, cinnamon stick and orange peel in a 4-quart saucepan and set over high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Once boiling, boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and discard the orange peel and cinnamon stick.

After the baklava has cooled for 2 hours, re-cut the entire pan following the same lines as before. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the top of the baklava, allowing it to run into the cuts and around the edges of the pan. Allow the pan to sit, uncovered until completely cool. Cover and store at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to overnight before serving. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

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Newest Ratings and Reviews

Read all 58 reviews

  • on March 18, 2012

    Flag

    Great recipe! If people did not like this, it was because they did not follow the directions. If you are a "Good Eats" fan, than you understand that there is a reason for everything; such as using clearified butter. This was well worth the time and it was lots of fun to make.

    people found this review Helpful.
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  • on January 05, 2012

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    I have made this recipe before. my only complaint is that it is very, very sweet-- however baklava is meant to be enjoyed in very small doses (preferably with hot tea. this time around I made some adjustments:
    I made two batches with all walnuts (nuts are so pricey!-- one with brown sugar and one with white. The brown sugar batch was by far the better one-- less sweet so you could actually taste the subtle hints of rose water and cinnamon. I halved the amount of sugar needed in the honey syrup. It was still a little sweet-- next time I think leaving the sugar out in the syrup would probably make this baklava perfect! Oh--and I also added a splash of orange blossom water to the syrup. Wonderful and delicious! This is the best recipe for those of you wanting to try baklava!

    people found this review Helpful.
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  • on November 25, 2011

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    SOOOO GOOOODDDDD!!!!!!!!!!
    It was very yummy...
    I watched the video for this and he said to thaw the phyllo...you should microwave it for 6o seconds...DO NOT DO THAT...it made my life so much harder...next time I will follow the directions on th phyllo package...
    I also let it sit for 24 hrs before eating....
    VERY GOOD!

    people found this review Helpful.
    Was this review helpful to you? Yes | No

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