Baklava Constantine Recipe Making With A Nut-almond Mixture

Baklava Constantine recipe, another theme

Baklava is royal, baklava is majestic, baklava is a sweetness that has stood the test of time, and that will remain in culinary posterity ...

Many countries remember baklava.
She is also Algerian and has been rooted in our traditions for centuries.
It accompanies our most beautiful moments in life: birth, engagement, marriage, circumcision,….

A layering of generously buttered pasta to give exceptional flakiness.
And since our baklava is from Constantine this time around, it will be made with a nut-almond mixture, a touch of sesame, and a bit of cinnamon.
After gentle baking in the oven, it will bathe in honey-scented with orange blossom.
Good honey, that won't make it too sweet.
No, I don't want her taxed like that, it will just make her greedy.

What good things in our baklava?

Great ingredients that will make this pastry the queen of cakes and the delicacy of Sultan Baklava.

In Algeria, there are several recipes.
Today, I'm giving you the recipe, or rather the step-by-step instruction.
That of Constantinian baklava as it is found in families.
A good, timeless pastry, loved by all.
When done well, according to the rules of the art, it is just a wonder.
It deserves to be included in the immortal heritage of Unesco.

Here I give you the real recipe, with a very personal touch for the presentation.
Test it friends and above all pass it on, it's a treasure !!

Ingredients

For the dough:

• Three bowls of flour
• One pinch of salt
• ¼ bowl measure of smen (butter by default)
• Water   orange blossom water to collect

For the stuffing:

• 500 g of walnuts
• 300 g of blanched and crushed almonds
• 400 g of caster sugar
• One handful of sesame seeds
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 cup of orange blossom water
• From smen for puff pastry

For garnish :

• Honey
• The colourant of your choice
• Whole almonds, peeled for decoration

Instructions

Prepare the dough:

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl or something else.
2. Make a well and pour in smen, the pinch of salt
3. Combine it all with your fingertips
4. Gradually add the orange blossom water, working at the same time until a firm and supple paste is obtained.
5. Film and let the dough rest

Prepare the stuffing

1. Put the nuts in the oven at 180 ° C
2. Dry them for 10 to 15 minutes (do not grill them, just dry them)
3. Grind the nuts (not very fine !!!)
4. Scoop the almonds
5. Let them dry and roughly grind them
6. Combine the nuts, almonds, sugar, sesame seed,s and cinnamon
7. Sprinkle everything with orange blossom water

Shaping:

1. The easiest way is to have a dough machine, it makes work easier
2. Cut your dough into several small balls
3. Brush the tray generously with the smen or the butter
4. Roll out the first dough with a rolling pin and then with the mixture machine
5. Go to number 7 or 8
6. Arrange the dough spread thinly on the tray while leaving overflowing on the side of 2 cm
7. Try to pull the dough while arranging it to make it even thinner
8. Do it delicately, it's possible, the dough is flexible and easy to work.
9. As I have used the dough machine, it is rare for my spread to make the whole tray, it does not matter
10. Take another small ball Spread it out and place it where the first end while pressing gently to solder them well
11. Brush this first layer with smen or butter
12. Spread a second layer
13. Do the same while taking care to pull the dough once placed on the tray
14. If you have your hands and can make very thin notches, make up to 7 layers of pasta. This is what I did for this baklava.

We're done with the layers from below
Put the stuffing in the mould to the edges
Now we'll take care of the upper layers

We will proceed in the same way: spread, arrange, brush the first 6 layers.

For the last layer, either make it simple, or you work it as in the photos:

1. Roll out the dough, up to number 5 Pass the dough later on the tagliatelle side
2. Make braids with the bands
3. Arrange the braids on the surface, taking care to put them side by side
4. Cut out the baklava as in the photo; that is to say :
5. - Divide the baklava in half and then into four
6. - Divide each ¼ in half. You will get eight triangles
7. - Draw parallel lines on each side. The baklava in the photo is 5 cm on each side. You can make them smaller.
8. To keep it simple, make the points on the side of a triangle.
9. Then, draw parallel lines on the other side of the triangle, starting from this point.
10. Do the same on the other side.
11. Like this, you will get baklava of the same size with the least amount of scrap.
12. In the centre of each rhombus, place leaves and flowers with an almond in the centre
13. Brush the surface generously but delicately with smen
14. Preheat the oven to 180 ° C
15. Cook the baklava for 1 hour. It must take on a beautiful golden colour.
16. Heat the honey slightly with a little orange blossom
17. Water your baklava as soon as it comes out of the oven
18. Leave for 24 hours preferably before cutting
19. Carefully cut the baklava
20. Leave to drain on a grid
21. Place them in boxes

Notes

If your oven heats up a lot, place a sheet of aluminum foil on your tray

You can make six layers at the bottom and 6 at the top,

and, of course, you can finish with a normal coat without decoration