Greek baklava was and still is festive and symbolic sweets today; although it appeared in Greece as a dessert for Christmas occasions, it became a delicious dish prepared on other days and served in Greek baklava store.

Greek baklava with walnut


Baklava is one of the most sought-after recipes in Greek cuisine, where it is served as a great dessert with coffee; If you know a Greek friend of yours in the community and you want to learn about Greek recipes, do not hesitate to ask him questions about baklava recipe, because he will have more robust and more accurate information.

Classic Greek baklava recipe

When it comes to Greek desserts made with filo pastry or traditional Greek pastry made with ground nuts, dried fruits, sugar syrup, and some other spices, especially olive oil, we mean sweet baklava, and today we'll talk about the excellent recipe for Greek baklava.

How do you make Greek baklava from scratch?

Category: Greek Dessert.
Servings: 10 people.
Prep Tm: 15 minutes.
Cook Tm: 50 min
Quantity: 30 pieces.

 

greek baklava
photo created by 8photo


Baklava recipe ingredients.

Greek syrup

  • 350 g sugar.
  • A small cup of honey.
  • 350 ml of water.
  • Two tablespoons of glucose syrup.
  • One cinnamon stick.
  • Orange peel (optional.)

filling

  • 15 phyllo sheets.
  • Two cups of olive oil (as needed.)
  • 400g of walnuts (or 200g of walnuts and 200g of almonds.)
  • 50g semolina or bread crumbs.
  • One tablespoon cinnamon.

instructions

1- In a medium saucepan, add sugar, honey, glucose, cinnamon stick, cloves, orange zest, and water—my heart until sugar and honey dissolve. After boiling, reduce the heat and cook the syrup for five minutes without stirring. Remove from heat to cool down.

2- Grease a baking tray 32 x 23 x 6 cm (12.5 x 9 x 2.5 in) with olive oil.

3- Preheat oven to 150 ° C / 300 ° F.

4- Chop the nuts in a blender, but do not turn into a powder. Add cinnamon, grated cloves, and semolina or toast, and mix.

5- Place ten phyllo leaves and grease each of them with olive oil. (In the summer, cover the remaining leaves so that they do not dry out.)

6- We spread the filling over the layers.

7- We add the remaining five papers in the same way and spray the surface with olive oil.

8- Turn the edges of the leaves inwards and press them slightly and gently.

9- Using a sharp knife, cut the baklava horizontally in half. Then vertically cut the baklawa into four equal parts. Or according to the way you want it.

10- Bake for about an hour or until golden brown.

11- Take the tray out of the oven and wet the baklava with the syrup immediately, little by little, with a spoon. (The drink should be cold.) This will make the baklava crunchy.

12- We leave the baklava to cool without covering it at room temperature. For best results, leave it on for at least 4 to 6 hours to absorb the syrup well or, better yet, to cut it off the next day.

13- Leave it outside of the refrigerator covered with a towel until it is consumed. Please do not put it in the fridge; it can last for up to one to two weeks.

What is traditional baklava made of?

The traditional recipe for baklava or the authentic Greek baklava; is one of Athena's Greek favorite recipes and is specially prepared with olive oil instead of butter. It is logical thinking that if you designed it in your home, it is considered traditional. Still, if it is prepared in the shops, it is regarded as a modern recipe because most of the time, baklava uses phyllo dough stacked and stuffed with nuts and syrup.

What is the difference between Turkish baklava and Greek baklava?

The difference is in the filling of baklava, as Turkey, especially the city of Gaziantep, is famous for producing pistachios very much and that is the reason why pistachio baklava is well-known there, unlike in other countries, for example, in Greece hazelnuts and almonds are produced in abundance, so it is normal for its sweets to be made of walnut. That's why baklava is famous for its hazelnuts and almonds there.

What is the difference between Greek baklava and Lebanese baklava?

As for the Greek baklava, the only difference is the olive oil that we mentioned in the method of preparation and a slight difference in the shapes only, and a difference in the number of plates of phyllo dough. This is what I notice in the videos that I watch.

Is Baklava Greek or Arabic?

The history of this delicious Greek dessert is always discussed and, unfortunately, not well documented. Many ethnic groups such as the Greeks, Turks, and the Middle East claim that the origins of the baklava pastry belong to them; in sum, it is for all of us.
According to popular information, the traditional recipe for the baklava is a dessert that appeared during the era of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and then spread to the Mediterranean countries, the Maghreb, and also in the Balkans.

How many layers of phyllo are in baklava?

Greek baklava is layered of phyllo consists of 15 layers in total; the first ten layers are topped one on top of one, then the filling is placed, then the remaining five layers are covered, and each plate is painted with olive oil.

How bad is baklava?

If you suffer from chronic diseases, you should stay away and avoid eating baklava because it contains a high proportion of sugars and fats and may affect your health, but if you are a person recovered from chronic diseases, do not think about that. You can eat Greek, Arabic, or even satellite baklava (I'm kidding), but always pay attention to your health.

A few tips for making the perfect Baklava a Greek

After several experiments, I will give you some tips for making this wonderful dessert; try to do it:

COOKING

Cook the baklava at low temperatures. The ideal is around 160 C . If the oven is hotter, the leaves will quickly brown on top, and the inside of the baklava cake will remain uncooked.
Do not cook baklava without cutting it first because after cutting, the leaf will collapse.

KEEP

Baklava does not need a refrigerator after cook because it absorbs moisture. Store it at room temperature, covered with a towel. It lasts over a week if you can have patience and not eat it sooner!
We prefer fresh leaves rather than frozen ones. If we do not find any new, then it is good that the leaf thaws in the refrigerator, keeping the previous one.

SYRUP

When we make syrup for our syrupy candies, the syrup can crystallize. To avoid this, we can add a few tablespoons of lemon juice or glucose to the syrup.
I prefer lemon juice, which I usually use in the syrups I make in place of glucose. I liked the glucose in this family recipe because I didn't want the syrup to have a lemony taste.
Please do not rush to serve the dessert immediately as it takes at least 4-5 hours for the syrup to be absorbed. It is even better to leave it overnight and do it the next day.

Finishing

 We can flavor the filling in addition to cinnamon, with cloves, vanilla, and nutmeg.
 If we want, we can add to the garnish finely grated with the skin of almonds.
We can enrich the syrup with honey.

I hope you like this easy baklawa recipe and share it with your friends with love and affection.