Baklava Rounds Recipes

BAKLAVA ROUNDS

Steps:

• Pulse first six ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped. Set aside., Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface; brush with butter. Repeat with two more sheets of phyllo, brushing each with butter. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Sprinkle with 1/3 cup nut mixture. Repeat layers twice. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; brush roll with butter. Trim edges. Cut into 16 slices about 3/4 in. each. Place cut side down in a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan., Preheat oven to 350°. Repeat layering and rolling with remaining phyllo, butter and nut mixture. Bake 10 minutes. Gently turn cookies over; bake until golden brown, 10-15 minutes longer. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks over waxed paper., Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring sugar, water and orange peel to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until thickened, 30-35 minutes. Strain and discard peel. Spoon half of syrup over cookies. Let stand for 15 minutes. Drizzle with remaining syrup. Cool completely.

QUICK AND EASY BAKLAVA SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 13x9-in. baking dish with cooking spray. Combine walnuts and cinnamon., Unroll phyllo dough. Layer 2 sheets of phyllo in prepared pan; brush with butter. Repeat with 6 more sheets of phyllo, brushing every other 1 with butter. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.), Sprinkle 1/2 cup nut mixture in pan; drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey. Add 2 more phyllo sheets, brushing with butter; sprinkle another 1/2 cup nut mixture and 2 tablespoons honey over phyllo. Repeat layers 6 times. Top with remaining phyllo sheets, brushing every other 1 with butter., Using a sharp knife, score surface to make 24 squares. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour before serving.

ROLLED BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush a 9-by-9-inch pan with melted butter. Set aside.
• Combine almonds, walnuts, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Place one sheet of phyllo on a flat work surface. Brush with melted butter. Fold the long sides in to form a 9 1/2-by-15-inch rectangle. Brush folded edges with butter. Place a second piece of phyllo over first sheet, and gather it like a curtain to fit inside rectangle. Brush with butter.
• Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture over the bottom one-third of the phyllo rectangle. Fold phyllo over to cover nuts. Brush folded phyllo with butter. Spread 1/4 cup nuts in a 1-inch-wide line parallel to, and about 1 inch from, the edge of pastry. Fold over once to cover nuts. Roll like a cigar almost to the end. Fold in ragged edges, and brush them with butter. Finish rolling, and fold ends under. Place seam-side down in prepared pan. Brush with butter. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling, laying each roll next to the other so they are touching. Cut rolls crosswise into 21 pieces total (drag knife through a second time to assure a clean cut).
• Transfer to oven, and bake until crust and nuts are evenly golden, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and cool for 10 minutes. Pour cool Honey Syrup over pastry; it will come about three-quarters of the way up the sides. Let sit until most of the liquid is absorbed and nuts are saturated, about 30 minutes.

CHEF JOHN'S BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Place walnuts, pistachios, and cinnamon in bowl of a food processor. Pulse on and off until mixture is chopped but not too fine.
• Brush bottom of 9-inch round baking pan with melted butter. Place one round of phyllo dough in the pan; add a second round of dough. Drip about 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the top. Add 2 more sheets and drizzle with butter. Add 2 more sheets and drip with butter creating 6 layers for the bottom. (While you work keep the phyllo sheets covered with a damp, nearly dry, cotton towel to keep dough from drying out.)
• Sprinkle with 1/3 of the nut mixture. Top with a sheet of phyllo and drip with melted butter; repeat with 1 more sheet of filo. Add another 1/3 of the nut mixture.
• Place another sheet of phyllo on the nuts; drip with butter. Top with another sheet and drip with butter. Add the remaining nut mixture.
• Top with 2 sheets of phyllo; drip with butter. Add 2 more sheets; drip with butter. Top with the last 2 sheets and drizzle generously with the remaining butter. Cover pan with plastic and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cut baklava into about 12 diamond-shaped pieces approximately the same size.
• Bake in preheated oven until browned and crisp, about an hour.
• Place sugar, honey, and cloves in a saucepan. Pour in water. Place pan over medium-high heat and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla and orange blossom water.
• After baklava has rested 5 minutes, ladle syrup over the top. Cool down to room temperature before serving.

BAKLAVA ROLL-UPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet with butter flavored spray. Reserve.
• In a food processor, combine almonds and pistachios. Pulse to coarsely chop. Add butter, cinnamon, and sugar and pulse to combine. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Place 1 sheet of phyllo on a flat work surface, short side facing you. Spray with butter flavored spray. Repeat with second layer. Spread 1/3 of nut mixture over the dough, leaving a 1-inch margin at the top and bottom.
• Drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey.
• Cover with a layer of phyllo, spray with butter-flavored spray. Repeat with second layer of phyllo. Spray with butter-flavored spray.
• Starting from the bottom, roll up into a thin cylinder (like a cigar) to the top.
• Seam-side down, cut crossways into 5 sections. Transfer to baking sheet, seam side down. Spray with butter-flavored spray.
• Repeat with second and third batch.
• Bake until crust is evenly golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven, drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey and serve.

TRADITIONAL ALGERIAN BAKLAWA / BAKLAVA - FAMILY RECIPE

Steps:

• Take 1 mixing bowl and place the flour & salt in it. Add the ghee/oil mixture & mix, slowly adding the water. Mix well -- until you have a smooth dough, place this on your work surface - well dusted with cornflour.
• Split the dough in half. Make the first 1/2 into golf ball sized pieces. Keep the dough covered with a tea towel --.
• Take a dough golf ball. If you are comfortable using the pasta machine then just make the ball into a sausage shape and gently roll out with rolling pin to approximately 3-4mm.
• Begin passing though pasta machine on thinnest setting. NB : if this is your 1st time you can use the pasta machine on the 2nd to thinnest setting before putting it through on the thinnest.
• In you saucepan, melt your ghee on a medium heat. Brush you tray well with ghee using the pastry brush.
• Lay you first strip of phyllo pastry vertically in the centre the tray. Brush the pastry with the ghee.
• Repeat the dough rolling process. Cover the tray with phyllo, remembering to brush with ghee after each strip. You should be able to do this with 5 strips but don't worry if you use more or less.
• Turn the tray round so that you're placing the phyllo strips horizontally over vertical strips. This criss cross is very important so don't forget --.
• Continue rolling your pastry and layering the tray. Remember the ghee after each strip. Continue doing this until you have done 5 layers.
• Prepare you nut filling. Take your food processor and chop up the nuts of your choice until you have the required amount.
• Prepare you nut filling. Take your food processor and chop up the nuts of your choice until you have the required amount.
• Place the nuts in the 2nd mixing bowl and add the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla powder and mazhar - enough mazhar to make the filling hold but not so much that it's sloppy.
• Place filling in the tray over the pastry, gently smoothing it out - but don't press it.
• You now need to repeat the dough rolling, layer making stage all over again until you have 6 layers. You will need to use the 2nd half of the dough by now - just make golf balls again! Don't forget the ghee.
• When you've finished the 5th layer you can choose how to do the top layer. I always roll out one large sheet by hand by other stick to the pasta machine as a large sheet of phyllo is a bit tricky to create and handle!
• If you want to try rolling out a sheet, remember to COVER the dough, rolling pin, surface, your hands etc in LOADS of cornflour. then roll out the the tray size plus 2cm extra.
• Now you need to cut the baklawa and decorate.
• Take you knife and cut vertical straight lines all the way to the bottom. (Approx. 2cm apart)then spin the tray round and cut more lines but diagonally to form diamond shapes. You can also make squares or triangles but traditional Algerian baklawa are diamonds.
• When you've cut the shapes, push a nut into each shape.
• Brush well with the ghee and place in a pre-heated oven at 180 c for 1 hour - 1 hour 10 minutes --.
• The baklawa should be golden and now needs it syrup: Warm the honey and mazhar in the saucepan then pour slowly over the baklawa.
• Allow to sit for 10 minutes then cut out pieces and place in paper cases - preferably the metallic ones as they hold the syrup better.