Chef Johns Baklava Recipes

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

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Combine the nuts, cinnamon and ground crackers in a bowl.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with some of the butter. Layer 10 pieces of phyllo in the dish, brushing each piece with butter before adding the next (keep the remaining dough covered with a damp towel). Sprinkle a quarter of the nut mixture over the dough. Layer 4 pieces of phyllo on top, brushing each with butter before adding the next; sprinkle with another quarter of the nut mixture. Add 4 more phyllo pieces on top, brushing each with butter, then add another quarter of the nut mixture, 4 more pieces of phyllo with butter, and the remaining nuts.
• Layer the remaining 10 pieces of phyllo on top of the nuts, brushing each with butter; brush the top piece with extra butter. Cut into the baklava to make strips, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Then make diagonal slices, about 1 1/2 inches apart, to create a diamond pattern. Bake until golden, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the syrup: Bring the sugar, honey and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and boil 2 more minutes, then let cool slightly.
• Pour the syrup over the warm baklava; let soak, uncovered, at least 6 hours or overnight. Garnish with nuts.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch pan.
• Mix together the ground nuts, graham crackers and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread a phyllo sheet in the buttered pan and brush on some more butter with a pastry brush. Put down another sheet and repeat this process with 10 sheets, buttering each sheet. Sprinkle 1/4 of the nut mixture on top of the 10th sheet.
• Layer on 4 more phyllo sheets, buttering each sheet, and top the last sheet with another 1/4 of the nut mixture. Repeat with 2 more layers of 4 phyllo sheets and 1/4 nut mixture, buttering each sheet. Top with 10 more sheets of buttered phyllo, adding lots of butter to the top of last sheet.
• Before baking, cut into diamond shapes with a sawing action using a sharp knife as phyllo is fragile and will tear easily. Bake on the lower rack of the oven until golden brown, 1 hour.
• For the syrup: While the baklava is baking, combine the sugar, honey and 1 1/2 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let cook for 10 to 15 minutes, and then add the lemon juice and boil for a few minutes longer. Remove the syrup from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly.
• Let the baklava cool slightly. Pour the honey mixture on top -- both syrup and baklava should be warm while doing this. Let the baklava and syrup cool thoroughly, uncovered. Let the syrup soak into the baklava for at least 6 hours or overnight.