Monday, October 6, 2014

Greek Baklava Recipe [Baking in the new Kitchen]

The new kitchen has been finally put to use in the baking department. Last Friday, my friend Selma, sister Jasmina and I, baked a traditional Greek baklava, as well as a cherry pie (that I will post at a later time).

This baklava is luscious and  sweet (but not too sweet). The main ingredient are walnuts, and you can taste them all the way through.
The ingredients are:

For the Crust:
- 1 package of Phyllo dough (in sheets)
- melted butter for greasing and layering

For the Filling:
- 500 gr (17 ounces) of finely chopped walnuts
- 4 eggs
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) runny yogurt
- 360 ml (1 1/2 cup) vegetable oil
- 400 gr (1 3/4 cup) sugar
- 240 gr (1 cup ) semolina
- 1 tbsp baking powder

For the Sugar Syrup:
- 750 gr (3 cups) sugar
- 1 litar (33 ounces or 4 cups) water
- 1 lemon cut into slices

click on the images for a bigger view



The day started with all the ingredients on the kitchen counter. We measured everything out first and then it was time to bake!


1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Grind the walnuts finely. To them, add the yogurt, oil, eggs, sugar, baking powder and semolina and stir around.



2. Grease a pan with some butter or oil, and lay two sheets of Phyllo pastry on the bottom.



3. Spread some of the walnut mixture onto the Phyllo sheets, then top with 2 Phylo sheets and butter them. Repeat until you run out of mixture.

4. The top layer should be 4 Phyllo sheets. Cut into the pastry diagonally on both sides, so that you get a diamond shape (you can also cut out squares, it doesn't really matter).

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.


6. For the syrup combine the sugar, water and lemon slices in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and let it simmer in low heat for 15 minutes. Let it cool down.


7. Pour the somewhat cooled syrup over the baked baklava, and let the baklava soak up the syrup. The baklava needs to rest for at least an hour, so that all the syrup is absorbed.


Serve it up and enjoy!

I hope you liked this recipe. If you have any questions feel free to comment below.
Have you tried any version of baklava before?

36 comments:

  1. Looks delicious, Mersad! Feel free to share here:
    http://nicholasjv.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/food-friday-cheesy-cornbread.html

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  2. Hi Mersad,

    Yum, I do love baklava! You sure found a unique blue today.

    Please come back and tell me what you think of my Blue.

    Have a Happy Blue Monday!

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  3. maybe the three of you can get your own cooking show, i just love the pot photography... it looks yummy

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  4. You are making me feel very, VERY hungry Mersad!

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  5. I love Baklava ... but if I ate more than one piece, I would gain ten pounds. It always seems to find its way to my middle. Therefore, I don't make it at home ... I just buy it at the Greek Fesival every year and then do a lot of walking to get rid of it's effects. That said, I am copying this recipe and giving it to my neighbor who loves to bake ... and always brings me a sample. There is method to my madness:) Thanks Mersad, this is awesome.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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    Replies
    1. I don't make Baklava at all. Just for special occasions. As you said it's a very rich dish, and more of a treat once in a while.

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  6. Wonderful step by step instructions...can practically smell it through my computer screen♪ http://lauriekazmierczak.com/nice-surprise/

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  7. a joj...sve mi zazubice teku...odlična je!!!

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  8. Looks and sounds delicious. Now I am hungry and have not had my breakfast yet!!

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  9. Sieht klasse aus und du machst mindestens genauso gute Foodfotos wie Landschaftsaufnahmen! Großartig! GlG Anne

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  10. Looks great and I KNOW it would taste great! Years ago I tried making it....took such a long time..but so yummy. Nice food photography! Thank you for sharing with Mandarin Orange Monday:)

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  11. Ich mag Baklava nicht, es ist für mich zu süß und klebrig, ich bin grundsätzlich kein großer Kuchenesser, aber schaut sehr gut aus. Liebe Grüße

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  12. Baklava is one of our favorite desserts. In many places it is available by the slice, but here in South Dakota we must bake it ourselves. Your recipe looks delicious, but ours has honey in it rather than sugar sirup. Great photos.

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    Replies
    1. Honey is a great alternative when it comes to making the syrup.

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  13. I'm impressed, that is a lot of work and they look wonderful.

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  14. yum! you need to put together a travel book and a cook book!!

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    Replies
    1. Now that would be a challenge I would love to face :D

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  15. Stop tempting me.... I know what those taste like. yum

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  16. the new kitchen seems to have passed the test admirably
    :-)
    Stefano

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  17. Thank you for this wonderful baklava recipe! Great post!

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  18. I have made it a couple of times and love the smell!

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  19. This recipe looks so great! Can't wait to try! pinning and sharing!

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  20. Hello Mersad, I'll take a piece! It looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the baklava recipe! Have a happy day!

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  21. i have never made baklava before but have had a version with honey it it. It's good.

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  22. Now that we live part of the year in Greece, I must keep this post handy and try it myself while there. (Of course, it might be easier just to buy a piece or two from people who know what they are doing -- :-) ) Yours turned out beautifully!

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  23. I have eaten baklava before and liked it, however never tried making my own. Your instructions with photos are so easy to follow, I'm enjoying the recipes you're sharing Mersad.
    Thank you for linking to Mosaic Monday.

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  24. This resembles very much my own recipe for Baklava and you just made me drool ;) that sounds and looks so yummy. I must prepare some soon~

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