Baklava
Gaziantep baklava was the first Turkish product to be registered as a protected geographical indication by the European Union, in 2013.
Dozens of hand-stretched phyllo sheets are layered with butter and a thick bed of ground Antep pistachios, cut into diamonds before baking, then soaked in hot sugar syrup the moment it comes out of the oven. Gaziantep's baklava houses ship trays nationwide, but the freshest comes straight off the tray at the source.
What is Baklava?
Baklava is a pastry of many thin sheets of filo brushed with butter, layered with chopped nuts, cut into diamonds or squares, baked until golden and soaked in sugar syrup. The result is crisp on top, sticky and tender inside, and very sweet, so it is eaten in small pieces with tea or Turkish coffee.
Its origins are contested. Turkish, Greek and Arab cooks all have strong claims to the pastry, and it is often linked to the kitchens of the Ottoman Empire, where versions of it became a festival and palace sweet. In Turkey, Gaziantep in the south-east is the best-known baklava city, famous for using the local green Antep pistachio and for baklava made with very thin hand-rolled pastry. Gaziantep baklava (Antep baklavası) is registered as a protected geographical indication (PGI) in the European Union, in 2013.
How to make pistachio baklava (Gaziantep style)
Ingredients
- 450 g (1 lb) filo pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge, about 20–24 sheets, trimmed to fit a 23 × 33 cm (9 × 13 in) baking tray
- 250 g unsalted butter, melted
- 400 g shelled unsalted pistachios, chopped medium-fine (a few quick pulses in a food processor, not a powder), plus 1 tablespoon finely ground pistachios to finish
- For the syrup: 300 g (1½ cups) caster sugar, 300 ml (1¼ cups) water, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Method
- Make the syrup first so it can cool. Put the sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan, stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, then boil gently without stirring for 8–10 minutes, until it looks very slightly thickened (like thin runny honey when cool). It makes about 400 ml. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely. Hot sugar syrup is much hotter than boiling water and sticks to skin, so keep children away and take care when you pour.
- Heat the oven to 175 °C (155 °C fan, gas 4). Brush the tray with butter. Unroll the filo and cover it with a barely damp tea towel while you work, because it dries out within minutes.
- Lay one sheet in the tray, brush it lightly all over with melted butter, and repeat until half the sheets (10–12) are used. Spread the chopped pistachios evenly over the top.
- Layer the remaining sheets over the nuts, brushing each with butter, and brush the top generously. Use all the butter. Tuck in or trim any overhanging edges.
- Using a sharp, thin knife, cut right through all the layers to the bottom of the tray, first into 5 long strips, then diagonally into diamonds, to make about 30–35 pieces. Cutting now, before baking, stops the crisp top from shattering later.
- Bake for 45–55 minutes, until deep golden brown and crisp. Put the tray on a rack.
- Pour the cooled syrup slowly and evenly over the hot baklava, getting it into the cuts. It will sizzle. Sprinkle the ground pistachios over the top.
- Leave the baklava uncovered at room temperature for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, so the syrup soaks through and the pastry sets. Lift the pieces out along the cuts to serve.
Tips
- Keep a contrast: pour cool syrup over hot baklava, or hot syrup over fully cooled baklava. Most home recipes warn that hot on hot can turn it soggy. Professionals differ: Gaziantep bakers are often reported to pour hot syrup over baklava straight from the oven, but they use very thin pastry and a precisely cooked syrup, so for home cooks with thicker filo the cool-syrup-on-hot-baklava method is the safer choice.
- Do not use too much syrup. About 400 ml for a 23 × 33 cm tray, which is a lighter soak than some recipes use, keeps the layers crisp rather than wet.
- Do not skimp on the butter, and brush right to the edges, or the layers will bake dry and white.
- Home filo is thicker than the hand-rolled pastry used by Gaziantep bakers, so this is a close approximation, not the same texture.
- Store at room temperature, loosely covered, and eat within 4–5 days. Do not refrigerate, which makes it hard.
Regional versions
- Walnut baklava is common across Turkey, Greece and the Levant, using the same method with chopped walnuts and often a pinch of cinnamon.
- Some recipes flavour the syrup with a spoonful of honey, or with rosewater or orange blossom water added after it comes off the heat.
- In Turkey baklava is sometimes served with a spoonful of kaymak (clotted cream) or a scoop of ice cream.
Questions
What is baklava made of?
Thin filo pastry, butter, chopped nuts (pistachios or walnuts) and a sugar syrup, sometimes with honey, lemon, rosewater or spices.
Where is baklava from?
Nobody can say for certain. Turkey, Greece and Arab countries all claim it, and it is often linked to Ottoman kitchens. Gaziantep in south-east Turkey is especially famous for its pistachio baklava.
Do you pour syrup on hot or cold baklava?
Most home recipes keep one of them hot and the other cool. Cool syrup on hot baklava straight from the oven is the simplest approach at home, although some Gaziantep bakers pour hot syrup on hot baklava.
Why is my baklava soggy?
Usually the syrup was too much, or hot syrup went onto hot pastry, or the butter was too little to keep the layers crisp. Let it rest uncovered, not in a closed container, and keep the syrup light.
