Baklava

baklava

Phyllo, nuts, butter and a sharp syrup — Gaziantep's pride, not a soggy hotel diamond.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: baklava.

0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.

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Measurement system
Prep
40 min
Cook
45 min
Total
3 hr 25 min
Difficulty
A bit of work
Spice
No chilli
Cost
Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
Source photograph of Baklava. Not official I Want Some Food pixel artwork.
Photo: Maksym Kozlenko via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source

About

Baklava is layered phyllo with chopped nuts (pistachio if you are in Gaziantep, walnut elsewhere), baked, then soaked with a lemony sugar syrup that should be cool when the pastry is hot. It shatters. Cream-cheese 'baklava mess' is a different dessert.

Ingredients

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

  1. Step 1

    Syrup: sugar, water, lemon, simmer 10 minutes. Cool completely.

    15 min
  2. Step 2

    Layer half the phyllo in a buttered tray, buttering each sheet. Nuts. Remaining phyllo. Cut diamonds. Bake at 170°C 40–45 minutes until gold.

    50 min
  3. Step 3

    Pour cool syrup over hot pastry. Rest 2 hours.

Adapt this recipe

The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 24 August.

Substitutions

  • Walnuts Pistachios

    The shop version if you can afford it.

Tips

  • Hot on hot makes soggy baklava. Cool syrup, hot tray.
  • Pistachio is the Gaziantep flex. Walnut is the home tray.

History & culture

Bayram, bakeries, and the box you take visiting. Greece, the Levant and the Balkans make related trays. This is the Turkish shop style.

Ottoman palace pastry with many living regional versions. Pistachio Gaziantep is a PDO-ish pride.

Traditional

Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Not copied from another recipe site. Official recipe photography is pending. Photograph: Maksym Kozlenko via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2018-04-28%20Turkish%20baklava%20in%20Australian%20turkish%20cafe.jpg

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.

How long does Baklava take?

3 hr 25 min all in — 40 min prep, 45 min cook, 2 hr rest. That is the time on this recipe, not a guess.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 16 pieces. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

A bit of work.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Tree nuts, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Oven, Saucepan.

How much salt do I put in?

This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.

How much sugar?

300 g of Sugar.

What can I use instead?

Walnuts → Pistachios. The shop version if you can afford it.

Any tips from this recipe?

Hot on hot makes soggy baklava. Cool syrup, hot tray. Pistachio is the Gaziantep flex. Walnut is the home tray.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.

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