Turkish Baklava: is it possible to prepare it at home?

In the East, it is believed that baklava was known from time immemorial. The native land of dessert is Persia. But the Turkish baklava was born in the middle of the XV century. The court chef of Sultan Bayazid managed to roll out the dough so finely that through it you could read the book. Also, the culinary invented the author's syrup and the original stuffing. Padishahu liked all the desserts, the chefs were rewarded, and the corresponding record was made.

With the expansion of the boundaries of the militant Brilliant Porta, the Turkish baklava penetrated all the caves of the Ottoman Empire. There, the recipe was enriched with national culinary traditions. As a result, numerous species appeared: Armenian, Azerbaijani, Crimean. For example, in Baku this dessert is made from yeast dough, although the classic recipe assumes the use of puff pastry. In Crimea, saffron and milk are used. True, along the beaches of the sunny peninsula go merchants with something remotely reminiscent of the biscuits "Khvorost", which they call baklava. But an authentic product can be easily bought at any confectionery store.

The question arises: "Is it possible for Turkish baklava at home?" Yes, and now we will prove it. If you take a ready-made puff pastry, the cooking process will be simplified in half. The main guarantee of the success of this dessert is in thorough rolling out. The layers must be very thin - so they will be more accurately soaked in syrup. The filling is done this way. Three hundred grams of walnut kernels are rolled out with a rolling pin. Blender, of course, faster, but then it turns out too finely, and the taste will not be the same. Separate three egg whites and beat them into a firm foam. Nuts are combined with a glass of sugar. Take care not to opal, add protein foam. The filling is ready.

How to cook Turkish baklava, and what's the next stage? Of course, the assembly of the dessert. Put the first layer of dough on a waterbed drenched in water. We put the filling on top, level. We cover with the second layer, and so on. From above there should be a dough which we grease with a yolk. We bake the confectionery in the oven at 200 ° C for about 10 minutes. During this time we will have time to prepare the syrup. To do it is a total trifle. It is enough just to melt 50 g of honey and melt in it the same amount of butter.

Through the mentioned ten minutes the Turkish baklava will still be damp. Do not turn off the oven. Just take out the baking sheet, pour the dessert with syrup and return it back to the oven for the next 10 minutes. The most delicious eastern sweetness becomes on the second day, when it is sufficiently impregnated with honey. The top of the product can be sprinkled with crushed pistachios or almonds.

Turkish baklava is also made from puff pastry yeast, each layer of which is still smeared with butter. Put the melted 200 g of butter or margarine. Pour a glass of water into the pan, dissolve in it a spoonful of yeast. Split two eggs, stir and gradually fill four glasses of flour. Knead for about fifteen minutes, constantly adding melted butter. Give the test to rise, why put it in the heat for an hour and a half.