Baklava Baku

A famous oriental delicacy made of dough, honey and nuts, which has many recipes. One of the most famous is the recipe for Baku baklava (or Azerbaijani baklava) made from yeast dough stuffed with nuts and butter-honey impregnation.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• Flour – 700-750 g
• Butter – 75 g
• Eggs – 2 pcs.
• Dry yeast – 13 g
• or fresh yeast – 40 g
• Water – 1 glass

For filling:

• Nuts – 500 g
• Sugar or powdered sugar – 450 g
• Cardamom – 8-9 pcs.
• Cinnamon – 4 teaspoon

For lubrication and priming:

• Eggs (yolk) – 1 pc.
• Honey – 200-300 g
• Butter – 200 g

Directions

1. Products for the preparation of Baku baklava.
2. Beat butter, eggs and 0.5 glass of water (for 3 minutes).
3. Dissolve yeast in 0.5 cups of warm water.
4. Combine with the first mixture.

   

5. Introduce flour gradually. Knead the dough from the resulting mass, rubbing it with a spoon for 15 minutes. (The temperature of the dough should be about 20 ° C.) Depending on the size of the eggs, you need about 650-700 g of flour. The rest of the flour is needed to roll out the dough.
6. Then let the dough stand for 1.5 hours at an air temperature of about 22-25 ° C. Cover the dough with a towel so that it does not dry out.
7. Prepare the filling. Walnuts can be crushed (with a knife, not in a meat grinder) without preparation. If almonds or hazelnuts are used, scald with boiling water, peel, dry, and then crush into small crumbs.
8. Grind the cinnamon and cardamom if necessary. Combine ground spices with powdered sugar and nuts. Stir crushed nuts and powdered sugar with spices until smooth. The filling is ready. Tip: immediately divide the filling into the required number of servings. There will be one fewer servings than the number of layers of baklava.
9. When the dough comes up, divide it into 2 equal parts, since this amount of dough will make two portions of baklava (two molds with a diameter of 23 cm each were used). Divide each part of the dough into 12 more parts so that two of them are twice the size of the rest (the upper and lower cakes for baklava will be rolled out of large pieces of dough). You can simplify the task by dividing the dough not into 12, but into only 7-8 parts, but two parts should also be larger than the others.

   

10. Grease tins or a high-sided baking sheet. Sprinkle some flour on the table. Roll out one piece (of the large ones) into a layer about 1-1.5 mm thick (it should be slightly larger than the baking sheet or form where it will be baked).
11. Put the rolled dough into a greased form (or baking sheet), pour the prepared filling on it with an even layer of 3-5 mm (through a coarse sieve, colander or just a spoon).
12. Dust (sprinkle) the table with flour again. Roll the other part of the dough (small) into a layer 0.5-0.7 mm thick. It should be of such a size that it can be pinched with the bottom layer without stretching the dough, that is, it should be slightly larger than the dia of the mold (baking sheet). The dough for Baku-style baklava needs to be rolled out very thinly – so that the table pattern shines through it.
13. Cover the filling (first layer) with a thinner layer of dough. Pinch the edges. Spread the next part of the filling over the surface of the dough. Roll out the remaining small pieces of dough in the same way. Pinch each layer around the edges and cover with nut filling. Sometimes the dough is rolled out so thin that it stretches and breaks a little when transferred to the mold. It is better, of course, not to allow this, but if a small hole still appears, you do not need to be upset, since it will not be noticeable in the finished baklava.
14. When all the thin layers of dough have been laid in the mold and sprinkled with nuts, roll the last part of the dough into a thicker layer.
15. Gently transfer it to the mold, pinch the edges. The closed baklava should fit snugly in the form (baking sheet), without gaps. She must be allowed to come within 10 minutes. To prevent the top from drying out, you need to cover the baklava with a towel.
16. Heat the oven well (to 190-210 ° C), cut the baklava prepared in a baking sheet into diamond-shaped pieces (5×7 cm).
17. Separate the yolk and beat it.
18. Grease the baklava with egg yolk on top and immediately put the baking dish (baking sheet) in the oven.
19. Melt the butter
20. After 10-12 minutes after the start of baking, remove the baklava, pour melted butter along the cut lines. If desired, you can brush the top with an egg again. Then put in the oven for 20-30 minutes. The temperature should remain high for the first 5 minutes, then it should be reduced to 180 degrees and the Baku baklava should be baked for the remaining 15-25 minutes at this temperature
21. Melt honey.
22. After baking the hot baklava, without removing it from the mold (baking sheet), pour honey along the cut lines. Let it soak in. To do this, put the baklava in the oven for another 5 minutes.

    

23. The baklava needs to be cooled a little. Then remove the baklava from the mold (baking sheet) and cool completely under a napkin.

Bon Appetit