Makes 1 pan, 60 small pieces
**********Ingredients*******************
1 Baking Pan (Rectangle 12x16) (important to have a tight fit so the syrup fills up the whole surface area of the pan)
1 box phyllo (12x17) all purpose pastry sheets (#4)
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 Brush
1 small saucepan
1 medium sized saucepan
Stuffing
4 cups of crushed walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp cloves (powder)
Orange Zest (3/4 of a med. sized orange)
Syrup
2 cups of sugar
juice of 1/2 an orange
1 cup of water
1/2 lemon juice fresh squeezed
****************************************
Prep:
Melt 1 stick of butter over low heat, set aside.
Stuffing instructions:
Grind or crush the walnuts (and cloves if needed)
Peel 3/4th of an orange and chop the peels finely.
In a bowl, mix together all of the walnuts, sugar, orange zest, cinnamon and cloves.
Set aside
Prepping the pan:
Brush the pan with the melted butter, cover the surfaces completely, including the sides.
Phyllo instructions:
The key is to move fast so the exposed phyllo doesnt dry up. You can cover the phyllo sheets that arent used yet with a towel.
-Open your phyllo sheets, lay out an area for prep.
-Take your first sheet and gently brush with the melted butter (you dont need total coverage, just spotty brushing as you will be rolling them later.
-Add another sheet right on top of the one you just buttered. Try to line them up for consistency.
-Butter the top of the 2nd sheet.
-Add a 3rd phyllo sheet to the other 2.
-Now add a handful of the walnut mix on one side of the sheet. Leave about an inch of space from the edge where you will start to roll the phyllo. And leave half inch of space on the sides.
-Spread the the mix evenly so its pretty level.
-The mix should cover about 30% of the sheet now.
-Carefully start rolling the phyllo from the walnut spread side of the phyllo. Try to keep the roll balanced so the thickness is consistent.
-After you've made a roll, add it to the pan, work your way from one side. The sides of the roll can be tucked up, there is barely any stuffing on the sides and they are normally discarded.
-Repeat this again until you fill up the pan, usually 10 rolls.
-you can pattern the rolls tightly if you need, it will cook.
-Now cut lines about 1 inch apart down the length of the rolls but cut a small column about .5 inch from the sides which will allow you to throw out those side pieces but not waste good parts of the roll.
-The cuts should form a chess board like pattern.
-Brush the top of the baklava generously with the melted butter.
-Preheat your oven to 325 degrees
-When ready, bake for 30 minutes or until the tops of the phyllo is slightly browned.
****************************************
Prepping the syrup
Add 2 cups of sugar to a medium sized pot.
Juice 1/2 of an orange
Juice 1/2 of a lemon
1 cup of water
Combine all of the ingredients to the pot and boil down on medium heat for 7-8 minutes. The consistency is sort of like pancake syrup.
****************************************
Finishing Touches
-After taking the baklava out of the oven, let it rest for about 5 minutes.
-Now pour the *warm* syrup over the baklava, cover it well and shake it around so its even everywhere.
-Keep uncovered, outside, let the syrup absorb. It will be fully absorbed and moist in 5 hours. If you cover it while soaking, it will get too soggy.
****************************************
Notes
*if you add too much stuffing, the roll will be pretty thick.
*Refridgerate the phyllo after you buy it, it can be cold/cool when you start using it.
*if the phyllo is too dry it will crack when you are trying to roll it. Work fast to avoid this.
*if your phyllo is dried out, there's not much you can do, You'll have to use a backup roll.
*If one of your phyllo tears into 2, you can still use it as the middle or top sheet, it will get rolled so it wont matter. Just dont use it as a base sheet.
*If the syrup is too watery the baklava will come out soggy
*If the syrup is too thick, it will not soak through the phyllo, it will settle on top.
*You can do this whole recipe with 4 phylla per roll as well.
*if you over cook it, the phyllo will burn and the stuffing will dry out.
*You can store the leftover phyllo sheets in a ziploc or plastic wrap and refridgerate.
*The phyllo has salt so no need to add it in the recipe.
**********Ingredients*******************
1 Baking Pan (Rectangle 12x16) (important to have a tight fit so the syrup fills up the whole surface area of the pan)
1 box phyllo (12x17) all purpose pastry sheets (#4)
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 Brush
1 small saucepan
1 medium sized saucepan
Stuffing
4 cups of crushed walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp cloves (powder)
Orange Zest (3/4 of a med. sized orange)
Syrup
2 cups of sugar
juice of 1/2 an orange
1 cup of water
1/2 lemon juice fresh squeezed
****************************************
Prep:
Melt 1 stick of butter over low heat, set aside.
Stuffing instructions:
Grind or crush the walnuts (and cloves if needed)
Peel 3/4th of an orange and chop the peels finely.
In a bowl, mix together all of the walnuts, sugar, orange zest, cinnamon and cloves.
Set aside
Prepping the pan:
Brush the pan with the melted butter, cover the surfaces completely, including the sides.
Phyllo instructions:
The key is to move fast so the exposed phyllo doesnt dry up. You can cover the phyllo sheets that arent used yet with a towel.
-Open your phyllo sheets, lay out an area for prep.
-Take your first sheet and gently brush with the melted butter (you dont need total coverage, just spotty brushing as you will be rolling them later.
-Add another sheet right on top of the one you just buttered. Try to line them up for consistency.
-Butter the top of the 2nd sheet.
-Add a 3rd phyllo sheet to the other 2.
-Now add a handful of the walnut mix on one side of the sheet. Leave about an inch of space from the edge where you will start to roll the phyllo. And leave half inch of space on the sides.
-Spread the the mix evenly so its pretty level.
-The mix should cover about 30% of the sheet now.
-Carefully start rolling the phyllo from the walnut spread side of the phyllo. Try to keep the roll balanced so the thickness is consistent.
-After you've made a roll, add it to the pan, work your way from one side. The sides of the roll can be tucked up, there is barely any stuffing on the sides and they are normally discarded.
-Repeat this again until you fill up the pan, usually 10 rolls.
-you can pattern the rolls tightly if you need, it will cook.
-Now cut lines about 1 inch apart down the length of the rolls but cut a small column about .5 inch from the sides which will allow you to throw out those side pieces but not waste good parts of the roll.
-The cuts should form a chess board like pattern.
-Brush the top of the baklava generously with the melted butter.
-Preheat your oven to 325 degrees
-When ready, bake for 30 minutes or until the tops of the phyllo is slightly browned.
****************************************
Prepping the syrup
Add 2 cups of sugar to a medium sized pot.
Juice 1/2 of an orange
Juice 1/2 of a lemon
1 cup of water
Combine all of the ingredients to the pot and boil down on medium heat for 7-8 minutes. The consistency is sort of like pancake syrup.
****************************************
Finishing Touches
-After taking the baklava out of the oven, let it rest for about 5 minutes.
-Now pour the *warm* syrup over the baklava, cover it well and shake it around so its even everywhere.
-Keep uncovered, outside, let the syrup absorb. It will be fully absorbed and moist in 5 hours. If you cover it while soaking, it will get too soggy.
****************************************
Notes
*if you add too much stuffing, the roll will be pretty thick.
*Refridgerate the phyllo after you buy it, it can be cold/cool when you start using it.
*if the phyllo is too dry it will crack when you are trying to roll it. Work fast to avoid this.
*if your phyllo is dried out, there's not much you can do, You'll have to use a backup roll.
*If one of your phyllo tears into 2, you can still use it as the middle or top sheet, it will get rolled so it wont matter. Just dont use it as a base sheet.
*If the syrup is too watery the baklava will come out soggy
*If the syrup is too thick, it will not soak through the phyllo, it will settle on top.
*You can do this whole recipe with 4 phylla per roll as well.
*if you over cook it, the phyllo will burn and the stuffing will dry out.
*You can store the leftover phyllo sheets in a ziploc or plastic wrap and refridgerate.
*The phyllo has salt so no need to add it in the recipe.