Need advice of experienced baklava chefs ;)?!
First, I should be able to find frozen phyllo dough at Publix, right? Which section of the frozen foods do you typically find it in? I should be able to find a pastry brush there too, or do I need to go to a cooking shop like Williams Sonoma? (I'm in college, and going home this weekend to visit my parents--I'll probably be making this there and I'm not sure if they have a pastry brush or no. Either way I'd like one of my own).
Second--how many layers of phyllo dough do you put on the very bottom of the pan? The recipes I've read suggest anywhere from 2 to 6 layers of dough to start. Since 6 is three times as much as 2, that seems like a big difference, but then again this dough's pretty thin I guess. So I'm just wondering how many layers the tried and true recipes use on the bottom.
Lastly, when do you pour on the syrup? Some say to do it immediately when the baklava comes out of the oven, and others say to let it cool for 2 hours, then pour the syrup on.
Sorry to lump so many questions together in a small space, but if anybody who knows what they're doing (unlike me) wouldn't mind giving me their advice I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks and bon appetit!
Answers:
I usually see phyllo in the freezer section near where the frozen pies, puff pastry and frozen fruit is found. A pastry brush can be found almost anywhere. I've bought them at the dollar store before. When it comes to syrup you want to either pour cool syrup on hot pastry or hot syrup on cool pastry. I make the syrup and set it aside then I make the baklava and bake it. It takes about an hour to bake. By the time it's done the syrup is room temperature. Pouring hot syrup on hot pastry will make it soggy. When I make baklava I use about half the package and then I spread out 1/3 of the nut mixture then I put down 2 sheets of phyllo and the next third of nuts and the 2 more sheets of phyllo and the last 1/3 of nuts and then finish the package of phyllo. It doesn't really matter but how I do it makes the filling in the middle of the pastry. I do it in thirds so it's spread out a bit. Too much nuts packed together makes it hard to chew through.
6 layers on bottom, 15-20 layers with nut mix in between, 10 plus on top. Cold syrup to hot baclava. If you cannot find pastry brush, just use a paint brush. Tip: use top quality butter (eg unsalted french lescure) and skewer each diamond shape with a whole clove for extra special baclava.
Let me add: buy fresh filo dough if possible, as the frozen is a pain to work with. Keep a damp towel on the filo and just uncover it to grab a sheet, or it will quickly get brittle and flake.
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