Baklava (بقلاوة) is a famous dessert built on the seemingly simple principle of alternating thin dough, nuts, and sweet syrup. On the plate, it appears as a precise geometric shape, most often a rhombus, square, or small cylinder, glistening on the surface with sticky glaze and revealing dozens of microscopic layers of filo dough in the cross-section, between which the crushed filling shines through.
Baklava
Where Baklava Comes From
Greeks, Turks, Arabs, Armenians, and Persians dispute the ownership of baklava, and every nation has arguments up its sleeve as to why they were the first. The truth lies, as is often the case, somewhere in the middle, or rather in the kitchens of the Ottoman Empire. Although we can trace the primordial version of layering nuts and flatbreads back to the Assyrians in the 8th century BC, the form we know today – dozens of sheets of dough as thin as paper – was perfected by confectioners in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Baklava was not a delicacy for the poor back then. Nuts and honey or sugar were expensive ingredients, and therefore this dessert was baked only for significant holidays, weddings, or during Ramadan.
Today, Turkey is considered the spiritual home of baklava, primarily thanks to the city of Gaziantep. It was the local masters who established the standards that the rest of the world tries to imitate. It is not just about the recipe, but about the craftsmanship in making the dough, which is passed down from generation to generation. The word itself likely has Mongol roots in the verb “bayla-“, which means to wrap or layer, to which a Turkish suffix was added. Whoever invented it, the Ottoman Empire functioned as a giant blender of cultures that spread this dessert from the Balkans through the Middle East to North Africa, while in every region, they slightly modified the recipe according to available ingredients.
What Baklava Is Made Of
The basis of everything is filo dough (from the Greek phyllon – leaf). It must be rolled out so thinly that you should be able to read a newspaper through it. If the dough is too thick, the baklava will not crunch but will seem like soggy bread. The second important ingredient is fat, and not just any fat. Clarified butter (ghee) is used exclusively, stripped of milk protein and water. Ordinary butter would burn and turn bitter during long baking, while clarified butter adds a nutty aroma and ensures that the individual sheets of dough separate from each other and create that desired flaky structure.
The filling differs according to geography. In Turkish Gaziantep, they do not recognize anything other than the local emerald green pistachios. In Greece or the Balkans, you will more often encounter walnuts, which add a pleasant bitterness to the dessert. Arab versions often combine cashews or almonds and are not afraid to add cardamom or rose water. Everything is ultimately united by syrup. While honey was used in the past (still common in Greek versions), modern Turkish baklava relies on sugar syrup with a drop of lemon. The lemon juice is not there for acidity, but fulfills a chemical function – it prevents the sugar from crystallizing again after cooling and ruining the texture of the dessert.
How Baklava Is Made
Preparation of baklava is an exercise in patience and speed. The confectioner must work briskly because the thin sheets of dough dry out and break within seconds in the air. Dozens of sheets are layered into a baking pan, with each one, or at least every few layers, needing to be brushed with melted butter. The nut filling is usually sprinkled in the middle, not between every sheet, so the dessert does not fall apart. A crucial moment that distinguishes an amateur from a professional is the cutting. Baklava must be cut into final pieces while still raw before being put into the oven. Once baked, the dough is so fragile that it would crumble to dust under a knife.
Baking takes place at a moderate temperature for quite a long time so that the dough bakes through on the inside and dries out. The final magic comes at the moment of removal from the oven. Lukewarm syrup is poured over the hot baklava (or vice versa, but the temperature difference is key). At that moment, a sizzling sound spreads through the kitchen as the porous dough soaks up the liquid. The syrup must not drown the baklava; it must only permeate it. Properly baked baklava should not swim in a pool of sugar; it should be juicy inside but still audibly crunchy on the surface.
Given its extreme sweetness, baklava is rarely eaten alone in large quantities. It functions more as a finishing touch to a meal, served in one or two pieces. In Turkey, it is almost mandatory to drink strong black tea or Turkish coffee with it.
Types of Baklava
The world of baklava certainly does not end with the classic rhombus. The shape here fundamentally changes the eating experience because it adjusts the ratio between the crunchy dough and the rich filling. A very popular variant is called bülbül yuvası, which poetically translates to “nightingale’s nest”, or fıstık sarma (pistachio roll), which looks like a deep green cylinder. Here, the dough plays only a supporting role as a thin wrapper, while a dense paste of crushed pistachios dominates the inside, making it the most intense and also the most expensive variant.
In the last few years, soğuk baklava – cold baklava – has literally crazed Turkey (and gradually the rest of the world). This dessert was created as a reaction to the fact that classic baklava can be too heavy and overly sweet for some in the hot summer. The hot baked dough is not poured over with thick sugar syrup, but with a mixture of milk and sugar. The result is radically different. The milk cuts the sharpness of the sugar, the dough partially loses its aggressive crunchiness and becomes more supple, almost creamy, reminding one more of a cake. Moreover, the surface is not sprinkled with crushed nuts but dusted with cocoa or grated chocolate, giving the dessert the appearance of tiramisu. It is baklava that melts on the tongue, cools, and gives a much lighter, milky impression.
The Best Baklava in the World
The Middle East region belongs among my favorite destinations, and I have a long and sweet journey behind me across the regions where this dessert is at home. I have tasted it in the busy streets of Istanbul, in the mountain villages of Armenia, in cafes in the Balkans, and in the ancient cities of Iraq and Jordan. Every country prepares it slightly differently.
For me personally, however, Iranian baklava sits on the imaginary throne. It might be surprising because the Turkish version is more famous, but Iranians are in a league of their own, especially thanks to one key ingredient. They are, in fact, absolute masters of pistachios. Their baklava tends to be more delicate, less drowned in syrup, and literally packed with the highest quality emerald green pistachios that grow in Iran.
Do you like baklava? And where did you taste the best one?
Happy snacking!
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