Baklava

also called baklava · baklawa · bakhlava · baclava · baklawah · pistachio baklava · walnut baklava · filo nut pastry

The table

1 cup(225 g)unsalted butterclarify the butter, skim it clearlayer the filo, butter every sheetcut into diamonds before it bakesbake at 325°F 1 1/4 hrpour cold syrup over the hot tray, stand 4 hr
2 cups(250 g)shelled pistachioschop the nuts coarse with the spice
1 cup(115 g)walnuts
2 Tbs(25 g)granulated sugar
1/2 tspground cinnamon
1 lb(450 g; thawed overnight in the fridge)filo pastry
2 cups(475 mL; straight from the fridge)attar
Tap anything to cross it off.

What to lay out

Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.9 things to get out.

Pans and tools

1clarify the butter, skim it clear

2chop the nuts coarse with the spice

3layer the filo, butter every sheet

goes in with what steps 1 and 2 made

6pour cold syrup over the hot tray, stand 4 hr

goes in with what step 5 made

Cooking it

Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.

The clock

Start to finish
at least 5 hr 15 mintwo waits that overlap count once
Needs you
none givenof the steps that give a time

4 of the 6 steps never say how long they take, so both numbers are floors. The recipe itself says 3 hr 30 min.

  1. clarify the butter, skim it clear

    not timedfrom the start

  2. chop the nuts coarse with the spice

    not timedfrom the start

  3. layer the filo, butter every sheet

    not timedfrom the start

  4. cut into diamonds before it bakes

    not timedfrom the start

  5. bake at 325°F 1 1/4 hr

    1 hr 15 minwalk awayfrom the start

  6. pour cold syrup over the hot tray, stand 4 hr

    4 hrwalk away1 hr 15 min in

Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them.

You'll need 9x13 pan · oven

Goes with

See how it is written
>> title: Baklava
>> category: Bars & Brownies
>> tags: filo, pistachio, walnuts, middle eastern, oven, syrup
>> counters: Shawarma Counter, Bakery
>> aka: baklava, baklawa, bakhlava, baclava, baklawah, pistachio baklava, walnut baklava, filo nut pastry
>> pairs-with: attar, maamoul
>> servings: 24
>> time: 3 hr 30 min
>> step.1: clarify the butter, skim it clear
>> step.2: chop the nuts coarse with the spice
>> step.3: layer the filo, butter every sheet
>> step.4: cut into diamonds before it bakes
>> step.5: bake at 325°F 1 1/4 hr
>> step.6: pour cold syrup over the hot tray, stand 4 hr

Melt @unsalted butter{1%cup}(225 g) over low heat without stirring, skim the foam off the top and pour the clear gold layer off the milky sediment, leaving that behind. Whole butter's milk solids sit between the sheets and go to wet brown specks; clarified butter is what lets forty layers stay forty layers.

Chop @shelled pistachios{2%cups}(250 g) and @walnuts{1%cup}(115 g) coarse with @granulated sugar{2%Tbs}(25 g) and @ground cinnamon{1/2%tsp} — pulsed to a powder they pack into a paste, and the layer wants to stay rubble.

Layer @filo pastry{1%lb}(450 g; thawed overnight in the fridge) in a buttered #9x13 pan{}, brushing every single sheet with @&(~2)clarified butter{} and stopping halfway to spread @&(~1)nut mixture{} in an even bed. Bought filo, and no apology for it — hand-pulling filo is a separate craft with its own room, and every baklava sold on this counter is made from bought sheets. Keep the stack under a damp cloth; it goes to cornflakes in about four minutes of open air.

Cut @&(~1)assembled tray{} all the way through to the base in parallel diagonals, into diamonds, **before** it goes anywhere near the oven. Cut afterwards it shatters, and the syrup then has no channels to get down into.

Bake @&(~1)cut baklava{} in the #oven{} at 325°F (160°C) ~bake{1 1/4%hr}, until it is deep gold right through to the middle sheets. Low and slow: hot and fast browns the top while the middle stays pale and raw-tasting.

Pour @attar{2%cups}(475 mL; straight from the fridge) evenly over @&(~1)hot baklava{} the moment it comes out — it will hiss and settle — then ~stand{4%hr} uncovered before cutting the diamonds free. Cold syrup onto a hot tray, never the reverse: the pastry is still driving off steam, so it draws the syrup down through every layer instead of sitting in it. Hot on hot is the sodden tray everyone has been served once.