That’s right, the pastry for baklava comes ready-made! Even professional bakers rarely make phyllo dough in-house. So there’s no shame in our phyllo game! And once you have the dough, all you have to do is brush it lightly with melted butter, one sheet at a time, and layer it with an easy cinnamon-nut filling mixture. It’s really kind of fun! So grab your pastry brush, turn on some good music, and let’s make baklava!
Why You’ll Love this Baklava Recipe
Easy. Homemade baklava comes together in a snap with store-bought phyllo and a few other simple ingredients.
Impressive. Despite how easy it is to make, everyone is going to be so impressed that you made baklava from scratch!
Flavorful. This Greek baklava recipe is totally delicious with all the buttery layers of dough, nutty layers, and honey syrup.
Can be made ahead. This dessert can seriously be made ahead – as much as 1 week in advance. All of the honey keeps it fresh for a long time. You can even freeze it for up to 3 months.
Where Does Baklava Come From?
Believe it or not, this is a question that has caused many, many debates. You can find desserts similar to baklava going back all the way to ancient Greece. The Roman Empire, Hungary, Turkey, and other Middle Eastern countries also have versions of baklava that date back centuries.
There are some differences though. For example, Turkish Baklava tends to use pistachios, whereas Greek Baklava usually uses walnuts. This baklava recipe is Greek in origin.
Baklava Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make classic baklava. For ideas on how to customize this recipe, check out the “Variations” section. And to see the complete recipe card with amounts, nutrition facts, and full recipe instructions, scroll down to the bottom of this post.
Phyllo Dough: You’ll find this in the freezer section of your grocery store, usually alongside the frozen pie crust and puff pastry.
Honey: Use your favorite honey—any kind will do!
Water: To thin the syrup to the correct consistency.
Granulated Sugar: Along with the honey, the sugar adds sweetness, and it also boils down with the water to help create the candy-like syrup.
Fresh Lemon Juice: For this recipe, it’s best to juice fresh lemons for the brightest lemon flavor.
Walnuts: You’ll want to chop or process the walnuts to a chunky consistency, that’s not too coarse or too fine.
Unsalted Butter: For brushing between the sheets of phyllo dough. That gives the baklava a flaky texture!
Are Phyllo Dough and Puff Pastry the Same?
Phyllo dough and puff pastry are definitely similar in some ways, but they are not the same! Puff pastry is flaky and buttery, but ultimately it’s also bready: think crescent roll dough. While I’m sure it would make a tasty dessert paired with cinnamon, nuts, and honey syrup (hmmm, note to self: must try that sometime), it won’t be baklava.
Phyllo, on the other hand, doesn’t have a bready texture at all! Each sheet is paper-thin, and when layered with melted butter, those paper-thin sheets of dough turn into crackly, delicate layers that have a perfectly satisfying crunch.
How to Make Baklava from Scratch
To make the baklava, it’s all about building the layers one by one, and then baking until done. From there, you’ll pour the syrup evenly over the whole thing, and let it rest so that the syrup is absorbed by the baklava. Easy!
Prep the Oven and Filling. Preheat your oven to 325ºF degrees. Then, combine the finely chopped walnuts and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside.
Make the Syrup. Combine the sugar, water, honey, and lemon juice in a saucepan, and bring it to boil a over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the sugar is dissolved. Once that happens, reduce the heat to low, and let the syrup simmer (this time without stirring) for exactly four minutes. Now the syrup is done! Turn the heat off, and set the syrup aside to cool down while we “build” the baklava.
Prep the Baking Dish and Phyllo Pastry. Grease a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Open the phyllo pastry dough package. If it looks like your phyllo sheets are too large for your pan, you can cut the whole stack to fit, using a sharp knife or kitchen shears. Cover the phyllo sheets with a damp tea towel or paper towel, so that they don’t dry out while you’re working with them.
Layering Baklava
Make the First Layer. Lay one sheet of the phyllo dough into the bottom of the buttered dish. Gently brush with a thin layer of melted butter. Repeat this with nine more sheets of phyllo, to make a stack of 10 sheets with melted butter in between. Evenly sprinkle about 3/4 cup of the chopped nut mixture over the top of the stack.
