baklava

baklava

baklava, Turkish, Greek, and Middle Eastern rich pastry of phyllo (filo) dough and nuts. Phyllo is a simple flour-and-water dough that is stretched to paper thinness and cut into sheets, a process so exacting that it is frequently left to commercial manufacturers. Baklava is among the most common sweets to serve for special occasions in modern-day Turkey and Greece and some Balkan countries.

For baklava, 30 or 40 sheets of phyllo, each brushed liberally with melted butter, are layered in a baking pan with finely chopped walnuts, pistachios, or almonds. After the pastry is baked, it is drenched with a syrup of honey and lemon juice. Cinnamon, ground cloves, cardamom, or rosewater may flavour either the filling or the syrup.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.