- [Narrator] What I like about Baklava is
there's absolutely a sweetness
but you also have this rich nut filling
to kind of balance it out.
Hi, I'm Sarah and today I'm going to be showing you
how to make Baklava.
Both of my parents are Egyptian
so today the Baklava that I'm going to make
is the Baklava that I grew up with.
I grew up with a Baklava that's got a little bit
of sweetness to it but there's a nice crispness to it.
So we have lots of layers of flakey phyllo dough,
all different, different kinds
but this is what I grew up with
and what feels nostalgic for me.
Phyllo dough is a very thin, thin, thin,
delicate pastry sheet
so when you buy it, it's preformed in sheets,
it's actually really important that you're able to
thaw it out overnight and then let it sit
at room temperature if you're buying it frozen
and that'll help allow the sheets to fully defrost
and not stick together when you're taking it
out of the package.
My mom would always tell me
that when you're first taking the phyllo dough
out of the package, the first couple sheets
that you're gonna be working with
are gonna tend to be the driest ones.
So it's not unusual for you to have to potentially
throw out first couple sheets.
You might also find some sheets that are broken
or a little bit hard to manage.
But when you start to get a little bit further
into the package, the phyllo dough will become
a little bit easier to work with.
When you're doing this recipe, ideally you're gonna have
a single sheet, but if you end up using multiple sheets
of phyllo dough at the same time, that's gonna be okay.
It might feel a little bit delicate or fragile
when you're first working with it
but that's why you wanna brush it with butter
and when you brush it with butter,
that's gonna soften it up and then allow it to
roll really well when you're using a filling.
So there's actually different types of phyllo dough
and when you're purchasing phyllo dough,
if it's for something like desserts
a lot of times you'll actually see
a number scale on phyllo dough.
When you're looking to make Baklava,
something that's going to be light and flakey,
you're gonna try to get a phyllo dough
that's a number four or a number seven.
When you get into seven or ten, you're gonna be looking
at phyllo dough that's gonna be heavier consistency
and that's typically for things that are gonna have
either a heavier, or sometimes a wet filling.
Baklava is, because it's really common
you'll see it as an everyday kind of dessert
but it also tends to be a special occasion one too
so in a lot of Middle Eastern culture
Baklava tends to be a dessert
that you see a lot during Ramadan.
So for that reason too,
Baklava has a special place in my heart.
Ramadan's a holiday where you're fasting
from sunrise to sunset, so when you're able to break fast
and have a meal with friends or family
the meals that you eat have a special significance
to them and it's something that you look forward to all day.
So a lot of times, having that nice sweetness of like,
a nice dessert at the end of the day,
makes it really special.
- [Man] Oh, yes!
(cheerful music)