No Measure Baklava Recipes

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cloves; set aside. Brush a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with some of the butter. Unroll 1 package phyllo dough; cut stack into a 10-1/2x9-in. rectangle. Repeat with remaining phyllo. Discard scraps., Line bottom of prepared pan with 2 sheets of phyllo dough (sheets will overlap slightly). Brush with butter. Repeat layers 14 times. (Keep dough covered with a damp towel until ready to use to prevent it from drying out.) , Spread with 2 cups walnut mixture. Top with 5 layers of phyllo dough, brushing with butter between each sheet. Spread with remaining walnut mixture. Top with 1 layer of phyllo dough; brush with butter. Repeat 14 times. Cut into 2-1/2-in. squares; cut each square in half diagonally. Brush remaining butter over top. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown., In a large saucepan, bring syrup ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and discard zest; cool to lukewarm. Pour syrup over warm baklava.

NO-MEASURE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo dough inside sealed pkg on counter at least an hour (it can still be cold).
• Start preheating your oven to 300.
• Roll the walnuts, a couple handfuls at a time, inside a large freezer ziplock bag with a rolling pin. I can only get them as fine as about the size of pearl barley before I say "good enough" and it seems to work fine but one person say it should be finer (but they eat it up immediately so nobody's tastebuds are complaining).
• Place a 13x9 pan with 1 tbsp butter/margarine in the oven for a couple minutes to melt the butter, remove it back out. If there is any excess pour it into your saucepan.
• Melt your butter in a saucepan on low heat putting any whole spices (such as whole cardamom or whole cloves) in to release their flavor.
• Lay 6 layers or so of phyllo dough in pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 c rolled walnuts (should almost cover), 1-2 tbsp of cinnamon (should cover) and drizzle 1-2 tsbp melted butter and 1 tbsp of honey.
• Layer 4 layers of phyllo (I found I could use broken sheets in the middle layers as long as I used whole sheets for top and bottom and it was unnoticeable) and repeat. Aim for 4 layers of walnut. You will not use up the whole pkg of phyllo. Wrap tighly and refreeze.
• Top with the last layers of phyllo, cut with a sharp knife lengthwise to make 4 rows (don't cut all the way to the bottom) and then diagonally crossways every 1.5 inches or so (start by cutting a triagle shape at the top of each row, diagonals all the way down and end with a triangle again).
• Drizzle with 2 tbsp melted butter, bake 1 hr or until top is golden brown. Remove and let cool to room temp (few hours), then liberally drizzle honey into every crack,and around the edges. The cracks should be full to the top. And drizzle a little across the surface.
• Let sit until honey is absorbed (another hour or as long as you want) then cut with sharp knife ALL the way through to the bottom, layer in stacks on a plate, and serve.
• Cover like on a cakeplate or under a large bowl.