Home-made Baklava...Incarnated as "Kivrim" by Felicia...

First let me try to strip you off of your biases:

The thing you buy at Greek grocery stores is not "baklava". It is a different species --therefore rightfully called "Greek baklava" by our Greek brothers--, but definitely not baklava. Greeks have some notable contributions to the world culture, like democracy and stuff, but baklava is not one of them...

You think I am funny, eh? Too much pride with a little shaved stupidity on top and salt&pepper, eh? Well, I am right with my claim on baklava... But you are also right with your feelings. When folks talk about food of their homeland, sometimes their voice carries too much pride that they start sounding funny. If you take that pride at face value though, I would suggest you to take another look at it through a different glass, which I tried to explore in my Kunafa post earlier. A funny pride builds up throughout the text in that post; it even creates a little cultural tension by criticizing others' techniques. It is only at the end that that pride reveals its true self as love for one's homeland. It even embraces others' pride via two video links, which use techniques that it has criticized earlier... That is what I mostly see in folks' pride for their own food...

Now you still think that I am hilariously proud of baklava? No of course, not after the intro above... Now you are stripped off of that bias of yours, do you see the love here? Yes? This is the last bit of bias that I will try to strip off of you: There is no love for where I am from when I talk about baklava here, absolutely none. Such implication would be injustice to baklava...This is a completely rational, a completely cold, stripped-off-of-all-feelings piece on baklava... after all, a piece of baklava does not need love to stand out and stand up alone...

Making baklava is a serious craft. The most talented craftsmen come from the city of Gazi Antep, Turkey, where one of the the most important ingredients, pistachio, also comes from. Pistachios of Antep are smaller in size and denser in oil and flavors than their alternatives from elsewhere, like wine grapes being smaller and denser in flavor than table grapes. However it is not simply a bag of pistachios, rather a mix of varieties that gives the right taste and color blend. Some commercial baklava makers take baklava to an unsurpassable level of artistry via their knowledge of pistachio, butter and craftsmanship for preparing thinner-than-paper-thin dough. Some produce so uniquely beautiful baklava, which is available only in Antep and which I am lucky enough to sample every summer, that it is impossible to find an equivalent in another city in Turkey, let alone elsewhere in the world including your favorite Greek grocery store.

However, home cook is not discouraged by the challenge from commercial brands. There is a second class of baklava prepared by self-made cooks at home -- and it is by no means second class --, which we ingeniously call home-made baklava (ev baklavasi). Now to be honest, a little well-deserved pride gets into the picture here. Those who grew up in a tightly knit society know well that it is a fierce but friendly competition among relatives and neighbors to take the spot for the best home-made baklava. It is a special yet humble pride for the cook who holds the trophy... and a not-at-all-humble pride for the lucky who happens to taste her baklava... I am one of those lucky and I am happy and proud to share my otherworldly experience with you today: Our dear friend Felicia's "kivrim" recipe, her incarnation of baklava.

Felicia is from Maras, a neighboring city of Antep, so she is a natural. Most importantly though, she puts her natural instincts into working to make a perfect home-made baklava with ingredients available in the US.

A few things you will need beforehand:

- Unsalted butter

- Thawed fillo dough, keep it under cover to avoid drying out (Felicia's favorite is Ziyad fillo dough; she says Greek brands would be fine too)

- Finely chopped pistachio or walnuts

- A pair of long round chop sticks; attach them by taping on the thick ends, you will use this to roll the kivrim (see the picture below)

Kivrim - baklava rolls:

- Melt butter; it would be better if it is on the warmer side, close to hot, it helps soften the dough

- Take a sheet of dough, brush with melted butter; evenly spread the finely chopped nuts of your choice

- Roll the sheet around your chop-stick-roller; press from both sides of the roll; remove the roll onto your baking dish

- Repeat this until your baking dish is filled with baklava rolls

- Brush butter on top of the rolls and bake them about 25-30 minutes at 400F in a preheated oven.

(Please click on the pics for a better photo)

Syrup:

Boil 1.2 parts sugar with 1 part water until thickened lightly. Add 2-3 drops of lemon juice, give it another quick short boil. Felicia mentions that the consistency of the syrup is one of the most important points. If it is too thin, it will make baklava mushy; if it is too thick, the baklava will be too sweet. She recommends that, if you err on one side, you'd better be on the thicker side. Her test? Spoon your syrup, check how the last drop stretches.

Finishing:

As soon as you take the baklava out of the oven, spoon over your "hot" syrup. You should have about 0.5cm-1cm high of syrup at the bottom of your baking dish. Let it rest at least 30 minutes before serving...Sprinkle with additional finely chopped nuts and serve... bon appetit...

"AFIYET OLSUN :-)) Felicia"