Daring bakers june 2011: Baklava and making our own phyllo!

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

This Challenge took me more then 4(minus all the resting time) hours to make, but the outcome was more then word it. Well it started out as fun and easy just mixxing the dough by hand(don't have a stand mixer:( yet). After kneadding for 20 minutes like the recipe calls for i was glad i had a little break, because the dough had to rest.
Then it was time for the not so fun part "the rolling of the dough". I just had a normal rolling pin, and i started watching the video Erica had provided. If you see that you think that everything is going to be fine, but now i think differently about it. I spended a lot of time of time rolling the dough, and when i was reday and had all the phyllo sheets to assemble the baklava in my pan. They where stuck together, i didn't used enough flour inbetween i prsume. So started over rolling again...

Finally my baklava was ready for the oven, and it statred smelling real good. But ofcourse whe couldn't take a bite because whe had to wait another 24 hour to soak in the syrup. It was deffinatly worth the wait. This baklava is Delicious! Thank you Erica for this Dare to bake/make something out of my kitchen comfort zone.

Preparation time: The recipe may seem simple but it is a little time consuming

Phyllo Dough Mixing/Kneading: 15-25 minutes
Resting time: 30-90 minutes (longer is better)
Rolling Phyllo: varies, approx. 2 minutes per sheet

Syrup: 15 minutes plus cooling
Baklava: 30 minutes
Resting: Overnight

Equipment required:

Measuring spoons
Wooden dowel or rolling pin
Sharp knife
Measuring cups
Towels
Spatula
Stand mixer (can knead by hand)
Baking dishes – 9” x 9” is recommended
Strainer
Plastic wrap
Medium pot
Pastry brush
Food processor /blender
Bowls

Phyllo Dough:

*Note 1: To have enough to fill my 9” x 9” baking dish with 18 layers of phyllo I doubled this recipe.
*Note 2: Single recipe will fill a 8” x 5” baking dish.
*Note 3: Dough can be made a head of time and froze. Just remove from freezer and allow to thaw
and continue making your baklava

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups (320 ml) (185 gm/6½ oz) unbleached all purpose (plain) flour
1/8 teaspoon (2/3 ml) (¾ gm) salt
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) cider vinegar, (could substitute white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, but could affect the taste)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour and salt
2. Mix with paddle attachment
3. Combine water, oil and vinegar in a small bowl.
4. Add water & oil mixture with mixer on low speed, mix until you get a soft dough, if it appears dry add a little more water (I had to add a tablespoon more)
5. Change to the dough hook and let knead approximately 10 minutes. You will end up with beautiful smooth dough. If you are kneading by hand, knead approx. 20 minutes.
6. Remove the dough from mixer and continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Pick up the dough and through it down hard on the counter a few times during the kneading process.
7. Shape the dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil
8. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 30-90 minutes, longer is best ( I let mine rest 2 hours and it was perfect)



Rolling your Phyllo

** Remove all rings and jewelry so it does not snag the dough**

Use whatever means you have to get the dough as thin as you can. I have included a fantastic video at the end of the post on how to roll out your phyllo dough, using a wooden dowel, which worked perfectly for me. You may also use a pasta machine if you have one, or a normal rolling pin whatever works for you.

1.Unwrap your dough and cut off a chunk slightly larger then a golf ball. While you are rolling be sure to keep the other dough covered so it doesn’t dry out.
2. Be sure to flour your hands, rolling pin and counter. As you roll you will need to keep adding, don’t worry, you can’t over-flour.
3. Roll out the dough a bit to flatten it out.
4. Wrap the dough around your rolling pin/dowel
5. Roll back and forth quickly with the dough remaining on the dowel (see attached video for a visual, its much easier then it sounds)
6. Remove; notice how much bigger it is!
7. Rotate and repeat until it is as thin as you can it. Don’t worry if you get rips in the dough, as long as you have one perfect one for the top you will never notice.
8. When you get it as thin as you can with the rolling pin, carefully pick it up with well floured hands and stretch it on the backs of your hands as you would a pizza dough, just helps make it that much thinner. Roll out your dough until it is transparent. NOTE: you will not get it as thin as the frozen phyllo dough you purchase at the store, it is made by machine
9.Set aside on a well-floured surface. Repeat the process until your dough is used up. Between each sheet again flower well. You will not need to cover your dough with a wet cloth, as you do with boxed dough, it is moist enough that it will not try out.


After i poured in the syrup.

Baklava Recipe

Adapted from Alton Brown, The Food Network
30 servings

Ingredients

For the syrup:
·1 1/4 cups (300 ml) honey
·1 1/4 cups (300ml) water
·1 1/4 cups (300 ml) (280 gm/10 oz) sugar
·1 cinnamon stick
·1 (2-inch/50 mm) piece fresh citrus peel (lemon or orange work best)
·a few cloves or a pinch or ground clove

When you put your baklava in the oven start making your syrup. When you combine the two, one of them needs to be hot, I find it better when the baklava is hot and the syrup has cooled

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium pot over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved
2. Boil for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.
3. Once boiled for 10 minutes remove from heat and strain cinnamon stick and lemon, allow to cool as baklava cooks





Ingredients for the Filling:

1 (5-inch/125 mm piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (8 gm) ground cinnamon
15 to 20 whole allspice berries ( I just used a few pinches)
3/4 cup (180 ml) (170 gm/6 oz) blanched almonds
3/4 cup (180 ml) (155 gm/5½ oz) raw or roasted walnuts
3/4 cup (180 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) raw or roasted pistachios
2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm/ 5 1/3 oz) sugar
phyllo dough (see recipe above)
1 cup (2 sticks) (240 ml) (225g/8 oz) melted butter ** I did not need this much, less then half**

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
2.Combine nuts, sugar and spices in a food processor and pulse on high until finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor chop with a sharp knife as fine as you can. Set aside
3. Trim your phyllo sheets to fit in your pan
4. Brush bottom of pan with butter and place first phyllo sheet
5. Brush the first phyllo sheet with butter and repeat approximately 5 times ending with butter. (Most recipes say more, but homemade phyllo is thicker so it's not needed)
6. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top
7. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times
8. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top
9. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times
10. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top
11. Continue layering and buttering phyllo 5 more times. On the top layer, make sure you have a piece of phyllo with no holes if possible, just looks better.
12. Once you have applied the top layer tuck in all the edges to give a nice appearance.
13. With a Sharp knife cut your baklava in desired shapes and number of pieces. If you can't cut all the ways through don’t worry you will cut again later. A 9x9 pan cuts nicely into 30 pieces. Then brush with a generous layer of butter making sure to cover every area and edge
14. Bake for approximately 30 minutes; remove from oven and cut again this time all the way through. Continue baking for another 30 minutes. (Oven temperatures will vary, you are looking for the top to be a golden brown, take close watch yours may need more or less time in the oven)
15. When baklava is cooked remove from oven and pour the cooled (will still be warmish) syrup evenly over the top, taking care to cover all surfaces when pouring. It looks like it is a lot but over night the syrup will soak into the baklava creating a beautifully sweet and wonderfully textured baklava!
Next morning all syrup is absorbed
16. Allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled cover and store at room temperature. Allow the baklava to sit overnight to absorb the syrup.
17. Serve at room temperature


After 24 hours when all the syrup schould have been absorbed.

Freezing/Storage Instructions/Tips: There are a few ways to store your Baklava. It is recommended that you store your baklava at room temperature in an airtight container. Stored at room temperature your baklava will last for up to 2 weeks. You will notice as the days pass it will get a little juicier and chewier. You may choose to store it in the fridge; this will make it a little harder and chewy, but does increase the shelf life. You can also freeze your baklava and then just set it out at room temperature to thaw.



Additional Information: I have included some videos and links to help you through the process

How to roll the phyllo dough -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvNzAi9w6TU&feature=related

Excellent 3 part video showing the whole process -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLV7W-KUME8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8pzyKgxuF4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJgotI69pXY&feature=related

Making Hollow Baklava Rolls- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FvM8cWzjKI

Making Baklava Rolls - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H51egHWv0sQ

Nut Free Baklava –
http://hubpages.com/hub/nut-free-baklava-recipe
http://tzk-design.com/recipe/nut-free-baklava

Gluten Free Baklava
http://glutenfreepastry.org/gluten-free-baklava-recipe-demonstration/
http://gluten-free.mobi/gluten-free-baklava.php

Home-made granola with berry compote

In a few days it will be Fathersday, so this weeks theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is "Pops is tops". So it time to honour my dad with a home made meal, but i got stuck with this delicious granola recipe. My father eats granola at breakfast and dessert as he pleases. So it was time i make some my own, to give him this sunday.

I adjusted the original recipe. I used hazelnuts instead of mixed nuts. And after the granola was finished to make the dessert i changed the fruitcompote in a fruitpuree. The first time i made granola myself, and o boy how lovely is that. Again a winner i whil try to make granola more often.

original recipe can be found here.
ingredients

• 200g mixed nuts
• 400g rolled or jumbo oats
• 100g pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds
• 400g runny honey
• 200g strawberries, hulled and halved
• 200g raspberries
• 200g mixed dried fruit (raisins, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, chopped apricots)
• 500ml plain yoghurt



method

Jamie says:This healthy pud is quick, easy – and tastes delicious!

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Place the nuts into a plastic bag, squeeze the air out and seal the bag. Gently bash with a rolling pin until they are lightly crushed, then tip them into a mixing bowl and add the oats and seeds. Warm up the honey to make it extra runny and stir it into the oaty mixture with a wooden spoon until everything’s lightly coated.

Tip the mixture onto a baking tray and spread out roughly with the wooden spoon. Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until the mixture is crunchy and a dark golden brown. Meanwhile, place the strawberries and raspberries in a pan on a medium heat for 10 minutes until nicely stewed.

Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool, then break up the toasted seeds, oats and nuts into clumps and mix in the dried fruit. There you have it: granola! Serve the granola in small bowls or glasses. Top with the plain yoghurt and the hot fruit compote. Any leftover granola will keep in an airtight container for about a month.

Tip: Use any leftover granola as a nutritious breakfast. Serve with natural yoghurt or a splash of milk.

 

Charred eggy bread with strawberries and honey

Chicken and the egg - wich comes first? That is our cooking theme for this week at IHCC. It really is an age old question! And in my eyes whe probably will never now the real answer to that question. Whe can only presume, like the other age old questions of al exsistance on earth. Every religion at least thinks to now the answers, but there are more books then i can count on this particulair subject. In all the simple things i do know the eggs first and then is the chicken...But where they really came from, i don't want to know because it will drive me grazy;)

recipe can be found here
serves: 4

ingredients

• 2 eggs, preferably free-range or organic, beaten
• 50ml full-fat milk
• a good dash of limoncello
• 4 thick slices of stale sourdough or Italian bread
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar, plus a little extra
• 250g strawberries, halved
• 200g ricotta, sliced or crumbled
• runny honey
• grated lemon zest, to serve

method
Mix the beaten egg with the milk and a dash of limoncello in a shallow dish. Dip the bread slices into the mixture and shake off the excess. Sprinkle the slices with the caster sugar then cook on the barbecue for a couple of minutes on each side until golden.

Dust the strawberries with caster sugar and grill them really quickly, just until the sugar on the outside of them browns. Top the warm bread with ricotta and the grilled strawberries.

Drizzle with honey and decorate with lemon zest.

Notes: I did'nt used the barbecue but a grillpan one the stove and that worked just fine to make the bread. Left out the lemon zest(did'nt had any at home), but used a bigger splash of limoncello to compensade for that. All the flavours where amazing together, real threat! Great as a dessert after a barbecue or just for lunch.

Panna Cotta with fresh berries

Recipe can be found here
Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis

Cook time: 7 minutes(waiting 6 hours)
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch salt
2 cups assorted fresh berries

Directions
Place the milk in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. Pour milk mixture into a heavy saucepan and stir over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves but the milk does not boil, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, honey, sugar, and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat. Pour into 6 wine glasses so that they are 1/2 full. Cool slightly. Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours.

Spoon the berries atop the panna cotta and serve

Notes:
My first attempt ever at making Panna cotta. Ofcourse there had te be a first time for failure also, since i started this cooking blog. Everything has been going well untill now.

You can see the two different layers in the glass, so i wanted to find out why it happend. After reading some more panna cotta recipes, i thought it was because of the cooling down. In giada's recipe the cooling is after youve poured it into the wine glasses, but in all the other recipes this happens before. So i put the saucepan in my sink(with a bottom of cold water), kept stirring and after that poured it into the glasses. It worked! the panna cotta came out fine after that and tasted creamy delicious. No fresh berries in season now so used frozen.

Posting this to:
- I Heart Cooking Clubs( Arrivederci Giada! last week of cooking with Giada, next week we will start cooking with Jamie Oliver for the next six months)

The link to my Arrivederci dinner is here!