Making homemade baklava is possible. It's also very easy so please don't cry and give it a try.

INGREDIENTS:

Homemade Filo Dough:

• 6 cups ( 900g) all-purpose flour

• 1.5 cups (372g) hot water

• 2 teaspoons (23g) white vinegar

• juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tbsp (10g) olive oil

Turkish (pistachio):

• 2.5 cups (350g) shelled raw pistachios

• 1/2 teaspoon (4g) fine sea salt

• 2 cups (454g) unsalted butter

• 1 pound (25 pieces) phyllo dough (buy four packages of filo, also called phyllo pastry to use)

• 2.5 cups (470g) granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup (96g) muscovado sugar

• juice of 1/2 lemon

• 1 3/4 cup water (415ml)

• 1-inch peel of lemon zest

Greek

• 25 sheets filo

• 2 3/4 cup (246g)walnuts

• 1/2 tsp (4g) fine sea salt

• 1 tablespoon (8g) cinnamon powder

• 1 teaspoon (2g) allspice

• 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

• 350g butter, melted

• 1/2 cup (97g) sugar

• 1 cup (110g) water

• 1 cup (282g) honey

• 1 cinnamon stick

INSTRUCTIONS:

Homemade Filo Dough:

1. In a large bowl, place the flour, make a “well,” add the hot water, white vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil. Mix well by hand until you get a shaggy dough, then knead your dough for five minutes or until smooth.

2. Wrap in plastic, and let it rest for fifteen minutes. Divide your dough into twenty-five pieces evenly. Using the pasta maker attachment, roll your dough as thin as possible while generously flouring until you see your hand. Repeat this process with the remaining dough pieces.

Turkish (pistachio):

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. In a medium-size pot, over medium-high, heat the butter; once it starts simmering, some of the milk solids will get foamy and will float to the top, skim that off.

3. Keep cooking the butter until it gets a more clear color; pour the melted butter through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth into a heat-proof container.

4. In a baking dish (9” x 13”), brush the bottom with butter (ghee), add one sheet of filo pastry, brush it with ghee, add one sheet of filo, brush it, and repeat this process until you get a 14 layer filo pastry.

5. In a food processor, add the pistachios and pulse them multiple times until they break up nicely.

6. Evenly disperse all the pistachios across the surface. Next, flick some ghee over the pistachios, add one sheet of filo pastry, brush it with ghee and repeat the process until you get another 14 layers of filo.

7. Using a knife, cut the dough into four strips, length-wise, all the way to the bottom, then cut diagonal to form diamond pieces. Pour some of the ghee on top, and bake for, 30 - 35 minutes.

8. Add the sugar, muscovado sugar, water, lemon peel, and lemon juice in a small pot. Heat it over medium-high, let it cook for 5 to 10 min, or until it reaches a loose syrup consistency. Once the Baklava is ready, pour all the syrup on top, garnish with finely ground pistachios on top of each piece, and place, on a wire rack to cool down completely.

Greek

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. In a baking dish (9” x 13”), brush the bottom with butter or ghee, add one sheet of filo pastry, brush it with butter, add one sheet of filo, brush it, and repeat this process until you get a 14 layer filo pastry.

3. In a food processor, add the walnuts and pulse them multiple times until they break up nicely, but this time, we want them finer; add the cinnamon, allspice, and a touch of freshly grated nutmeg. Mix it well.

4. In a baking dish (9” x 13”), brush the bottom with melted butter (not hot) or ghee, add one sheet of filo, brush it with butter or ghee, add one sheet of filo, brush it, and repeat this process until you get a 14 layer filo paste.

5. Add the walnuts, flick some of the butter, place one layer of filo dough, brush it, and repeat until you get 14 layers of dough.

6. Cut to the bottom into rectangles with a knife. Bake for 30 - 35 min.

7. Add the sugar, water, a pinch of sea salt, a cinnamon stick, orange peel, and honey in a saucepot. Bring it to a boil over medium-high, reduce to medium and reduce for 5 to 7 minutes or until it reaches a light syrup consistency. Once the Baklava is ready, pour all the syrup on top and place, on a wire rack to cool down completely.