Tuesday, June 28, 2011

THE DARING BAKERS’ JUNE, 2011 CHALLENGE: FROM PHYLLO TO BAKLAVA!!

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.


Hmmm so what exactly is baklava? According to Erica: This month we will be making Baklava, a sweet rich pastry made with layers of phyllo dough and nuts sweetened with simple syrup. Baklava is widely knows as a Greek dessert, but it’s origin has really never been pinpointed as many Middle Eastern countries also name it as their own.


I love baklava, whenever I see it in the weekend market from the Turkish couple who make the best here in the Philippines I always make sure to buy, and keep it well hidden behind other food so I can prolong the enjoyment of eating it as much as I can. When I read this challenge, I thought about making some other things too aside from baklava but then my phyllo dough wasn't enoughh for what I wanted and I didn't have the time to make another batch of phyllo. So I just made one batch of baklava but used the trimmings to make another shape.


I wasn't able to roll out my phyllo dough as thinly as the other Daring Bakers especially Renata but I noticed that after baking it still came out crispy even until the next day.





I was quite excited to taste my homemade phyllo dough and baklava but I had to wait overnight to let it cool and allow the syrup to be absorbed. When I got up the next day, I ate a small slice after taking pictures and I have to say, it's not as good as my favorite Turkish baklava but I have been inspired to continue making and experimenting until I get it right.




Thank you Erica for the recipe of the phyllo dough. For other Daring Bakers' versions of their own baklava, please click here .


20 comments:

Suz said...

Your baklava looks wonderful! I really love the photo of the baklava slices and rolls, and the last one looks sticky and delicious.

Good luck with your experimenting. We'll get there! (Though I might have to buy lots of baklava to tide me over until I do.)

shelley c. said...

You did a great job with your phyllo and the baklava - it looks beautiful! Rolling it super thin was definitely a challenge, and I know some people got it CRAZY thin, but your baklava looks awesome.

Unknown said...

Great job on the challenge. Your photos look so nice. I bet it tasted fantastic. :)

Kathy said...

Great job on the challenge! Yours looks lovely!

Mary said...

It looks wonderful with all the layers. Mine wasn't as good as my favourite either, but I had fun making it.

the_other_cheek said...

looks yummy, i don't think i can match what's on the picture haha

Unknown said...

The baklava looks so good.

Anonymous said...

Wow..your phyllo is perfect, as is your baklava and photos! The rolls are simply awesome and such a great idea! Mine was as good as my fav because the recipe I used was a fav lol Beautifuly done!

Kitchen Belleicious said...

Love Love Love phyllo and baklava! You did an awesome job! It looks amazing and so yummy and boy do I wish I had a piece of it right now! KUDOS!

Bourbonnatrix said...

your baklava looks great! love the shape of the rolls!

Valérie said...

You did a great job! Love the rolls, too!

Anonymous said...

Your baklava looks amazing..love the rolled version..
they both look gooy and yummy

Heather said...

Lovely result and great photo - cheers from New Zealand

Jaime said...

Your Baklava turned out wonderfully...such beautiful shots! I loved this recipe, so I am soooo curious about how your favorite Turkish recipe tastes. It must be phenomenal! Well Done!

Kris Ngoei said...

I am so eager to try the Turkish Baklava that you mentioned. Frankly speaking I have no experience in tasting Baklava before so I don't really know what is best to expect. But your Baklava following the challenge recipe look delicious, flaky, and very appealing to me already :-)

I am very happy with the phyllo recipe cause I know I might develop various new dessert with phyllos. However you are right, wee both couldn't roll as thin as Renata, maybe we should give it some more tries..., shall we?

The Betz Family said...

Your baklava looks great! Too bad it wasn't quite to the taste that you were looking for but at least you made it and know where to go from here. Great job on the challenge!

Anonymous said...

The photos are proof of all the hard work u've put in to achieve the traditional baklava. Like everyone else here I love ur idea of rolled baklavas. Too cute!

Renata said...

Your Baklava looks delicious and flaky. Just like you, I'm sure this is not going to be my only attempt with homemade phyllo. I love the different shapes you made, a great job indeed! Thanks for mentioning my pastry, I'm blushing ;)

Anonymous said...

I think your baklava looks wonderful! Sorry to hear it was not as good as you hoped.

Anonymous said...

Your phyllo and baklava looks like a job well done! Great job on last months challenge!