Easy Baklava
I’ve been wanting to post the recipe for Azerbaijani baklava for a long time. So, for the first time in my life I dared to make baklava myself, but …. it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. It tasted great (we had guests and they loved it) and it had all the flavors you would find in real Azerbaijani baklava, but I was still not satisfied. And since I do not post a recipe if I haven’t tested it a hundred times and if I didn’t like it, I decided to postpone making the real thing until later.
But there was no stopping me. So, the next day I decided to make baklava again, the easy one. The result is what you see in the picture. If you are pressed for time to spend long hours in the kitchen rolling the many thin baklava layers, roasting the walnuts and preparing the syrup for the most delicious Azerbaijani baklava - this recipe is what you need. My friend Emel helped me work on the recipe, too. Thank you, Emel!
So… it is still a baklava, but a lazy one (or for lazy cooks?). No kidding. The name from Azeri translates as Lazy Baklava (Tenbel Pakhlava). In Azerbaijan, this baklava is also known as Sochinskiy Pirog (Pie a la Sochi). It is comparatively easy to make, is close in taste to the real Azerbaijani baklava and is also delicious in its own special way. So soft, it simply melts in your mouth. Perfect for your Novruz table. Enjoy!
EASY BAKLAVA
Preparation Time: 15 minutes, plus 1-hour refrigeration time
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Makes about 25 pieces
INGREDIENTS
For the Dough
3 cups flour (15 oz / 465 g)
8 oz / 250 g butter or margarine, cut into small pieces
1 cup (7 oz / 200 g ) sour cream mixed with 1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
2 egg yolks
For the Filling
2 cups sugar
2 egg whites
2 ½ cups (10 oz / 300 g) walnuts, finely chopped (they should be somewhat crunchy in the pie, so do not grind finely)
To Brush
1 egg yolk
YOU WILL NEED: 8 x 12-inch (20 x 30 cm) baking pan. If a rectangular pan is not available, use a round or a square pan. Non-stick is preferable.
TIP: If you are counting calories and prefer a less sweeter baklava, reduce the amount of sugar for the filling and increase the amount of walnuts , if desired. Or, you do not have to have more walnuts either, if you prefer less filling in your pastry.
1. Prepare the dough. In a large bowl, combine flour and butter. Using a fork, or a knife (or pastry blender, if available), cut in the butter until the mixture forms large crumbs the size of large peas.
2. Add sour cream/baking soda mixture and egg yolks and continue tossing until the dough comes together in a mass (See the picture below). It should be gentle to touch.
3. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts, forming each one into disks. Wrap each disk in a plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.
4. In the meantime, prepare the filling. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and egg whites. Using a balloon whisk or electric mixer, whip vigorously until well blended. Add chopped walnuts and mix well with a spoon.
5. Lightly grease the baking pan with oil or butter. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin (I used ball-bearing rolling pin, and it was great!), press firmly to roll the dough from the center in all directions until you obtain a rectangular (or round, if you are going to use a round baking pan) about 8 inches (20 cm) in width and about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick, or just the size to fit your pan. I found this pastry dough very easy to handle - it rolled in no time for me.
7. Carefully transfer the round into the pan, pressing it against the bottom and the sides. Baklava releases juices when baking, so slightly stretching the dough to the sides and sealing them tightly will keep the juices inside. If there is any tear in the dough, repair by pressing a small piece of dough over it.
8. Spread half the filling over the layer.
9. Roll the second disk in the same way and place it in the pan on top of the walnut filling. Spread the remaining filling over the second layer.
10. Roll the third dough disk and place it on top of the walnut filling. Brush this layer with egg yolk. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter (it worked wonders for me!), carefully cut the baklava in cross-hatching diagonals to make diamond shapes, cutting through the filling all the way to the bottom. Place a whole or half a walnut in the middle of each baklava piece.
11. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes or until golden on top. Times may vary, so take extra care not to overbake - baklava will harden and will not be that juicy if baked for too long. Remove the pan from the oven. When cool enough to handle, remove the baklava diamonds from the pan and serve with tea or coffee. Baklava gets even softer when stored in a covered container. Enjoy!
- Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen: Those are absolutely GORGEOUS!!!! Happy Women's Day
- Cynthia: Happy Women's Day!!!
- Leesa: WOW.. Farida.. Those look really YUMMY!! Happy
- scary azeri: S 8 Marta to you too!!!!
Popular
69 Comments Add your own
1. kebelle | March 20th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Wow, this is very helpful recipe. I may try to cook Azerbaijani food. Thanks.
2. farida | March 20th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Kebelle, thanks for visiting. Azerbaijani food is delicious. Enjoy!
3. familiabencomo | March 21st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Mmmmmm….. I LOVE baklava! I will certainly try this one. This is a great introduction to Azerbaijani cuisine for me, sweets speak to my soul. Thank you for sharing!
xoxox Amy
4. farida | March 21st, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Amy, thanks for visiting. Let me know how your baklava turns out. This one is simple, there is another, so-called real Azerbaijani baklava that is even yummier. I yet have to polish the recipe. Please stop by again.
5. Cynthia | March 22nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Hi Farida,
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leading me to yours! What a treasure find this is. You bet I’ll be hanging out here often and learning all I can about your cuisine.
I too am currently writing a cookbook
So nice to meet you. I’ve just subscribed to your feeds/posts and have added you to my blog roll as well.
See you around.
6. farida | March 22nd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Cynthia, thank you so much for vising mine! It’s great knowing you! You have a lovely blog! You are now in my blogroll too and I am looking forward to new postings from you, too!. Good luck with your cookbook! Cheers.
7. Mandy | March 23rd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
wow, the baklava look so delicious. I wish I could reach into the monitor to help myself for a few.
And I like your step by step photographs. I will surely check back on your blog often!
8. farida | March 23rd, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Mandy, thanks for stopping by. I am glad you like my baklava, at least from the picture:) It is an easy recipe, and I am sure with your baking talent you can handle it in no time:)
9. Nina | March 25th, 2008 at 7:02 am
wow, even I could make this. Thx for the shortcut recipe.
10. farida | March 25th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Nine, welcome to my blog! Yes, this baklava is easy to make. Wait for the real Azerbaiani baklava which is a bit more time consuming to make, but the result is worth your efforts and time! Please visit again!
11. emily | March 25th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Hi,
I went to Turkish Kitchen in the city and had a nice meal. As dessert, I had something made of sesame. It was very sweet. I don’t know the name of it, but it was brownish, and the texture was almost fudgelike. Do you know what it’s called by any chance?
12. Rosa | March 26th, 2008 at 2:34 am
Wow, I’m amazed by this wonderful baklava! Ever so tempting and scrumptious!
Cheers,
Rosa
13. Aparna | March 26th, 2008 at 8:55 am
This makes baklava so easy. This looks really delicious.
14. stacie | March 26th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Yum, these look great! Nice pictures!
15. Max | March 26th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Farida, I just looked at your tandoori bread and loved it. And I saw this easy baklava recipe by accident, it’s you again caught my attention. I can tell that you’re talented on cooking.
Thanks for sharing this one too.
Max
16. farida | March 26th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Emily: Hmm, I wonder what Turkish desert you had. It could be one of those flan-type desserts that are popular in Turkey, but they don’t have sesame in them. I even asked my Turkish husband and he had no clue as what it could have been:) I need more hints to identify that mysterious sweet:)
Rosa: Welcome to my blog! Enjoy Baklava and visit again!
Aparna: Nice to have you back:) Glad you like the recipe.
Stacie: Thanks for visiting! You traced me back to your blog and looks like you like baking. Baking this baklava will be super easy for you!
Max: Thanks for your nice words. I am flattered. Not sure about the talent but I simply like looking and honestly, I love eating even more:) The bread is easy to make. Please visit again!
17. chriesi | May 7th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Gorgeous dessert! Your blog is amazing!
18. Mag | May 7th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Oh your baklavas look so good, I have just prepared a selection of different kinds of baklava, took the photo and will publish the post soon, but I will defenitely try this one cause it easy to make and looks so delicious
Thanks a lot!
19. farida | May 7th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Chriesi: Thank you for your nice words! Glad you like it here:)
Mag: What a great idea! Let me know when you post it so I can take a peek at your baklavas:)
20. laurelpaula | May 27th, 2008 at 1:28 am
ooooo….this really takes the cake (excuse the pun), but really! This is a MUST try!
21. grace | June 23rd, 2008 at 1:50 am
well this is certainly easier than the phyllo dough recipe for baklava, yet i’m sure it’s equally delicious! your pictures are amazing, and as a fellow baklava lover, i commend you!
22. Arifa | November 16th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Dear Farida:
As a fellow Azeri I am proud of you for promoting our rich Azeri cuisine. I have been baking sochinsky pirog for years and have always introduced it to Americans as “easy baklava”! What a coincidence!
23. Dilara | December 25th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Dear Farida,
I am originally from Azerbaijan but presently live in Canada. I used to help my mom and grandmother to bake baklava and all other azeri pastries but since we came here this is the first time I tried to prepare baklava on my own using your recipe. All I have to say that this recipe is amazing, easy and delicious. Just like Arifa I am proud of you for promoting the blog with Azeri cuisine. Its great to know that someone has ability to show what Azeri cuisine is all about. I will be checking your website all the time for more great recipes. Goodluck.! Its fabulous!!!!
24. Mediterranean Turkish Cook | December 27th, 2008 at 9:38 am
This looks great. Even if it’s tenbel (in Turkish it’s tembel) baklava. That’s a funny name. I’ve never tried to roll my own baklava as it would take probably a good part of a day to make. I always use the packaged phyllo dough.
25. farida | December 27th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Thank you, friends, for all your lovely comments. Please check your emails for individual messages from me:)
26. habiba | January 9th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Hi Farida,
I just came across your recipe while goggling for some soft kind of baklava.I must say it looks great and seems really easy so i’ll definately give it a try.I made baklava with an algerian recipe making my own phyllo pastries with a pasta machine.It turned out great but it was too crispy for my taste..I like it the sheets to be a little thick and soft..I don’t know if my dough was too thin but i’d be glad if you can tell me some tips over how to make it like that..
27. farida | January 9th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Hi Habiba, welcome to my blog. Glad you like the baklava recipe. It is really easy to make. Since I did not use pasta machine for this recipe (i have never used it for anything really), I don’t want to give you wrong answers. You will need to roll this dough with a rolling pin. It will be very easy to make . The sheets will be soft and slightly thick. Just follow the recipe. If you have a specific question regarding this particular recipe, please do not hesitate to ask me. Will gladly help. Good luck and thanks again.
28. dina | January 10th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Great recipe!!im surely going to make this one
i had two questions on my mind.firstly,can there be a substitute for sour cream??can i use the normal whipped cream instead? and i also wanted to know if the suger should be grinded first?..im amazed over how you don’t need syrup in this recipe.will the pastry layers be sweet enough without it?
29. farida | January 12th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Hi Dina, welcome to my blog. So glad you like the recipe. This baklava is really easy to make. At least compared to traditional Azerbaijani baklava which is much trickier. To answer your questions.
1. Sour cream is really what makes the dough special. I personally have not substituted it with anything else, but I think you can use plain yogurt instead. Mix 1/4 cup melted and cooled off butter with 3/4 cup plain yogurt and refrigerate for at least one hour. That’s your sour cream right there. But then again you will end up using a lot of butter in the dough. I think using plain yogurt without butter wouldn’t do much damage to the dough, but not sure if it will be as good as sour cream in this particular recipe. Hope this helps.
2. I use granulated white cane sugar.
Let me know if you have any other questions. Have fun baking:)
30. Nazarina A | January 16th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
This is absolutely stupendous!!! Beautiful dough whether lazy or not, I love it and would very much like to attempt it!
31. farida | January 19th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
NAZARINA: Glad you like the recipe. I would be flattered if you tried it. Let me know if you do. I am curious:)
32. Arlette | January 28th, 2009 at 8:47 am
this is a nice Baklawa…. Also in my site I have the original recipe for the Baklawa…. using a dough and not Phyllo.
thanks for sharing
Arlette
33. farida | January 29th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
ARLETTE: Welcome to my blog. I will surely look at your baklava recipe as I am big baklava fan:)
34. Krithika Ramachandran | February 11th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
I tried these last weekend and they came out really well. I made one change, I added rose water to the filling. Friends and family enjoyed. Thanks for the recipe.
35. farida | February 13th, 2009 at 11:13 am
KRITHIKA: Glad you enjoyed this baklava. Rose water is a great adittion. I love its flavor.
36. Farida’s Azerbaijan&hellip | March 12th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
[...] have posted the recipe for Easy Baklava before and time has come to pair it up with Shekerbura to complete a Novruz [...]
37. Carolyn | March 15th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Salam Farida!
My husband and I just got back from living in Mingechevir for a year. This recipe looks just like the baklava at the bakery on Heydar Aliyev Prospecti. Thanks for posting this! I’m excited to try it for our Novuz Bayram party on Friday!
-Carolyn
38. Stephanie | March 16th, 2009 at 5:18 am
Farida - what temperature should the oven be at? I’m going to be attempting the recipe this week! Thanks! Stephanie
39. FARIDA | March 16th, 2009 at 9:57 am
CAROLYN: Welcome to my blog. I hope your baklava turns out just like the one in the Baku bakery. Enjoy!:)
STEPHANIE: 350F (180C).
40. kamile | March 17th, 2009 at 4:29 am
Salam Feride.Azerbaycan metbexini gozel temsil etdiyin ucun seni tebrik edirem.Azerbaycanli olarag senin reseptlerinin coxunu bilirem, ancag isterdim Gogali nece bisirmeyi mene oyredesen.Eger mumkunse
41. FARIDA | March 17th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Salam Kamile,
Cox sahg ol gozel sozlerine gore. Sozun duzunu desem qoghal bisirmemisem indiyene kimi:) cunki bilirem ki, bisirsem menden b asqa hec kim yemeyecek ailemizde. Amma kitabim ucun bir qun bisirib sekillerini cekeceyecem. Web sayt ucun deyil, printed kitabim ucun. Onda resepti sene de vererem. Indi ise tanishim Gullunun saytina baxa bilersen, onda qoghal resepti var:
http://azerifood.com/az/7/75.html
Helelik,
Feride
42. Stephanie | March 19th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Farida - I made it! And it came out wonderful, so tasty, and easy to make! It was demolished in one day. Thanks! Stephanie
43. Vusala | March 20th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Farida janim,
what oven temperature do you bake the paxlava?
Happy Novruz
Vusala
44. FARIDA | March 20th, 2009 at 8:10 am
STEPHANIE: Glad you enjoyed it!
VUSALA: 350F (180C) as the recipe says. Happy Novruz to you too!
45. sarah | April 20th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Perfect! this is exactly what I was looking for! thanks!
Sarah
46. Martha | June 13th, 2009 at 8:15 am
What beautiful baklava. I especially love easy shortcut recipes for classic cookies. They make sense for the busy lives we lead today.
47. Heni | June 17th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Hello Farida!
We make our baklava dough also here in Algeria.But it usually comes out hard … nothing like phyllo. I have tried using strudel dough which I make by hand (grandmother’s method) but I have not been to get it down yet. I will try your recipe … sour cream I am sure moistens the dough nicely.
BTW love your blog and pix!
48. nebehate | July 2nd, 2009 at 9:11 am
shum te mira jon kto rceta ehde pse jam shqiptare shum mka interesu kuzhina juve
49. ipv6 | September 3rd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Quote–
It tasted great (we had guests and they loved it) and it had all the flavors you would find in real Azerbaijani baklava, but I was still not satisfied. And since I do not post a recipe if I haven’t tested it a hundred times and if I didn’t like it, I decided to postpone the Azerbaijani baklava until later time.
End quote–
Such a meticulous cook you’re sis, I must say… Anyways I don’t cook much except a very simple stuff due to the busyness and time constrained and perhaps some laziness encroach on me too, but I do keep bookmarks many great web site, that deal with cooking that look and sound fantastic. And some of your’s pages already in my a bit long list, waiting to be execute.. someday…
50. ipv6 | September 3rd, 2009 at 11:13 am
Çox sa? olun.
Salam.
51. ipv6 | September 3rd, 2009 at 11:14 am
sag*
52. farida | September 9th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Thank you all for your comments!
53. Souza | September 13th, 2009 at 6:59 am
waaaaaaaaw gorgiousss
we make baqlawa in morocco too, but it’s diferent, i’ll try yours,
kisssssss
54. saju | September 17th, 2009 at 9:24 am
wow!! They look so delicious..i have never eaten this but i will defenitley try to make this! thanks a lot!!
55. Easy baklava and other tr&hellip | September 26th, 2009 at 7:02 am
[...] Easy Baklava from Farida’s Azerbaijani [...]
56. Sea Wave | September 29th, 2009 at 4:00 am
Fraida… I am happy that you are not nearby because i will gain weight … I am sooooooooo weak when it comes to sweets…
Sea Wave from Saudi Arabia
57. Nihada | October 3rd, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Merhaba Farida
Baklava is in the oven…it was easy to follow the recipe, so far looks very good, thank you so much for sharing your recipe
Nihada
58. FARIDA | October 5th, 2009 at 11:37 am
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
NIHADA: Hope it turned out great. Enjoy!
59. TriniMom | November 3rd, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Nice Baklava .. brings back so many memories.. this is the way my aunt , on my father’s side taught me to make it….but they were from Syria….one wonders how the food recipes travelled…
Nice recipes and so easy…..again it just brings back so many childhood memories. But I do make some of the things especially those which I like…
60. ??hla | November 7th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
I wont to be your frends
61. Sabinaaa | November 11th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Salam Farida khanim, I’m visiting your site at least once a day to drool over the pictures lol. I was wondering if you had the recipe of SHEKER CHOREK? I’m dying for these biscuits and can’t find the real recipe
Keep up the good work!!!!!!
62. FARIDA | November 11th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
SABINA: Thank you:) Sheker chorek will be in my cookbook (printed one). In the meantime, visit my friend Gullu’s site for the recipe.
http://www.azerifood.com/ru/7/77.html
63. Sabinaaa | November 12th, 2009 at 11:51 am
ohhhhhhh!! Thanks a lot!
Can’t wait for your book!!!!!!!!!
64. Eylem | February 4th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Baklava from Turkey. ?n turkey make delicious baklava. And everybody love baklava there.
65. Ayten | February 16th, 2010 at 3:52 am
Is not it called Sochinskiy pirog? although i usually also introduce it to my guests as “easy version of our pakhlava”. One of my favorite recipes . DELICIOUS!!!
66. Ayten | February 16th, 2010 at 3:53 am
actually it is mentioned as Sochinskiy as well…sorry, my mistake
67. mahsati | March 1st, 2010 at 11:27 pm
do u think i can bake it in glass pan?
68. FARIDA | March 2nd, 2010 at 10:16 am
MAHSAT?: ? have never baked it in a glass pan. Not sure. but I am thinking a regular pan would yield a nicer crust and top.
69. Sofya | March 6th, 2010 at 10:24 am
I will be trying this - but here’s the thing - have you considered making a print-friendly version available to the readers of your blog? It’s hard to print out recipes nestled between pictures. I recently decided to do a step-by-step picture cooking blog as well (how original of me), but I felt like I had to stick a words-only version of each recipe at the end of each picture post for people to print.
Leave a Comment
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed