What is BAKLAVA

Baklava is a dessert made with layered phyllo dough pastry, filled with nuts or some cream, sweetened with syrup. This name comes from the Turkish / Mongolian root “bayla = to tie, wrap up” composed with the verbal ending -v, changed adding some suffixes as “bakılavı” and finaly changed to “baklava”.

With its origins in Turkish cuisine, especially as one of the most significant desserts, has been developed by the Turks of Central Asia and after the westward migration to Anatolia, the homeland of wheat, it becomes one of the popular elements of Ottoman cuisine. During the sovereignty of Ottoman Empire throughout the Mediterranean region, the several countries become acquainted with Baklava, combined their analogous recipes inspired from and added it to their cuisine under recruited names from the origin.

The base of this fabulous dessert is “yufka = dough sheet”, in fact made of wheat flour in several variations. As the common process the dough sheets will be placed, filled between the layers with some nuts, even chocolate or some creams and herbs, on top optionally some nuts or chocolate again.

In Turkey, Iran, Middle East countries is pistachio the first choice as filling, in Balkan and Central European countries will be used walnut and various ingredients and methods.