Baklava
Baklava is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with either syrup or honey.
There are several theories for the origin of this pastry, but in modern times, it is a common dessert among cuisines of countries in West Asia, Southeast Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa. It is also enjoyed in South Asia, where, although not a traditional sweet, it has become popular over the years.
Etymology
The word baklava is first attested in English in 1650, a borrowing from . The name baklava is used in many languages with minor phonetic and spelling variations. The earliest known reference to baklava is in a poem by the 15th century mystic Kaygusuz Abdal.The historian Paul D. Buell argues that the word baklava may come from the Mongolian root baγla- 'to tie, wrap up, pile up' composed with the Turkic verbal ending -v; baγla- itself in Mongolian is a Turkic loanword. The lexicographer Sevan Nişanyan considers its oldest known forms to be baklağı and baklağu, and labels it as being of Proto-Turkic origin. Another form of the word is also recorded in Persian, باقلبا. Though the suffix -vā might suggest a Persian origin, the baqla- part does not appear to be Persian and remains of unknown origin. The linguist Tuncer Gülensoy states that the origin of baklava is bakl-ı in proto-Turkish and suffixes -la-ğı are added. The word changes as bakılağı > bakılavı > baklava. The Arabic name بقلاوة baqlāwa originates from Turkish.
History
The three main proposals for the roots of baklava are the Greek placenta cake, lauzinaj, and the Central Asian Turkic tradition of layered breads. According to food historian Gil Marks, Baklava has its roots in either Persia or Turkey. There are also claims attributing baklava to the Assyrians, according to which, baklava would have been prepared by them in the 8th century BC.There are also some similarities between baklava and the Ancient Greek desserts gastris, kopte sesamis, and kopton found in book XIV of the Deipnosophistae. However, the recipe there is for a filling of nuts and honey, with a top and bottom layer of honey and ground sesame similar to modern sesame candy or halva, and no dough, certainly not a flaky dough.
Another recipe for a similar dessert is güllaç, a dessert found in Turkish cuisine and considered by some as the origin of baklava. It consists of layers of filo dough that are put one by one in warmed up milk with sugar. It is served with walnut and fresh pomegranate and generally eaten during Ramadan. The first known documentation of güllaç is attested in Yinshan Zhengyao, a food and health manual that documents foods of the Mongol Empire, written in 1330 by Hu Sihui, an ethnic Mongol court dietitian of China's Yuan dynasty.
Although the history of baklava is not well documented, an archaic version of baklava is said to have been prepared in the Byzantine empire, while its Turkish version was probably developed in the imperial kitchens of the Topkapı Palace in Constantinople. The Sultan presented trays of baklava to the Janissaries every 15th of the month of Ramadan in a ceremonial procession called the Baklava Alayı.
Placenta cake theory
Many claim that the placenta cake, and therefore likely baklava, derived from a recipe from Ancient Greece. Homer's Odyssey, written around 800 BC, mentions thin breads sweetened with walnuts and honey. In the fifth century BC, Philoxenos states in his poem "Dinner" that, in the final drinking course of a meal, hosts would prepare and serve cheesecake made with milk and honey that was baked into a pie.The word "placenta" originally comes from the Greek language plakous, which means something "flat and broad". An early Greek language mention of plakous as a dessert comes from the poems of Archestratos. He describes plakous as served with nuts or dried fruits and commends the honey-drenched Athenian version of plakous. Antiphanes, a contemporary of Archestratos, provided an ornate description of plakous:
In the Byzantine Empire, the traditional placenta cake, a dish similar to baklava, was consumed. The earliest known detailed recipe for placenta, from the 2nd century BC, is a honey-covered baked layered-dough dessert which food historian Patrick Faas identifies as the origin of baklava.
Historian Andrew Dalby speculates as to why Cato's section on bread and cakes, which he describes as "recipes in a Greek tradition", are included in De Agricultura: "Possibly Cato included them so that the owner and guests might be entertained when visiting the farm; possibly so that proper offerings might be made to the gods; more likely, I believe, so that profitable sales might be made at a neighbouring market."
Cato's original recipe for placenta follows:
According to a number of scholars, koptoplakous was a precursor to the modern baklava. Historian Speros Vryonis describes koptoplakous as a "Byzantine favorite" and "the same as the Turkish baklava", as do other writers. The name is used today on the island of Lesbos for thin layered pastry leaves with crushed nuts, baked, and covered in syrup.
Lauzinaj
Baklava is a common dessert in modern Arab cuisines, but the Arabic language cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh, compiled by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq in the 10th-century, does not contain any recipe for baklava. Its recipe for lauzinaj refers to small pieces of almond paste wrapped in very thin pastry and drenched in syrup. Some writers say that this is the dessert that most closely resembles the modern baklava. Charles Perry, however, has written that "it was not much like baklava".There are similar recipes for lauzinaj in the 13th-century Kitab al-Tabikh by Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi. Written in 1226 in today's Iraq, the cookbook was based on an earlier collection of 9th century Persian-inspired recipes. According to Gil Marks, Middle Eastern pastry makers later developed the process of layering the ingredients.
Preparation
Baklava is normally prepared in large pans. Many layers of filo dough, separated with melted butter and vegetable oil, are laid in the pan. A layer of chopped nuts—typically walnuts or pistachios, but hazelnuts and almonds are also sometimes used—is placed on top, then more layers of filo. Most recipes have multiple layers of filo and nuts, though some have only top and bottom pastry.Before baking, the dough is cut into regular pieces, often parallelograms, triangles, diamonds or rectangles. After baking, a syrup, which may include honey, rosewater, or orange flower water, is poured over the cooked baklava and allowed to soak.
Baklava is usually served at room temperature, and is often garnished with nuts that have been ground up.
Regional variations
Algeria
is called Baklawa. In most Algerian regions, Baklava is the centerpiece of any sweets table. This type of Baklava originates in the Algerian city of Constantine. The Algerian Baklava is distinct in that filo dough is not used. Instead, they use another type of thin dough called malsouka or warqa and instead of walnuts or pistachios they use almonds.Like other forms of baklava, the layered pastry is cut into diamond-shaped pieces and has one almond placed on top of each piece before being baked. It is then soaked in a syrup of honey, sugar, and lemon juice.
Syria
In Syrian cuisine, baklava or warbat, is a dessert mostly served on special occasions like Eid al-Fitr, or Syrian Christmas. Syrian baklava is made of 24 layers of buttered phyllo dough, a filling of either chopped pistachios or chopped walnuts and a syrup consisting of sugar, orange blossom water, and lemon juice. Syrian baklava comes in many shapes, but the diamond shape is the most common one. Syrian warbat consists of layers of phyllo dough filled with a semolina based custard, though it is sometimes also filled with pistachios, walnuts, almonds, or sweet cheese. The dessert is topped with a sweet syrup made from sugar, water, and lemon juice brought to a boil and then left to cool and thicken. A Syrian baklava recipe was introduced to the Turkish city of Gaziantep in 1871 by Çelebi Güllü, who had learned the recipe from a chef in the city of Damascus which transformed into the Gaziantep baklava we know today. The butter used in Syrian baklava is a type of dairy-based clarified butter or ghee called samneh.Armenia
Armenian baklava, known in Armenian as pakhlava is made of layers of phyllo dough, a filling of cinnamon-spiced chopped walnuts, and a syrup made from cloves, cinnamon, lemon juice, sugar and water. It is diamond-shaped and often has either one hazelnut, almond, or half a walnut placed on each piece. It is often served at special occasions like Armenian Christmas or Armenian Easter.Armenian baklava has some variations on how many phyllo layers are supposed to be used. One variation uses 40 sheets of dough to align with the 40 days of Lent Jesus spent in the desert where he fasted. Another variation is similar to the Greek style of baklava, which is supposed to be made with 33 dough layers, referring to the years of Jesus's life.
The city of Gavar makes Its own version of baklava. It is made with 25 dough layers, has a filling of cleaned and dried chopped walnuts, sugar and a syrup that is poured over the finished baklava consisting of honey and flowers. This type of baklava used to be prepared in the then-Armenian city of Bayazet, but the people living there immigrated to Gavar and surrounding regions in 1830.
The tradition of pakhlava preparation in Kyavar is included in the intangible cultural heritage list of Armenia.