Azerbaijan knows how to eat tasty food. The cuisine of this people is unusually tasty and very satisfying. Some dishes have become universally loved and are successfully prepared by many housewives. Among the dishes for which Azerbaijani cuisine is famous , baklava - a sweet cake with nut filling - occupies a special place. Today we will talk about the nuances of its preparation.
Baklava cooking rules
General cooking rules, the composition of the filling and the appearance are usually unchanged and traditional.
1. The metal form in which the Azerbaijani baklava will be baked, whether it is a frying pan, a baking sheet or a special form, should be low and always densely filled with dough.
2. Immediately before baking, the baklava, molded as a whole pie, must be cut on a baking sheet.
3. During baking, it is also imperative to pause to add oil.
4. The finished baklava of Azerbaijan must be watered with a special syrup, which completely changes the appearance and taste of the product.
How to cook a baklava filling?
The filling gives the baklava a characteristic taste and is considered the most permanent element of this dish. In contrast to the type of dough, which can be either yeast or yeast-free, as well as puff, etc. There are two methods for preparing the filling: complex and simple.
With a simple method, it is enough to mix the powdered sugar with crushed nuts evenly. Here lies some danger of seeming simplicity. In order not to do wrong, you should never use granulated sugar instead of powder. This leads to a violation of the taste and consistency of the filling, and, as a consequence, the deterioration of the taste of the whole product.
In addition, it is very important to properly prepare the nuts, because the Azerbaijani baklava has its secrets. Hazelnuts and almonds are first scalded with boiling water, freed from the skin (which is often bitter), dried, and only after that the nuts should be crushed. The exception is walnuts, which do not require preparation - they can be crushed immediately. The result of crushing will be a smooth homogeneous mass or mixture, the grains of nuts in which do not exceed the size of granulated sugar. If the weight of nuts exceeds the weight of sugar in the filling, then the mass will resemble marzipans to taste and consistency.
Two well-known spices are often added to the filling composition: cardamom and cinnamon. They are added in powdered form in powdered sugar until nuts are added to the filling. In different types of baklava, the ratio of spices varies. Dry filling through a sieve is poured directly onto the baklava in an even layer.
The difficult method is as follows: a raw egg and confectionery chips (crushed cookies to the size of breadcrumbs) are additionally introduced into the sugar-nut mass. In this case, the raw egg is pre-processed in the following way: the yolk is rubbed white with a little sugar, and the protein is whipped into a foam. Everything is put together and put into a mixture of powder and nuts. Such an elastic filling rolls into thin pancakes (0.5 cm maximum) on thick glass or marble board.
The choice of technology for the preparation of the filling mainly depends on the syrup that the Azerbaijani baklava will be poured on: if there is a lot of honey, then a simple method is suitable, if sugar syrup - it is better to use a difficult method for the filling.
The recipe for Azerbaijani baklava necessarily specifies the composition of the fill.
There are several options:
• Honey filling - honey and water in a ratio of 5: 1 are boiled to the consistency of a thin thread.
• Honey-sugar filling - sugar syrup is first boiled, then honey is introduced and boiled until it is pulled by a thin thread (1.5 parts sugar, 2 parts honey, 1 part water).
• Sugar filling - sugar syrup with spices (ginger) and fruit acid (decoction of lemon or orange peel). After boiling, the finished syrup should be pulled with a thin thread.
It is difficult to find two identical baklava. Each Azerbaijani baklava will differ in the ratio of the filling and the dough, the method of their alternation and location, the proportions of the filling ingredients and the type of syrup for watering.
Try it and you create your own unique baklava.