Authentic Baklava Recipe from scratch. Making baklava dough and phyllo at home is not as hard as you think. It just takes some time. Filled with walnuts and layered with incredibly thin baklava leaves. Everyone will beg for more!

Is there anyone who hasn’t heard about baklava? It is a well known Middle East dessert around the world and it has varieties. It is either filled with crumbled pistachio or crumbled walnuts. Although pastry shops sell both types, it’s a tradition in Turkey to make it at home to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr. I don’t know why but homemade baklava is always much more tasty than the most pricy one in the industry. It’s absolutely more valuable to serve your guests the baklava you make during Eid. I feel like this tradition will die unless young women learn how to make authentic baklava recipe at home. I accept it is not very easy to make it at home, but you are encouraged enough if you have your mother or grandmother with you. Or if you have enough craving for a good baklava.
How To Make Baklava At Home
There are two ways of making baklava at home.
- Make it with packaged baklava phyllo
- Make it using an authentic baklava recipe. The second needs more work because you make the baklava leaves from scratch but is definitely worth.
How To Make Baklava Leaves
Layers of good baklava must be very thin, as thin as parchment paper which makes it a challenging dessert to make. Several dough layers are put together and rolled out together. Instead of flour, corn starch is used to prevent them from sticking to one another.
First make the baklava dough. Mix all ingredients for dough and combine well. It will not be a too soft dough. Cover and let it sit for 20 minutes.
Second, divide it into three and make 16 small balls from each, so you will have 3 groups of balls, each with 16 balls. Sprinkle corn starch over them.
Third, roll them out. Take one of the balls and roll it out a little using corn starch. Sprinkle corn starch over it and put it aside. Roll out 15 balls in the same way and put them on the first one sprinkling starch between layers and they overlap. Repeat the same for the other two groups.
Finally, roll them out in groups to make larger leaves. Take the first rolled group and roll all of them together as big as thin as you can. Use starch when needed.

I highly recommend you to have a look at Ozlem’s wonderful post including steps and tips of making baklava with the pictures taken in her culinary tour in Istanbul: Baklava 101 from the Masters&Tips to Make the Real Thing at Home.

How To Serve Baklava At Eid
I find it interesting, but Stuffed Grape Leaves are served on the same plate with homemade baklava in Eid in central Anatolia. Accompanied by Turkish Tea or a cup of traditional Turkish coffee for sure. I guess by serving these two laborious foods, you want to show your guests how valuable they are for you. You must watch how much you eat during Eid otherwise you might easily gain weight after eating it at every home you visit.
Related: How To Make Turkish Coffee Recipe

Special Method Of Eating Baklava
Did you know there is a special way to eat baklava recommended by masters of it? Grab it with two fingers, turn it upside down and eat it that way. Masters from Gaziantep say that you must first feel the sweetness of this dessert on your palate. The bottom layer is the sweetest part of it, the top layer is left crispy. That’s why you turn it upside down when eating. We don’t always eat it that way though.
This crispy and irresistibly tasty baklava is made by a very sweet neighbor of us. When we visited her this Eid, she gave us a small box of her baklava as a gift! What a neighbor! She even gave the recipe and I wrote it down for you.
MORE TURKISH DESSERTS
PrintHomemade Authentic Baklava Recipe

Irresistible homemade baklava stuffed with walnuts.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 25 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 4 cups flour
- 1 egg
- ½ cup lukewarm milk
- ½ cup juicy yogurt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ cup corn oil
- For rolling out:
- 500g corn starch
- Filling:
- 1 and ½ cup walnut, crumbled
- topping:
- 150g butter
- Syrup:
- 5 cups sugar
- 3 and ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients for dough and combine well. It will not be a too soft dough. Wait it for 20 min.
- Divide it into three and make 16 small balls from each, so you will have 3 groups of balls, each with 16 balls.
- Sprinkle corn starch over them.
- Take one of the balls and roll it out a little using corn starch. Sprinkle corn starch over it and put it aside.
- Roll out 15 balls in the same way and put them on the first one sprinkling starch between layers and they overlap.
- Repeat the same for the other two groups.
- Preheat oven to 190C.
- Brush a round oven tray with a little oil.
- Now take the first rolled group and roll all of them together as big as thin as you can. Use starch when needed.
- Place these layers into the tray and add half of the walnuts on it.
- Roll out the second group of 16 layers in the same way and place them right over the walnuts.
- Sprinkle the rest of walnuts on it.
- Roll out the third group and place it over the second walnut layer.
- Cut it into slices with a thin and sharp knife.
- Melt butter and pour it hot over it.
- Bake it at 190C until golden, about 50 min.
- Let it cool.
- Mix sugar and water in a pot and bring it to boil.
- Let it boil for 15 min.
- Add in 1 tbsp lemon juice, boil for 2 more minutes. Let it cool.
- Pour the cold syrup over hot baklava and let it absorb the syrup well.
- Serve at least after 4 hours.
Keywords: baklava from scratch, walnut filling
Baklava is one of my favorite dessert.
Hello! What do you mean under a “juicy yogurt”? Is it just a drinkable yogurt (or in other words not as thick as Greek yogurt)? Thanks you!
Yes, not as thick as Greek yogurt. Homemade yogurt is runnier than it.
Hey, can we use normal sunflower oil instead of corn oil? I'm looking forward to making this baklava from scratch.
Hi Kulsoom, yes you can use sunflower oil.
Hello
Baklava is very popular in Albania,but I've never tried making it.My only concern is the baking time.Should we lower the temperature and bake it longer.I've heard that some bake it for 2 hours at 150 c.I don't want the baklava to turn soggy.This seems an easy recipe and I want to try it.Thanks
I have a question regarding above recipe (Baklava) "Can we use corn flour instead of CornStarch"??
Please reply I wait.
Well, you need a kind of starch for rolling the dough so that you can roll several layers of dough at the same time. Starch prevents them from sticking one another. You can use either corn starch or wheat starch but we never use corn flour when rolling, it doesn't have the same effect. Also, corn flour will probably change the taste of your baklava, so I don't recommend it.
Dear Ma'am Zerrin,
I really thankful to you u that u have replied me for my confusion I'll now definitely try Baklawa because its my favorite sweet. Sorry for my late reply I was much busy with my office work. Once again thank you for your concern and your professional recommendation.
Regards,
Ammarah Nawaz
@ Ammarah> In much, if not most, of the world "cornflour" is the same fine white starch that is called "corn starch" in North America and some other countries. Cornmeal (and masa harina in Latino cooking) are a very different thing. If what is called "cornflour in your area is a super fine white powder, then that is what you need.
★★★★★
Thank you so much for this recipe!
I'm going to try it some time no matter how time consuming it seems.
My parents best friend is originally from Gaziantep, so guess what my favourite turkish treat is.
Is it possible to substitute the butter an yoghurt to make it dairy free? I have some family members that are highly sensitve to dairy products.
I was wondering why you thought it was difficult to make until I realized the dough was made from scratch! I can't even imagine doing that, although I supposed I'll have to get around to at least trying it once at some point. Knowing that makes this one twice as beautiful! Of course, my grandmother grew up making it from scratch, but by the time I was in the picture, Phyllo was readily available in all the markets. Glad to see someone is keeping with tradition. 🙂