8 Compelling Reasons Not to Make Baklava, the Famous Greek Dessert, at Home
Wanting to impress your sweetie for Valentine’s Day? Stay away from making baklava. It’s too damn difficult!
A Luscious Pan of Freshly Baked Baklava
8 reasons why making baklava isn't worth the effort:
1.Filo dough is tough to work with. Not only do you have to thaw it carefully, it’s often too damp or too dry. Too dry? It can easily shatter into a 1000 pieces. Too damp? It’ll stick together creating a dough ball rather than a nice sheet of thin dough.
2.You only have a short time horizon in which to handle the dough. Even if it’s the perfect consistency when you begin layering it, it’ll dry out before you can say, “Jack rabbit.” You need to cover it with plastic wrap or a damp towel to prevent it from drying out. Constantly removing and replacing the cover is a pain in the ass!
3.Besides dealing with the challenges of the filo dough, you need to babysit the melted butter. It can harden quickly. Working by the microwave to re-melt the butter is the best solution.
4.Who likes sticky hands! Between all of the syrup, honey and butter, your hands and your kitchen will be covered with a gooey mess.
5.Are you good at geometry? You have to be good at it to cut the tray of goodness into parallelograms (or diamond shapes). Mess up and you’ve got waste. Who wants to serve odd-shaped baklava? Not I.
6.Your weight regime will go to ruin. After you bake your pan of deliciousness, you’ll want to serve your friends and family perfectly shaped pieces of baklava. Not wanting to throw out the uneven pieces and ends around the perimeter of the pan, you’ll end up feasting on them in quick order. Every time I baked a batch, I gained 5 pounds from eating the pieces not fit for company.
7.Additionally, the overall quantity is too much for a single person, couple, or small family. It’s best fresh, but it’s easy to overindulge when a tempting tray of baklava is lurking in your kitchen.
8.Beware of family discord. Anyone who wasn’t on your list to get your homemade baklava will suffer from rejection. He or she will ruminate over the possible reasons for being left off “the list.” Expect to alienate friends and family members if you make baklava and don’t share it widely.
The author is a seasoned baker of baklava for holidays. She has experienced the trials, tribulations, and anguish associated with baklava hazards. She urges you to buy baklava one piece at a time rather than bake a whole tray of it, but if you’re so inclined, use the tips above to have an easier time of it.
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