What are some tips for making Baklava?

Question

I've attempted to make Baklava just once in my life and the results were pretty disasterous.

Some issues I have questions about when making the Baklava:

• How to handle the Phyllos dough sheets? These sheets were so thin and delicate that I inadvertently crumpled or ripped about half of them with my big meaty fingers. Is there a trick to holding them for some of the clumsier people? i just grabbed it by its corners but I usually ended up ripping off these said corners.
• How to handle the butter? The recipe didn't specifically mention what state the butter should be. Should the butter be really melted so that it thoroughly soaks into the phyllos or should it be just barely melted so that I can spread them on the sheets. Also when adding the butter, I always seemed to inadvertantly crumple up the sheets below it. How can I apply the butter without messing up the bottom layers?
• When I poured the syrup into the baked Baklava, all the syrup seemed to flow to the bottom and made the bottom way too soggy and goopy. This made it hard to cut and separate into individual pieces. (I ended up eating it almost like a pie) Did I do something wrong?

And finally, the whole layering, buttering, and adding the nuts took me over an hour. Are there general tricks to that will allow me to make Baklava faster?

Asked by Jay

Answer

1- To work with phyllo or yufka sheets the key is to keep them from drying out. A damp, but not dripping, towel laid over the sheets is essential. Cover it after each time you take out a sheet. They dry out very fast and then just disintegrate.

2- The butter should be melted but not hot. Many recipes call for it to be clarified as well but I don't personally notice a difference in baklava so I skip that step. Its main purpose, besides flavor, is to keep the layers separate during baking. You don't have to spread it or work it in. Just brush it on gently.

3- The baklava is cut into diamonds, almost all the way through, before baking it. It can't be cut after it is baked and crisped. If it is cut all the way through before baking then it will pull itself apart. Pouring the syrup evenly over the whole thing will help. The top layers will soak up some but will definitely be drier than the bottom. It is supposed to be sticky and syrupy on the bottom- that's pretty much the whole point. The soaked pastry should still be chewy and distinct. Not crisp necessarily but candied. If it is too soggy then you might not have baked it long enough.

4- You can get faster at it with practice but not too much faster. It is a long process but it is fun to do with help. We make it as a family.

Answered by Sobachatina

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Substituting cream of tartar in turkish delights?

Question

I decided that my Sunday project would be trying making some rosewater Turkish Delights... I have all of the ingredients but cream of tartar. What could I substitute it with? Or can I leave it out completely?

I was thinking of lemon juice, but I am not sure about the proportions. Also, would lemon juice go well with rosewater? I would say so, but rosewater is not something I use very often.

Asked by nico

Answer

You've certainly got the right idea - cream of tartar is nothing more than an acidifier and so any acid can be used as a substitute. It combines with water to create tartaric acid.

Two important characteristics of cream of tartar are that it is (a) dry and (b) mostly flavourless. Vinegar, lemon juice, etc. are all wet and add some flavour of their own.

The substitution ratio most often cited for baking is 3:1 - that is 3 tsp vinegar or lemon juice for every 1 tsp cream of tartar. Don't use the 1:1 ratio typically given for egg whites (meringue) - the whole point of this in candy is to actually lower the pH, not just stabilize a foam. Again, pay close attention to how much liquid you're adding, and if it's significant, adjust the water content accordingly.

(Note: Technically, lemon juice would normally have a lower pH than 5% white vinegar, but the actual pH of these is so variable that it usually ends up being pointless to worry about it. Consistency is one of the advantages of using cream of tartar.)

You could also use citric acid or ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Citric acid is far more concentrated than lemon juice, you would only need to use 1/4 (25%) of the amount of lemon juice. That ends up being about 3/4 tsp citric acid for 1 tsp cream of tartar. It's a much closer substitution and doesn't change the flavour much. I believe that ascorbic acid is the same. Both are normally sold in anhydrous (powder) form, similar to cream of tartar.

All that being said, cream of tartar really isn't hard to find, it's sold in the spice section of any grocery store. One little tin will probably last you many years, so just buy one next time.

Answered by Aaronut

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Doner kebab aroma

Question

Doner kebab is a kind of food which draws every person who is passing by just with the aroma coming from the place where they make them. In a place where I live they make doner kebabs using pork or even chicken instead of mutton and the aroma is still the same so I guess it's not the meat but the spices and/or the way they prepare it.

Now the question is what is the source of the aroma and whether it can be reproduced at home. If so, how?

Answer

I think that most of the trick with the doner kebab places is simply the time and the amount of meat. The way the gyro is set up, there's always meat cooking on the outside (near the grill heat), which sends out the aroma. Since the spit is usually a metre high, that's a lot of meat, giving off a lot of aroma. Also, remember that the shop has meat grilling form early morning to late evening, so the aroma has plenty of time to start up and get around. When cooking at home, you won't be actually cooking for more than a few minutes, so it hardly has time to get started.

A minor thing, which may be related (and may not), is that in doner kebab places, there's usually a chunk of mutton fat at the top of the spit, which slowly drips down on all the meat. This could be responsible for some of the smell at least.

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