Thread! This week I had the best baklava in Gaziantep, Turkey. Thread on the amazing tastiness of baklava, common misconceptions and new baklava trends. 1/

OK, so really only the rectangular shaped ones are officially “baklava”, the rest all have their own names. 2/

BTW, this is the first Turkish food that is on the european union’s list of protected regional agricultural products. Lahmacun (aka “turkish pizza”), also from Antep, was recently entered for application for this list too. 3/

I watched this baklava being made and the top layer of the pastry consisted of 80 layers of extremely thin dough. The # of layers relative to the total thickness is what the individual baklavacı’s (baklava makers) brag about. 80 layers is a lot 4/

Baklava makers also pride themselves in not using walnuts,
and not using oil instead of butter. These ingredients make for an inferior product. 5/

Another type of pistachio-pastry is şöbiyet, less dough, more pistachio. 6/

Very little dough goes into sarma -you can’t really see it until you get up close- but a couple of thin layers of dough keep these rolls together. 7/

There is no dough that goes into fıstık ezmesi, which is basically marzipan with pistachios instead of almonds. This is my personal favorite! 8/

These are all made from the Antep pistachio, which is smaller and more elongated than the plump California pistachio. I think it also had a more intense and rounded-off flavor, more smooth, although this is hard to describe. 9/

And believe it or not, no food coloring goes into this. That vibrant green is also characteristic of the Antep pistachio. 10/

Common misconception about baklava: no honey goes into baklava! A hot simple syrup (from sugar) is poured over the pastry as it comes hot out of the oven.
The syrup then briefly comes to a boil and I think that helps all layers absorb the sugar and mix the flavors. 11/

Another misconception: you really cannot make this with fillo dough. That is far too thick. Here nobody would even try to make this at home. The folks that make this are craftsmen and are apprenticed from a young age. 12/

The latest trend in pastries in Antep? Midye baklava; baklava mussles. This one, like bonbons, has a surprise in the middle: a dollop of kaymak. 13/

Kaymak is another product that is pretty typical for Turkey. It is the layer of cream that is skimmed from slowly simmering milk, that is left to slightly ferment for a couple of days. It is usually consumed with honey for breakfast. 60% fat, but much tastier than butter. 13/

So this new pastry, midye baklava, is sugar with flour, pistachios, butter and more butter. And (because of that) it is heavenly. Enjoy in moderation if you ever hit Gaziantep! Fin