How to Make Baklava Dough

Ingredients

• 1 kg flour
• 2 tablespoons qatr (sugar syrup)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 100 g sugar
• 2 tablespoons ghee (samna)
• starch (cornstarch) for rolling out and dusting
• approximately 2 cups water for kneading

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder, then add the ghee, oil and qatr and begin mixing.
2. Add the water gradually and knead until you have a dough that does not stick to your hands.
3. Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
   Timers: 15 min
4. Roll the dough into a long log and cut it into equal pieces, then shape each piece into a ball.
5. Cover the dough balls with a clean towel or kitchen cloth and let them rest for 1 hour.
   Timers: 60 min
6. Dust a clean surface with starch and roll each piece with a rolling pin to get a circle about 20 cm in diameter and about 1/2 cm thick. It is important to roll the dough using starch, not flour.
7. After rolling each circle separately, stack the circles on top of each other, dusting starch between the layers.
8. Cover them with a plastic bag and refrigerate for 1½ hours or longer. You can also leave them for another day.
9. Then dust the marble slab or a clean surface with starch, place the stacked dough and roll them all together evenly to form one large circle.
10. Separate the thin sheets from one another.
11. For more of Jihan's wonderful recipes, see Tiramisu
12. To make Jihan's mini uthmaliyah, see the link Mini Uthmaliyah Dessert