Ingredients:

For the dough:

— Milk – 500 ml

— Dry yeast – 1 tsp

— Eggs – 2

— Butter – 100 g

— Salt – 1 pinch

— Saffron – 1/2 tsp

— Flour – 500 g

For the filling:

— Sugar – 400 g

— Walnuts – 300 g

— Cardamom – 1/2 tsp

— Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp

For greasing:

— Egg yolk – 1

— Saffron – 1/2 tsp

For the syrup:

— Butter – 100 g

— Sugar – 200 g

— Honey – 200 g

— Water – 100 ml

Preparation:

Start with the dough. Dissolve the yeast in warm milk. Combine the eggs with melted butter, a pinch of salt, and half of the saffron. Add the dissolved yeast mixture. Sift the flour and knead the dough until it is elastic.

If the dough is too runny, add more flour. Be careful not to add too much, as it will make it difficult to roll out the dough. Once the dough is well kneaded, transfer it to a warm place and let it rise for 1 to 1.5 hours.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Pass the walnuts through a meat grinder or chop them using a blender. Combine the walnuts with sugar and ground cardamom. Grease the baking pan with vegetable oil (it is best to use deodorized oil with no strong flavor).

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into 9-12 portions. Make two pieces slightly larger. Now, roll out the layers of dough as thin as possible. If you’re a beginner and your thin layers tear, don’t worry, small holes won’t affect the final result.

From the larger portions, form the top and bottom layers. It’s fine if these layers are a bit thicker than the others. Sprinkle each layer of dough with the filling. Brush the top layer with the egg yolk, which you mix with saffron. Place the baklava in the oven at 150°C for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, take it out.

Cut the baklava into beautiful diamonds. Press half a walnut into each diamond. Pour melted butter into the cuts and return the baklava to the oven for 1 hour at the same temperature.

While the baklava bakes, prepare the honey-sugar syrup. Combine honey, sugar, and water. Cook the syrup over low heat until it thickens, about 15-20 minutes. After the necessary time, remove the baklava from the oven and pour the syrup over it. Let it soak for another hour.