My Big Fat Baklava Buns

The long awaited day is fast approaching,  My big Fat Greek Wedding 2 will be in theaters this Friday! If this is news to you then I suggest taking a minute and get it together! Just kidding!  In honor of the Portokalos family, I wanted to incorporate the traditional flavors of a Baklava with the soft and fluffy texture of a sticky bun. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical combining two pastries that are perfectly delicious on their own. But I figured what’s the harm in a little creativity?  And what’s the harm in having rich buttery dough soak up the delicate baklava syrup? I didn’t need much convincing and this is why I came up with my big fat baklava buns! This pastry embodies all the flavors of the traditional Greek pastry but with an unexpected twist; after all it’s been 14 years since the first movie came out so I had to take up a few notches. 

Ingredients:

Dough (two parts)

Part 1:   Yeast Mixture

• ⅓ cup very warm water (110-115 degrees)
• 1 package active dry yeast
• ⅓ ts sugar

Part 2: Dough Mixture

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup whole milk (room temp)
• ⅓ cup buttermilk (room temp)
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

Filling

• ½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
• ½ granulated sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 sheets thawed filo dough
• ½ cup melted unsalted butter

Syrup

• 5 cups granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 tsp orange blossom
• ¼ tsp rose water (optional)
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp honey

Topping

• ½ cup finely chopped raw pistachios 

To make the dough: In medium bowl combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Let it sit for 10-15  minutes until mixture puffy and foamy. Do not proceed or use this mixture if that does not occur. Next, pour the yeast mixture in a bowl of a stand mixer and add sugar, whole milk, buttermilk, melted butter, canola oil, vanilla, eggs. Mix until well incorporated. Add salt and baking powder and mix. Next, slowly add the flour, using just enough until you start seeing the dough pull away from the bowl. Place dough in a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit for an hour until it’s doubled in size (first rise).While dough is resting make filling and syrup.

Filling: Combine sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and chopped walnuts in a small bowl.

Syrup: in a medium sauce-pan combine water, sugar and stir on medium heat until liquid becomes clear. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for about 20 minutes on low heat. Turn off heat then add lemon juice, orange blossom/rose water and honey. Mix well and set aside.

Once dough has double in size, remove plastic wrap and punch dough to release any air bubbles. Dust work surface with flour and turn dough onto floured surface. Knead a couple of times and roll into 16″ x 10″ rectangle. Brush with half of melted butter on dough and sprinkle half of filling, place about six sheets of filo dough on top of filling mixture and brush with remainder melted butter and sprinkle the leftover filling onto filo dough.

Starting with end furthest away from you, begin tightly rolling up dough. Once you reach the end, pinch the dough to seal and place seam side down. Cut edges of roll to remove excess and begin slicing dough into 12 (1.5 inches) pieces.  Place cut side up in greased pan, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest (second rise) until double in size about 45 minutes. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Once rolls have double in size bake for about 25-30 minutes, until sides lightly golden. When baklava buns are ready, let cool for about ten minutes and add desired amount of syrup to warm buns.  Top with pistachios.

Enjoy!

*Originally I was going to use a different dough recipe but I found this one online and decided to use it because it’s perfect for beginners and it takes less time than the one I normally use.