I’ve never made homemade phyllo pastry dough and would have been intimidated to try on my own. This was a fantastic window into a world I’ve never known. It was a good time.
A wonderful day. My daughter and I loved the experience from start to finish. We felt part of a Turkish family, learning skills that have been passed down through generations. Hakan acts as the guide and interpreter whilst his mum is your teacher. Both are lovely people. I know that you need longer to become experts - the technique needs a touch beyond us in the time, but we learnt to make the dough, roll out (with lots of help) to paper thin layers, seventy of them, before preparing the Baklava for the oven. And they taste great too. Highly recommend as an experience.
The steps will be explained and translated by a guide who will accompany you during your learning, and will be demonstrated with love and care by knowledgeable housewives. Despite the workshop being flexible with timings, we usually start at 10:00 or 10:30 am.
Our guide will pick you up from your hotel and take you to Sefakoy, a stunning example of a modern Turkish neighbourhood within Istanbul. Your day will consist of 3-4 hours of creating the baklava. After this, while the baklava is being cooked, our guide will take you to Aqua Florya for 1 – 1.5 hours of free time in which you can relax, shop and sightsee to your heart’s content on the sea front.
After a short 15 minute drive back to the kitchen, you will learn how to make the syrup that is poured over the baklava to give it its finishing touch.
The baklava is then delivered to your hotel the next morning once it is 100% ready, as the syrup needs time to cool and seep into each layer of the baklava.