Knafeh

Knafeh, which goes by a variety of names across the Middle East, is a popular dessert that may date as far back as the 10th century. Recipes also differ widely across the region, but this version consists of the dish’s signature spun pastry, a layer of creamy akkawi cheese and toasted pistachios. To finish it off, the knafeh is soaked in a fragrant rosewater syrup and topped with more pistachios and dried rose petals.

Knafeh was the Technical Bake for Old School Week in Season 7 of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

Knafeh

Ingredients

Dough:

• 4 cups (480 g) bread flour
• 1 tsp fine kosher salt
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• ⅓ cup water
• ⅓ cup whole milk
• 2 tsp white vinegar

Dried Rose Petals:

• 2 pink roses, unsprayed, organic

Cheese Filling:

• 1 cup (120 g) shelled Sicilian pistachios, divided
• 1 wheel (400 g) fresh akkawi cheese

Rosewater Syrup:

• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup water
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp rosewater
• ¼ tsp kosher salt

Assembly:

• 1 cup (250 ml) ghee, melted, divided
• Cornstarch, for dusting

Preparation

Dough:

In a large bowl, whisk together the bread flour and salt, and set aside.

In a measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, water and milk. Add the vinegar and mix to combine. Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture and mix into a shaggy dough with your hands. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth and pliable, about 10 minutes. (The dough will seem tough and sticky at first — continue kneading and it will come together as a soft dough.) 

Lightly spray a half sheet pan and sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into nine equal portions. Shape the dough into tight balls. Place the balls on the prepared sheet pan and lightly drape the greased plastic wrap on top. Place the dough in a proofing drawer to rest for 30 minutes. If you don't have a proofing drawer, leave it to rest in a warm place for 1 hour. 

While the dough is resting, prepare the dried rose petals, cheese filling and rosewater syrup.

Dried Rose Petals:

Heat the oven to 200 F.

Pick the rose petals off of the stems and spread them out evenly on a half sheet pan. Bake the petals, tossing halfway through, until they are crisp and dry (while retaining some of their colour), about 20 minutes. 

Cheese Filling:

Increase the oven temperature to 350 F. 

Place the pistachios on a parchment-lined half sheet pan. Toast until they are fragrant and slightly golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Using the large-hole side of a box grater, grate the cheese. Chop three-quarters of the cooled toasted pistachios, mix with the cheese and set aside. Reserve the rest of the pistachios for garnish.

Rosewater Syrup:

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat until the sugar has fully dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Dough:

Dust your work surface with cornstarch. Pat one dough ball into a rectangle and lightly dust the top with cornstarch. Roll and stretch out the dough using a rolling pin and your hands until it is similar to phyllo in terms of thinness (the dough should be an approximate 10-by-16-inch rectangle when it’s thin enough, but it’s more important to get the dough as thin as possible than a perfect shape).

Dust a three-quarter sheet pan with cornstarch, and lay the dough flat on the pan. Continue the process with the other eight dough balls, rolling, stretching and stacking the sheets of dough on top of one another, dusting a generous amount of cornstarch in between each layer to prevent sticking.

Flip the stack of dough over on the pan so the driest dough faces up. Working with three layers of dough at a time, loosely roll the dough onto your rolling pin to create a roughly 3-inch-wide log of dough. Remove the rolling pin, and using a sharp chef’s knife, finely slice the pastry as thin as you are able to. 

Toss the dough shreds with a bit of cornstarch and sprinkle them on a large sheet pan to dry it out a bit, separating the pieces as best you can. Repeat the cutting process with the remaining layers of dough. 

Assembly:

Using a pastry brush, very generously coat the inside of a 12-inch-round non-stick pan with ghee, both on the bottom and up the sides. Place the pan over medium-low heat. Gently press half of the dough shreds into the bottom of the pan and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of melted ghee. Sprinkle the cheese mixture evenly on top of the pastry, leaving ½-inch around the edge with no cheese. Press down gently on the top of the cheese with your hands, and sprinkle the remaining dough on top of the cheese, pressing down gently all across the top. Drizzle the top with more melted ghee. 

Cook the knafeh until steam begins to come off the edges and the bottom of the pastry is crispy and deep golden brown, about 10 minutes (manage your heat carefully so the bottom doesn’t burn). Run a rubber spatula around the edge of the knafeh to neaten the edges and remove the pan from the heat. 

Place a half sheet pan flat-side down on top of the knafeh pan. Using oven mitts or kitchen towels, invert the pan onto the bottom side of the sheet pan so that the knafeh slides out and its golden brown side is facing up. (Be careful when flipping; if you have added too much ghee, it could spill out.) 

Brush 2 tablespoons of ghee on the non-stick pan and return it to the heat. Slide the knafeh back into the pan and cook until the bottom is crispy and deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. (If needed, you can return each side of the knafeh to the pan to reach desired doneness, adding ghee as necessary.)

Remove the knafeh from the heat and run a rubber spatula around the edge. As before, flip it onto the flat side of a half sheet pan, then place a rimmed plate that’s slightly larger than your knafeh overtop. Flip over one more time so your knafeh is sitting on the plate. Pour the rosewater syrup on top and allow it to soak in for 5 minutes. 

Garnish with the reserved chopped pistachios and dried rose petals.

Makes 1 knafeh