Classic Greek Baklava

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and butter a 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) baking pan.
2. In a bowl, combine the chopped walnuts, breadcrumbs, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set the filling aside.
3. If your phyllo sheets are larger than the pan, trim them to size with a sharp knife, stacking the trimmings to use in the middle layers. Keep the stack of phyllo covered with a lightly damp kitchen towel at all times while you work — phyllo dries and cracks within minutes of being exposed to air, and dry sheets will shatter instead of folding cleanly.
4. Lay one phyllo sheet in the bottom of the pan and brush it lightly but thoroughly with melted butter, working out to the edges and corners. Repeat with 7 more sheets, buttering each one, to build the base — you should have 8 buttered layers before you add any filling.
5. Sprinkle about a third of the walnut filling evenly over the phyllo base. Layer 4 more buttered phyllo sheets on top of the filling.
6. Repeat the pattern twice more: a third of the filling, then 4 buttered phyllo sheets — using up all the filling across the middle of the pastry.
7. Finish with a final stack of 8 phyllo sheets on top, buttering each one, including a generous final coat of butter over the very top sheet.
8. Using a sharp knife, cut the baklava all the way through to the bottom of the pan in a diamond or square pattern before baking — cutting cold, unbaked layers gives you clean lines that baking alone won't. Chilling the pan in the fridge for 10–15 minutes first firms the butter and makes this cut cleaner.
9. Bake on a lower oven rack for about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes, until the top is deeply golden and the layers look crisp all the way through. If the top browns too quickly, tent it loosely with foil for the remaining bake time.
10. While the baklava bakes, make the syrup: combine the sugar, water, cinnamon stick, and lemon zest in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Let it simmer, without stirring again, for about 8–10 minutes until slightly thickened.
11. Remove the syrup from the heat, stir in the honey and lemon juice, and let it cool to room temperature (stirring hot syrup after it starts boiling, or adding honey while it's still boiling hard, can make it turn grainy instead of glossy).
12. As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven, slowly ladle the cooled syrup over the hot pastry, working across the whole pan and along the pre-cut lines so it soaks in evenly.
13. Let the baklava sit uncovered at room temperature for at least 4 hours, and ideally overnight, so the syrup has time to fully absorb into every layer.
14. Re-cut along the original lines to separate the pieces fully, and serve at room temperature.