• Melt butter slowly over low heat. Let butter rest for two or three minutes then add vegetable oil. Keep this butter mixture melted. Try 1lb of butter and leave out the oil and clarify by letting it simmer for a while then skimming off the white stuff.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a pastry brush, coat the bottom of a 9” x 13” deep, baking pan with the butter mixture.
• Carefully take the phylo pastry out of the container and wrappings and open out on a counter next to the baking pan. Immediately cover the pastry with a dry tea towel to keep it from drying out. Keep covered after removing each sheet of pastry.
• Remove the first sheet and place it in the oiled baking pan so that half of the sheet is in the pan and the other half is not. Press the half sheet into the pan and brush with the butter mixture, (liberally). Fold the other half of the sheet onto the first sheet, press and brush with the butter mixture.
• Sprinkle the last buttered sheet, evenly, with a handful of the pulverized walnuts. Cover the, walnutted, sheet with another ½ sheet of pastry, brush with the butter mixture and fold over the other half of the pastry sheet and sprinkle with walnuts. Repeat this procedure of one sheet buttered, covered by a second sheet buttered and sprinkles with walnuts. Brush the final two sheets, liberally, with the butter mixture but no walnuts. Use remaining butter.
• With a small, sharp knife, score the top of the pastry, about ½ “ deep. This can be done diagonally. I prefer rectangles and I score the pastry as follows: widthwise first, with one score across the middle of the pan then each half scored and then each of these halves scored, lengthwise – one score down the middle of the pan then one score down the middle of each half.
Try cutting right through the pastry?
• Bake in the middle of the oven at 350 for fifteen minutes then reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake for about thirty five minutes longer until golden brown.
Syrup
• Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small sauce pan, stirring constantly, cook over a moderate heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and, timing it from the moment the syrup starts to boil, cook briskly, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sweetener, pour into a pitcher and set aside to cool.
• When the baklava is done remove from the oven and set it aside for about ten minutes then pour the syrup over it. Try pouring cooled syrup on immediately as it comes out of the oven.
• When cool, cut completely through on the scores to make thirty two pieces.
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