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TEXT: Melih Uslu PHOTOGRAPHS: Barış Hasan Bedir
Baklava, which will whet’s everyone’s appetite with its well-roasted, golden yellow color and delicious smell, resembles no other sweet. As the masters of the older generation used to say, it’s the only sweet that appeals to all five senses. If you do not believe us, give it a try!
The rolling pin should be of pear tree and the firewood of oak Did you know that in the Ottoman Empire there were once military battalions that distributed free baklava to the population after the war? That a Traditional Golden Rolling Pin Competition is held in Istanbul every year and that chefs and baklava aficionados from Turkey and from all over the world take part in it? That there is a non-governmental organization called the Association of Baklava Producers? That baklava festivals take place in some parts of Anatolia and that baklava was offered until recently on international flights of Turkish planes? All of this information is actually proof of the importance of baklava in Turkish society. As the masters of the older generation used to say, a good baklava should appeal to all five senses. But the five senses have left the function of touching baklava to the stomach. Tradition has it that baklava dough rolled by men tastes better. According to another tradition, if the rolling of the dough, which requires great effort, is done with a rolling pin made of pear wood, a better result is obtained. Moreover, it is more desirable that baklava is baked over firewood of oak. Drinking water scented with roses and mint and ayran after a feast of baklava is another century-long tradition. According to experts in the art, it is wrong to think that people should keep away from baklava in order to avoid weight problems. Since the daily calorie needs of an adult are about 2500-3000, there is no harm if someone who consumes balanced meals eats a portion of baklava that is equivalent to 400 calories. Moreover, it has been proven that good quality baklava does no harm to the stomach and to the digestive system.  Dark green pistachios Complementary ingredients such pistachios, walnuts and hazelnuts, and real village butter are among the most important ingredients that add to the flavor of baklava. It is a dessert that does not tolerate even the smallest of mistakes in any of its preparation stages; from the rolling and cooking of its dough, to the pouring of its syrup. Furthermore, it is very important that the ingredients are bought in the right region and in the right season. For example, the baklava of Antep, which has a pioneering role in the world of baklava, owes its flavor to the yellow flour made of the hard wheat of Southeast Anatolia and to the dark green and oilier pistachios which are gathered before they mature. The reason behind the durability of the baklava made in Antep, on the other hand, is the mixture of semolina and milk, spread under the stuffing put between the layers of baklava. One of the most important features of good quality baklava is that its syrup is well made and poured equally over the entire sweet. It is well-known that a baklava with uneven syrup burns the throat and that it is not considered baklava but ordinary pastry. On the other hand, however good quality it may be, one must not forget that after the fourth day, baklava loses its flavor and its characteristic smell. Good baklava is supposed to smell of butter, pistachios and walnuts, and needs to be golden yellow in color. However, the saying of experienced baklava masters that “baklava is not good unless its dough is rolled with love,” reminds us that even all of the above factors are not sufficient when making good baklava.  How would you like your baklava? Rolling pin baklava, straw baklava, brink of the cup baklava, plain baklava, baklava with cream, milk baklava, diabetic baklava, rose-scented baklava, baklava with chocolate, with apples, dates, sour cherries, oranges, carrots, cloves, spinach, melons, spices or aloe Vera... Although according to statistics men seem to prefer baklava with pistachios and women baklava with walnuts, thanks to recent marketing techniques it is possible to try over 30 types of baklava. Baklava is named after the ingredients that it contains--or that it does notand according to its cut. If baklava contains pistachios it’s baklava with pistachios, if it is not served with cream it’s dry and if it’s cut like carrots, it’s called carrot sliced. Baklava in the world During Ottoman times baklava spread from Anatolia to five continents and nowadays it is produced and much appreciated all over the world; from Balkan countries to India, from America to the Arab peninsula. The main difference between Turkish baklava and that of baklava made in other countries--starting with Greece, which refers to baklava as “baklavas,” and with which we are waging a war to lay claim to its origins--lies in the thickness of the dough. In Turkey, the dough of baklava is rolled so thin that when you lift it up and look you can practically see through it. But the dough used in other countries is almost as thick as the dough used for börek. In Turkey the main requirements for good baklava are that the dough is fresh and that it is rolled wafer-thin. Indeed, the thinner the dough is, the tastier the baklava and the better it melts in the mouth. The ideal dough thickness for good baklava is suggested to be of 0.3 mm. In some parts of Anatolia baklava dough consists of 80 layers, as an old tradition surviving from Ottoman times. Turkish baklava, thinly rolled by expert hands and spread in trays, is exported to many countries throughout the world and contributes millions of dollars to Turkish economy. And which type of baklava is your favourite?
Nadir Güllü, a member of the fifth generation of the Güllü family of Antep, which has been making baklava since the 1800s, has shared with us the past and present of Karaköy Güllüoğlu, the world-wide address for baklava Karaköy Güllüoğlu, where anyone passing through Karaköy cannot help but stop, has been a fixture in this district since 1949. Baklava master Mustafa Güllü--of the Güllü family from Gaziantep--opened the first baklava shop and oven of Istanbul at No 12 on Halilpaşa Street, close to the Hasan Deposu. The Güllü family has been making baklava since the 1800s. The first in the family to start making baklava was Hadji Mehmed Güllü, known as “Güllü Çelebi” in Gaziantep. Although baklava was actually first tried out and made at the Topkapi Palace at the time of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, over time it was taken by cooks accompanying governors to Damascus, Aleppo, Baghdad, Lebanon and Thessaloniki. It was carried so far that baklava actually disappeared from Istanbul. Güllü Çelebi discovered the finer points of baklava making in Aleppo and in Damascus and began to make baklava on a small counter in Gaziantep. Following the death of Güllü Çelebi, his son Hadji Mahmud Güllü took over his father’s profession and began making baklava, rolling the thin layers of dough one by one with a rolling pin. When all four sons of Hadji Mahmud Güllü were brought up as baklava makers, baklava making became a tradition in the Güllü family. But at that time the Güllü family made not only baklava but also kebab. In the following years, when the progeny increased in number and doing the same thing did not support everyone anymore, Mustafa Güllü, of the fourth generation, came to Istanbul and opened his shop in Karaköy. That is how centuries later Ottoman baklava returned to Istanbul, to a place right across from the Topkapi Palace, where it was first born. GETTING THE PEOPLE OF ISTANBUL USED TO BAKLAVA Master Mustafa worked hard to get the people of Istanbul, who did not know baklava, used to this flavor. He endeavoured to promote baklava by placing commercial films in the Atlas Cinema, by placing ads in newspapers and magazines and hanging publicity boards at the tunnel and on trams. But of course the most effective publicity was carried out by those who tasted it. The efforts of Master Mustafa started paying off after 1953. The shop moved to No 23, Havyar Han, in Karaköy. In the 1970s one of the shops below the multi-storey car park was rented, again in Karaköy. When Master Mustafa fell ill and had to return to Antep, his loyal masters looked after the shop for 15 years A MODERN ESTABLISHMENT Nowadays Nadir Güllü, son of Mustafa Güllü, has taken over his father’s profession and has opened a modern establishment in Karaköy worth 5 million dollars. It produces 2.5 tons of baklava a day. Karaköy Güllüoğlu consists of a shop under the car park and one on the ground floor of the factory and has no other branches. In order to distinguish themselves from other companies called Güllüoğlu they have added the Galata Tower, one of the symbols of Karaköy, to their logo. Moreover, Nadir Güllü, who is said to resemble the mayor of Ankara, Melih Gökçek, has also added his logo, to emphasize that he has nothing to do with Gökçek. BAKLAVA EXPORTED ALL OVER THE WORLD Karaköy Güllüoğlu regularly sends baklava to five star hotels, passenger ships passing from the Bosphorus and to the International Terminal of the Istanbul Atatürk Airport. It also exports baklava to Greece. Among the most loyal customers of Karaköy Güllüoğlu are the Armenians, Greeks and Jews who spent their childhood in this district and then moved to other parts of the world. When they come to visit Istanbul, as soon as they get off the plane, most come to taste this flavor they missed so much. Nadir Güllü says that what lies behind their success is the principle of “gaining mastery of the business and rising high in a single area.” That is why they have opened no other branches and they have aimed to become a brand by decreasing operational costs and growing internally. Nadir Güllü, who says that he is a baklava-maker and not a dessert-maker, emphasies that he is an artisan and not a tradesman. Believing in the principle that “baklava is not good unless its dough is rolled with love,” Karaköy Güllüoğlu considers its masters as part of the family. They await you at Karaköy Güllüoğlu, to taste this unchanged Ottoman palace flavor, made with butter from Harran and pistachios from Antep. |
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sweet | baklava | Dark-green-pistachios | istanbul | Turkish-cuisine |