1. Make syrup: Place sugar, water, and flower water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring so that the syrup dissolves. Let boil for a couple minutes, until it is a thick clear syrup, then set aside and let cool completely.

2. Make filling: Place milk, sugar, spices, and salt in a sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring so that the sugar dissolves. Add the semolina in a slow stream, stirring to combine. Simmer the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened and the semolina is soft, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely before using.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Have your melted butter and pastry brush ready. Get two cloths or dish towels, moisten them, then wring them out as much as possible.

4. Unroll your phyllo on your work surface and cover it with plastic wrap then cover with the damp cloths. Brush a 9 inch baking dish all over with some of the melted butter. Brush one sheet of phyllo lightly with the butter, then place in the baking dish, letting any extra come up the sides. Repeat, brushing a phyllo sheet with butter and layering it in the baking dish, keeping the remaining phyllo covered, until you’ve used half the phyllo.

Pour the pudding filling into the dish and smooth the top. Continue brushing phyllo with butter, then layering it on top of the filling, allowing the edges of phyllo to hang over the sides of the pan. When you have layered all but 2 sheets of the phyllo, take all the pieces of phyllo that are hanging over the sides and fold them back into the pan, (some of the edges may be dry, you can snap them off and discard them), Brush the fold overs with butter. Brush the final 2 sheets of phyllo with butter and place them over the pan, tucking the edges down into the side of the pan. Brush the top with melted butter.

5. Score the top layer of the pie to form small squares, then run your knife through the scores again, cutting all the way through to the bottom the pan. Place in the oven and bake 30 minutes, until crisp and golden.

*Samne is an Arabic type of clarified butter similar to the Indian version ghee. You can purchase samne or ghee at most international markets. You can also make your own clarified butter,

Helpful Tips:
1. When working with phyllo, it’s important to work quickly to keep the dough from drying out. In order to do so, make sure you have all your ingredients and tools ready, and know what you are going to do. Read through the recipe several times to familiarize yourself with the process, this will help prevent you from constantly stopping to check the recipe, which will slow you down.
2. Never leave phyllo uncovered for more than a minute.
3. Brush each phyllo sheet lightly with butter, beginning at the corners and working inward. You want to brush it with enough butter to prevent dryness, but you don’t want to saturate it so that it’s heavy or soggy
4. Make sure your syrup is cooled before you use it. Cool syrup + hot phyllo = crispy baklava.
5. Don’t worry! It’s a more forgiving process than you think and even less-than-perfect attempts are bound to yield delicious results.

*Samne is an Arabic type of clarified butter similar to the Indian version ghee. You can purchase samne or ghee at most international markets. You can also make your own clarified butter, make your own ghee, or substitute regular melted butter. - See more at: http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/…/baklava-worth-searching-f…