In the '60s, foodies discovered phyllo. In the '70s, they started to get a little tired of it.

Understandably. They'd made pan after pan of baklava and spanakopita. They invented all sorts of flaky brie balls and cunning hors d'oeuvre cups in their quest to take phyllo to the limit.

So when California cuisine exploded onto the scene in the '80s, phyllo was ungraciously ignored, like the guest who shows up at the party a couple of hours before the crowd. But foodies actually had gotten nowhere near the end of its possibilities.

It turns out that there are more shapes for this paper-thin pastry than they'd ever tried, and more cooking techniques. You don't have to butter each sheet of dough, for instance; you can get the phyllo to butter itself. These days, you can buy flavored and colored phyllos, which expand the horizons further. Even in the tradition-minded Middle East, cooks have experimented with new ideas for baklava fillings.

The tradition is far more various than we knew in the first place. Cooks in the '70s usually drenched their baklava with syrup (or honey, though it's not as traditional as syrup), but the favorite baklava in Turkey is "dry" baklava (kuru baklava), a crisp, lightly syruped variety associated with the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep. All over the country, you find kuru baklava shops run by a Gaziantep family named Gulluoglu.

In Gaziantep itself, many connoisseurs think the best baklava comes from the shop of Burhan Cagdas. Because this is the pistachio capital of Turkey, Cagdas' window (like the window of every other pastry shop in town) is more or less green, from ordinary baklava with a mossy tone blushing through the pastry to lurid green cylinders called dolama, which are just a whole lot of sweet pistachio paste wrapped up in a single sheet of phyllo.

There's the familiar baklava cut into diamond shapes, each a plump golden mound shading to tan at the top, and there's havuc dilimi (carrot-shaped) baklava, cut in narrow pie wedges about 9 inches long; the different shape means the top bakes up higher and crisper. Sobiyet is like a triangular borek stuffed with walnuts and pastry cream.

Gaziantep has its own version of bulbul yuvasi (nightingales' nests). In Istanbul, these are cigar-shaped pistachio baklavas coiled into circles and sprinkled with more pistachios in the middle of the "nest." In Gaziantep, the "cigars" are rolled empty, without a filling, to make them extra-crisp, and they're crowded into the pan with each "nest" resting partly on its neighbor to the left. And that's just the beginning of the shapes.

It's fascinating to watch a traditional phyllo factory at work. Some workers make dough with a little oil in it, knead it hard and divide it into golf balls. Others roll each ball into a circular sheet and stack up a dozen of them, putting plenty of cornstarch between the layers to absorb the moisture that will be forced out of the dough when the stack is rolled.

Then they roll the whole stack several times until the sheets are paper-thin, separating them and dusting them with more cornstarch every time. Phyllo also can be made by stretching the dough on a table or by a combination of rolling and stretching. The process is much easier today, but it still involves a lot of cornstarch.

This laborious product was probably invented by the chefs of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, who had plenty of time on their hands. Baklava actually predates phyllo -- east of Turkey, there are primitive baklavas made with plain old noodle paste, seven layers of dough to six of ground nuts. Baklava appears to be the Central Asian idea of layered bread meeting the Middle Eastern idea filling a baked pastry with nuts.

The Middle East has remained loyal to the nut filling, while central Europe has preferred to stuff its strudels with fruit. This may be because only one fruit, the date, is associated with pastry in the Middle East, but it's also true that fruit fillings are moist and tend to undermine the hard-won delicate crispness of a perfect baklava.

However, novel fillings are being tried in that part of the world, including coconut, candied orange zest, candied cherries and even pineapple preserves.

And the availability of chocolate phyllo opens a whole new dimension in baklava. Chocolate with peanuts! Chocolate with coconut! In effect, you could re-create your favorite candy bar wrapped in an ethereal flaky pastry.

Packet Baklava (Bohca Baklava)

Makes 40 pieces

1 (26-sheet) package phyllo

3/4 cup crushed pistachios

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter

SYRUP:

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups water

juice of 1 lemon

Thaw phyllo and unroll. Put 13 sheets on work surface and cover rest with very slightly dampened cloth. Using very sharp knife, cut phyllo into 20 (3-inch) squares, discarding 1 inch trim from short side. Fold 4 corners of each square to meet in center, making envelope. Set squares in 17-inch-by-12-inch jellyroll pan. Repeat with remaining 13 sheets phyllo. Divide pistachios among packets.

Heat butter in small saucepan until hot to the touch. Pour butter into pan, making sure it gets to every part. Bake at 400 degrees until done, about 20 minutes.

To make syrup, dissolve sugar in water. Add lemon juice and boil 2 minutes. Set aside.

To assemble, remove phyllo from oven. Tip pan to drain off excess butter.

Return tray to oven 1 minute, then remove from oven. Just before serving, pour boiling syrup into tray.

Active work time: 30 minutes; total preparation time: 2 hours

Each piece: 153 calories; 130 milligrams sodium; 19 milligrams cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.04 gram fiber

-- Adapted from "Turk Tatli Sanati" by Necip (Erturk) Usta (Remzi Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1988)

Chocolate Baklava

Makes 48 pieces

SYRUP:

3 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 cloves

juice of 1 orange

FILLING:

2 1/2 cups chopped almonds

2 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons brandy

1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

ASSEMBLY:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 pound chocolate phyllo

To make syrup, boil sugar, water, lemon juice, cloves and orange juice until 3 1/2 cups liquid remain, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

To make filling, mix almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, brandy and chocolate chips.

To assemble, melt butter and brush over sides and bottom of 17-inch-by-12-inch jellyroll pan.

Thaw phyllo and unroll. Set aside 10 sheets for top layer. Place 6 to 8 sheets in pan, brushing each layer with butter. Sprinkle with 1/2 of filling. Cover with 3 sheets phyllo, brushing each with butter. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 of filling. Top with reserved 10 sheets, brushing each with butter.

Cut through baklava nearly to pan with sharp knife to make 48 diamond shapes.

Bake at 350 degrees 45 minutes. Remove from oven and pour syrup over while still hot.

Active work time: 40 minutes; total preparation time: 2 hours

Each piece: 235 calories; 93 milligrams sodium; 10 milligrams cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.64 gram fiber

-- From St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Los Angeles

Baklava with Coconut Filling

Makes 48 pieces

COCONUT FILLING:

3 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon water

PASTRY:

1 (26-sheet) package phyllo

1 cup clarified butter

SYRUP:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

juice of 1/2 lemon

To make filling, mix coconut, sugar and water. Thaw phyllo and unroll. Separate 13 layers of phyllo, brush with melted butter and stack up in 17-inch-by-12-inch jellyroll pan. Spread with coconut filling.

Repeat with remaining phyllo and butter. Cut diamond pattern in pastry with sharp knife, cutting down to tray. Bake at 400 degrees until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes.

To make syrup, boil sugar, water and lemon juice 2 minutes.

When baklava is done, remove from oven and add syrup to tray while hot. Serve when cool.

Active work time: 25 minutes; total preparation time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Each piece: 117 calories; 94 milligrams sodium; 10 milligrams cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.11 gram fiber

Baklava With Orange-Peel Filling (Portakalli Baklava)

Makes 48 pieces

PASTRY:

1 (26-sheet) package phyllo

ORANGE-PEEL FILLING:

peel of 9 oranges

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups water

SYRUP:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups water

reserved 1/2 cup syrup from orange peel

juice of 1/4 lemon

ASSEMBLY:

2 cups clarified butter

Thaw phyllo and unroll. Separate 3 sheets of phyllo and keep rest covered with lightly dampened cloth.

To make filling, boil peel, sugar and water 30 minutes. Drain peel well and reserve peel and 1/2 cup syrup.

To make syrup, boil sugar, water, syrup and lemon juice 2 minutes.

Divide orange-peel filling in 8 equal parts. Spread 1 part along short (12-inch) edge of sheets and roll up. Place roll in 17-inch-by-12-inch jellyroll pan with sides at least 1 inch high. Repeat with remaining sheets of phyllo and orange-peel filling. Using sharp knife, make 5 cuts across rolls, making 48 pieces.

Heat butter in small saucepan until hot to the touch and spread to all parts of the tray. Bake at 400 degrees until lightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes.

When baklava is done, remove baking dish from oven and drain off excess butter. Just before serving, pour in remaining syrup.

Active work time: 45 minutes; total preparation time: 2 1/2 hours

Each piece: 130 calories; 42 milligrams sodium; 21 milligrams cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0 fiber

-- Adapted from "Turk Tatli Sanati"

Pub Date: 08/04/99