How long does it take to make Baklava?

Cut the baklava into squares before baking and bake at 180°C (355°F) about half an hour; a thick pan needs lower heat and a longer time.

13 hr 30 minTotal

8 hr 37 minActive time

4 hr 52 minSetting

#	What to do	How long
1	Thaw the phyllo dough in the fridge overnight	8 hr
2	Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer 5 minutes	5 min
3	Add the lemon juice	1 min
4	Cool completely	—
5	Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) and butter the pan	12 min
6	Mix the walnuts, pistachios and cinnamon	1 min
7	Line the pan with 8 layers of phyllo and brush butter between each layer	—
8	Sprinkle a layer of Nuts, cover with 4 layers of phyllo with butter, and repeat	20 min
9	Finish with 8 layers of phyllo and cut into diamonds before baking	3 min
10	Bake 45–50 minutes	4 hr 48 min

Work with store-bought dough while it's cold: warm puff pastry gets sticky and won't puff in the oven, and phyllo sheets dry out fast, so keep the waiting sheets covered with a damp towel.
The lemon keeps the sugar from crystallizing again.
Cold syrup on a hot pastry soaks in evenly.
Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
Cut before baking: baked phyllo crumbles under the knife. The cuts also give the syrup a way down to the bottom.

A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.