Just like byrek, baklava starts with very thin layers of dough. Cooks brush each sheet with butter, then layer them up with crushed walnuts in between. The whole tray is baked until golden and crispy. Then - this is the magic part - warm honey syrup is poured all over the top. The syrup soaks down through the layers, making the inside sweet and sticky while the top stays crunchy.
Baklava is shared across many countries - Albania, Turkey, Greece, the rest of the Balkans, the Middle East. Each region has its own twist. In Albania, walnut is the most common filling. In other places people use pistachio, almond or hazelnut. The shape - little diamonds, cut before baking - is almost always the same.
It is sweet, so a small piece goes a long way. At a big celebration, each guest might get just one or two pieces, but everyone remembers them. Children sometimes get to pick the corner piece, which has the most syrup, as a special treat.
Some bakeries in Tirana have been making baklava the same way for over 100 years. The cook starts before sunrise, rolls out the dough by hand, layers the pastry, bakes the tray, and pours the syrup so it is ready by mid-morning. Then a queue forms outside, and the whole tray is gone before lunch.