As a few of you asked before Christmas I'm posting the walnut beigels recipe below. They're traditional Hungarian "cookies" for Christmas and Easter. There's also a version with poppy filling, but since we're not a fan of the poppy filling I only make the walnut ones every year. I took a few pictures with my phone just for myself as I was making them so excuse the picture quality. If you make them please let me know how they turned out!
Dios
Beigli (walnut beigels)
Ingredients:
For
dough (4 rolls)
1
tsp sugar
½
cup milk
15
g fresh yeast
1/3
cup sugar
¾
cup flour
1
stick and 5 tbsp butter softened
2
eggs + 1 egg yolk for glazing
1
tsp grated lemon zest
pinch
of salt
1
pack of vanilla sugar
For
nut filling (4 rolls):
Scant
1 cup milk
1
cup superfine sugar
2
envelopes vanilla sugar
1
tsp grated lemon zest
6
tbsp raisins
pinch
of cinnamon
6
cups ground walnuts
4-5
tbsp apricot jam or 6-8 tbsp honey
Yeast
dough:
Activating
yeast:
Dissolve
1 tsp sugar in a large cup of warm milk (blood hot). There should be
no sugar left on the base of the cup. Crumble the fresh compressed
yeast into the milk. Cover and leave it to work in a moderately warm
place. After 8-10 minutes, the yeast should have frothed up to the
rim of the cup.
Starter
dough:
In
a bowl, mix together the activated yeast and 1 heaping Tbsp flour to
make a runny porridge. Cover with a dish towel and leave to rise in a
warm place until bubbles form (about 15 minutes). It can then be
worked.
Mixing the dough:
All
the ingredients should be at room temperature. Sift the flour into a
deep bowl and make a well in the center, then add the starter as well
as the sugar, salt, butter and egg, vanilla sugar, and lemon zest.
Knead until a smooth, moderately firm dough forms and comes away from
the sides of the bowl. Sprinkle flour over the dough, then cover and
leave to raise in a warm, but not hot place (max. 95 F) that is
protected from drafts, until in has doubled in size (about 30
minutes-1 hr). While the dough is proofing you can make the filling.
Walnut
filling:
Put
the milk in a pan with the sugar and bring to a boil. Take it off the
heat and add the vanilla sugar, lemon zest, raisins, cinnamon,
walnuts and apricot jam. If your raisins are a little dry you can put them in with the milk in the beginning to make them softer.
Preheat
oven to 350F.
Divide
the dough into four (this is only the last quarter)
and roll up lengthwise, ensuring that the rolls
remain firm. Close ends by pushing the dough together.
Grease a
baking sheet and carefully transfer the rolls onto the sheet and
brush with egg yolk. (You can also use parchment paper, in that case
no greasing is necessary.)
Bake
in a preheated oven until golden brown for about 35 minutes.
Only
remove from the oven when completely cool. If kept covered and stored
in a cool, dry place the beigels will stay fresh for a long time. (I packed them in saran wrap and then into aluminum foil) Do
not slice until just before serving, arranging the slices like roof
tiles on a plate.
'Til we blog again! :)