Hungarian Heritage Review, 1987 (16. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-03-01 / 3. szám
HUNGARIAN HOLIDAY PASTRY 4 cups (1 pound) sifted flour, plus 1 cup for dusting, plus 1 tablespoon Pinch of salt 1/2 cup milk 1 1-ounce cake fresh yeast or 2 (6-ounce) cakes 1 tablespoon sugar 3/4 cup cold butter 3 egg yolks 1 to 1-1/2 cups milk 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon sour cream Make a well in middle of 4 cups flour, and sprinkle in salt. Scald 1/2 cup milk and cool to lukewarm. Break fresh yeast into milk, add sugar, and stir lightly to dissolve. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour on surface of milk. (Meanwhile, it’s important that the flour stand at room temperature on pastry board.) Break butter into middle of flour with fingers dipped in flour, so that your fingers never touch surface of butter. Continue breaking butter into smaller and smaller pieces with floured fingers until mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Combine egg yolks with 1 cup milk and add to flour with yeast mixture. Work dough lightly but surely with your fingertips until it turns soft and satiny and separates from pastry board. Add up to 1/2 cup additional milk, if needed. Divide dough into four pieces and form each into a well-shaped round. Sprinkle lightly with flour and let dough rest on floured pastry board, under a kitchen towel, for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size. Lightly roll out each round of dough to a rectangle about 10-by-14 inches. Spread with half the nut filling (see recipe below). Roll up jelly-roll fashion and place on a buttered and floured cookie sheet. Brush with mixture of egg yolk and sour cream. Make another roll with remaining nut filling, then make two poppyseed rolls (see recipe for poppyseed filling below) Let four rolls rise again, covered lightly with a towel, for 2 hours. Brush again with mixture of egg yolk and sour cream. Cover, and let rise again for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake about 45 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool slowly and let stand overnight at room temperature. Yield: 4 rolls, all ready for slicing. This pastry will improve in a couple of days and may be kept, loosely covered with a clean towel, for 3 or 4 days. You also may freeze it successfully, wrapping it first in plastic, and then in aluminum foil. When you reheat, be sure to remove the plastic. WALNUT FILLING 8-ounces (about 2 cups) finely ground (not chopped) walnuts 3/4 cup sugar 2 to 3 tablespoons bread crumbs 1 cup milk 2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon each grated orange and lemon rind 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 2 tablespoons white raisins, soaked 30 minutes in 1/2 cup boiling water and patted dry 2 tablespoons minced, candied fruit (or an additional 1/4 cup raisins) 2 tablespoons rum or 2 tablespoons water with a couple of drops of rum extract Combine nuts, sugar, bread crumbs, milk, honey, grated orange and lemon rind, cinnamon and cloves in a small heavy saucepan, and cook over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in raisins, candied fruit and rum. Cool before using as filling. If too stiff, add a few tablespoons warm water. Yield: filling for 2 rolls. POPPYSEED FILLING 12-ounce can Solo brand poppyseed filling 2 tablespoons honey Small pinch of cinnamon 1 teaspoon each grated orange and lemon rind 2 tablespoons white raisins, soaked 30 minutes in 1/2 cup boiling water and patted dry 2 tablespoons minced candied fruit (or an additional 2 tablespoons raisins) Combine all ingredients well. Yield: filling for 2 rolls. Note: If you dislike sweet fillings, there are other possibilities with this same dough. For instance, make a ham roll as an excellent appetizer. For each quarter of the basic dough, grind 1 cup ham cubes or bits and scraps, and combine with 1 beaten egg, a pinch of pepper, and 1/2 cup sour cream. Or use ground Hungarian smoked sausage instead of the ham. 20 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW MARCH 1987
