Hungarian Christmas Walnut and Poppy Seed Roll (Beigli)

Thousand's if not millions of Mums, Grandmothers and those talented men in Hungary are baking these rolls before Christmas year by year. We cant imagine a Christmas table without the traditional "Beigli". Many are using recipes passed down through generations, and everyone claim theirs is the best working one. Many go for the pure taste, and not shy out putting some extra filling in the dough. (most times these rolls burst out, but I do agree if you bypass the look they taste very good).

Traditionally Beigli is made with Walnut and Poppy Seed, but these days you can find the Chestnut version as well.

The pastry is a sweet cookie dough with fresh yeast added to it. The dough is first heavy, then with the yeast working and added resting time it becomes lighter.

This recipe will make 6 x about 300g rolls.

The dough:

950g Plain Flour

100g Icing Sugar

10g fresh yeast

250g Soft Butter

120g Lard (yes Lard)

2 Egg yolk

1/2  teaspoon Salt

125ml Fresh unsweetened Cream

180ml water

Combine ingredients, divide dough into 6 equal portions and wrap each in a foil and put them in the fridge to rest.

Walnut filling:

400g fine ground Walnut

250g Sugar

70g (white) bread crumb

250ml water

Boil the water with the sugar and combine. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low heat gently for 5-10 minutes. Set aside to completely cool down. Portion it out to 3 equal portions, they should be the same weight as the dough was.

Poppy Seed Filling:

400g ground Poppy Seed

250g Sugar

70g (white) Bread Crumb

250ml Water

The same way as you did with the walnut, prepare the poppy filling.

There are other optional (recommended) ingredients to add to the fillings, such as sultanas, lemon zest, orange zest, cinnamon and Rum to the walnut filling, and honey.

Roll out the dough to a 200x250mm square shape, but don't use flour.

Spread one portion of filling on the dough evenly. Fold in a little two sides, then roll up the dough to a roll. Place it on a baking tray covered with silicon mat or bake paper. Repeat with the others.

Brush each roll gently with egg yolk, and let the yolk dry up. Wait for 30 minutes, and brush the rolls with egg white now.

Cook in a 180c oven for 20 minutes. Let it cool down before cutting.

Store it in a cool place (fridge at the tropics), lasts for at least a months (if not eaten before).