Hungarian Poppyseed Rolls

Filed under: Quickbreads & Cakes
By Geri

A traditional Hungary Christmas Eve dinner is not complete without beigli. This pastry can be made a few days, even a week before Christmas so you do not have to make all courses for the dinner on one day.


Ingredients
For the dough
2 cups flour
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 egg
¼ cup icing sugar
a pinch of salt

For the poppy seed stuffing
1 cup ground poppy seed - available fresh from some german bakeries
2/3 cup icing sugar mixed in ½ c. water
1 sachet (10g) of vanilla sugar
grated rind of a well-washed lemon and lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves

For the walnut stuffing
1 1/2 cups ground walnuts
1 cup icing sugar mixed in about 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup raisins soaked in rum (optional)
grated rind of a well-washed orange
1 sachet (10g) vanilla sugar
Prepare the dough
Warm the sour cream a bit. It should be lukewarm. Add the egg to the sour cream and mix it.
Add yeast to flour, add diced butter to the flour, sprinkle it with icing sugar and a pinch of salt. Mix in sour cream and knead a dough. Make 4 loaves, wrap them up in clingfilm and let them rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours (even better, if you leave it there for a whole night).
Knead the loaves a bit. Roll them out into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle on a floured board. Spread filling onto the dough, leave out a 1 inch strip at the longer side. Fold back a 1 inch strip at the shorter sides (prevents the stuffing from coming out).
Roll the dough up and place them in buttered oven dish. Brush the top of the rolls with slightly beaten egg yolk and let them rest for 30 minutes. Spread the rolls with egg white, it gives a nice glaze. Let rolls rest for another half an hour. Prick the top and the sides of the rolls with a fork, it prevents cracking.
Bake the beigli in preheated oven at 350*F for about 40 minutes until the top gets a nice brown colour. In the first 20 minutes do not open the oven.

Let pastry cool in the oven dish. Cut the rolls into slices if you want to serve them immediately.
Otherwise wrap the rolls in clingfilm and store them in cool, dry place. You can store them for 2-3 weeks. They're very nice with a cup of tea or coffee. Beigli can also be frosted.



Prepare the poppy seed filling
Bring the water with the sugar in it to the boil. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour onto the ground poppy seed. Mix in the vanilla sugar, ground cinnamon and cloves. Add grated rind of a lemon and 1 tablespoon of its juice.

Prepare the walnut filling
Bring the milk with the sugar in it to the boil. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour onto the ground walnuts. Mix in the drained raisins, the vanilla sugar and grated rind of an orange.

Prepare the dough
Warm the sour cream a bit. It should be lukewarm. Add the egg to the sour cream and mix it.
Add yeast to flour, add diced butter to the flour, sprinkle it with  icing sugar and a pinch of salt. Mix in sour cream and knead a dough. Make 4 loaves, wrap them up in clingfilm and let them rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours (even better, if you leave it there for a whole night).
Knead the loaves a bit. Roll them out into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle on a floured board. Spread filling onto the dough, leave out a 1 inch strip at the longer side. Fold back a 1 inch strip at the shorter sides (prevents the stuffing from coming out).
Roll the dough up and place them in buttered oven dish. Brush the top of the rolls with slightly beaten egg yolk and let them rest for 30 minutes. Spread the rolls with egg white, it gives a nice glaze. Let rolls rest for another half an hour. Prick the top and the sides of the rolls with a fork, it prevents cracking.
Bake the beigli in preheated oven at 350*F for about 40 minutes until the top gets a nice brown colour. In the first 20 minutes do not open the oven.

Let pastry cool in the oven dish. Cut the rolls into slices if you want to serve them immediately.
Otherwise wrap the rolls in clingfilm and store them in cool, dry place. You can store them for 2-3 weeks. They're very nice with a cup of tea or coffee. Beigli can also be frosted.