Dios Beigli

Beigli is a real Hungarian Christmas treat, we bake this for Easter as well. This pastry is is basically a rolled up crust with lots of filling. Walnut and poppy seed are traditional cakes for holliday.

Since this is such a traditional food in Hungary, there are as many recipes as there are families. The dough, for example, can either be risen dough or crumbly dough. The recipe I am including here today is the one I have put together from various recipes over the years, now one of my own

Makes 4 loaves

Ingredients
1 kg white flour
200 g butter softened
150 g lard (no, you shouldn’t substitute)
80 g sugar
3 tablespoons 20% fat sour cream
3 egg yolks
20 g fresh yeast or 15g dry yeast started in 1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup warm milk or as needed at the end to obtain a good dough
pinch of salt
1 lemon zest

Walnut filling
400g walnuts (1.75 cups)
50gm sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
3 eggwites beaten
1 Rum essence
50 gm raisins 

Poppy seed filling
1 1/2 cups (8 oz.) poppy seeds
1/4 cup unsalted butter (see cooking instructions for pareve subs)
1 cup milk (see cooking instructions for pareve subs)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten

Method
One of the secrets for this recipe is that all ingredients must have same temperature at start and the kitchen should not have open window with cold air getting in, I know it sounds funny but it affects the quality of the dough to raise....

• Combine 1/2 cup warm milk with the yeast and 1 tbs sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes until foamy.
• Process the flour, butter softened, egg yolks, salt, sour cream in a food processor until breadcrumbs form. Transfer to a bowl. you can work out this dough by hand as well.
• Mix in the yeast mixture. Knead and add the lemon zest and more flour or milk to get a good soft dough, knead until smooth. Place in an oiled bowl. Cover and set aside for 45 minutes. 
• For Walnut filling, heat the milk with the sugar to dissolve, leave it to cool. Add the walnuts mixed with cocoa , add the egg whites beaten and mix softly to obtain a finely smooth paste. 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Knead the dough until smooth, then halve. Roll each portion out to a 13cm x 24cm rectangle. Spread with the walnut filling. Roll up. Slightly flatten to about 7cm wide. Place on a lined baking tray. Brush top with 1 egg, beaten.Stand 20 minutes.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

This beigli will stay soft up to a week.