Kürtöskalacs – Baumstriezel from Transylvania

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 350 g flour
• 100 ml milk, lukewarm
• 1 ½ cubes of fresh yeast
• 30 g sugar, of which one tsp can be replaced with vanilla sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• some organic lemon peel, finely grated
• 1 m.-sized eggs
• 40 g butter, soft
• 40 g butter, melted
• some cinnamon sugar
• some sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

Sift the flour into a bowl. Crumble the yeast into the lukewarm milk, add a pinch of sugar and 2 tablespoons of the flour, stir everything together, and let it rise in a warm place for about 10 minutes. Now add the sugar, optionally vanilla sugar, and salt to the flour. Mix everything together and make a well in the center with your hand. Add the egg, softened butter, lemon zest, and the pre-dough. Knead everything into a smooth dough and let it rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, until it has roughly doubled in size. Briefly knead the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide it in half. Either roll out each half of the dough to a thickness of 1 cm and then cut into 2-3 cm wide strips, or roll it with your hands into a rope with a diameter of about 2.5-3 cm. The rope will then be at least one meter long. Wrap a rolling pin completely, including the handles, in aluminum foil and brush with melted butter. Now tightly roll the dough string or strips around it. Then roll it again on the work surface to close any gaps. Brush the dough with melted butter and roll it in the cinnamon sugar or, if desired, another mixture, so that the dough is completely coated. Place the dough roll in a casserole dish or roasting pan, or place it on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (top/bottom heat) or 160°C (fan oven) for 15 minutes on the middle rack, then brush with melted butter and bake at the same temperature for another 10 minutes. Remove the baked Baumstriezel from the dough roll while it’s still warm and let it cool. Note: Have fun baking and enjoy! It tastes best when lukewarm! Kürtöskalacs, as the Baumstriezel, which originates from Transylvania, is a truly delicious baked good that is perfect for the upcoming Christmas season. Note: The cinnamon and sugar mixture can also be replaced with ground hazelnuts or almonds or coconut flakes.