Bratislavský rožok
Ingredients
- 300 g flour
- 150 ml milk
- 80 g butter
- 40 g sugar
- 1 egg, plus 1 for the egg wash
- 20 g fresh yeast (or 7 g instant)
- Pinch of salt
- 200 g ground poppy seeds or ground walnuts
- 80 g sugar, for the filling
- 50 ml milk, for the filling
- 1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
Recorded in Pressburg's guild books as far back as 1599 and protected as a traditional speciality by the EU since 2012, the Bratislavský rožok is defined by its proportions: the filling must make up at least 40 percent of the roll's weight. Ground poppy seeds or walnuts are cooked with milk and sugar into a thick, pliable paste, enclosed in a thin sheet of rich yeasted dough and shaped by hand — poppy-seed rolls into a crescent, walnut rolls into a letter C. An egg wash applied before and after a short rest gives the surface its characteristic marbled crackle.
Method
Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with the sugar. Add the flour, butter, egg and salt and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Cover and let the dough rest for 45-60 minutes until it is soft and easy to shape.
For the filling, heat the milk with the sugar, stir in the ground poppy seeds or walnuts and the lemon zest, and cook briefly until thick and aromatic. Cool.
Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each into a thin oval. Put a generous log of filling on each and wrap the dough around it, sealing the seam.
Shape the poppy-seed rolls into crescents and the walnut rolls into a C shape. Set them seam-side down on a lined baking sheet.
Brush with beaten egg, let them dry for 15 minutes, then brush again for a marbled finish. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Bake for about 15 minutes until golden with a slightly crackled, marbled surface.
