Beigli – a traditional Hungarian pastry roll filled with walnuts, a real treat for Christmas!
These delicious traditional Hungarian nut rolls or beigli are something you definitely have to try!
I've made them for the first time a few months ago just to give them a try and see if they make a suitable post for the blog and we loved them so much, I made them twice since, both times to bring to some parties. Each time they were gone in a flash and I had to hand out the recipe to several people.
There are two kinds of beigli or Hungarian pastry rolls: the rolls filled with a poppy seed filling (which I have to try soon) and this walnut version, which is kind of similar to the Romanian Sweet Bread with Walnuts - Cozonac that my grandmother always used to make for Christmas and Easter in Romania.
Maybe the Hungarian beigli was the inspiration for the Romanian cozonac, I cannot say, but they are both really delicious! You will find similar pastry rolls filled with poppy seeds or walnuts all over Eastern Europe, so I think it would be really difficult to determine where exactly they originate from.
How to make the pastry for Beigli?
To make the pastry I used a recipe found here (in Romanian). I liked the fact that they used lard, I just happened to have half a pack in the fridge leftover from making this Apricot Jam Crumble Cake with Walnuts again.
I've actually enjoyed baking with lard lately, I've rarely ever used it in the past, but after reading a bit online about the benefits of cooking and baking with lard, I kept searching for recipes using it. Luckily, I have my old Romanian cookbooks, they do contain quite a few recipes using lard, it was the normal fat to use half a century ago, too bad that changed.
If you like to read more about lard and why using it in your cooking and baking might be a good idea (well, unless you are a vegetarian) have a look at this article from The Guardian, I found it great!
Food processor:
- Let the lard come to room temperature. Place it together with the flour in the food processor and pulse until mixed.
- Dissolve the fresh yeast and the sugar in the lukewarm milk. If using instant yeast, mix it with the flour without mixing it first with the milk
- Add the fresh yeast-milk mixture to the flour-lard mixture and add the egg yolk, whole egg and salt. If using instant yeast, add the lukewarm milk now as well.
- Knead until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to the walls of the machine anymore, 2-3 minutes or depending on the instructions of your food processor. Place the dough on the working surface and knead shortly with the hands. Form a ball.
No food processor:
- Cut the lard into the flour using a butter knife. Add the lard cut in small pieces to the flour and keep cutting through it with a knife until roughly incorporated.
- Add the fresh yeast, which you have dissolved in milk (or the instant yeast mixed with the flour) and the rest of the ingredients needed for the dough.
- Knead until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to your hands anymore. Form a ball.
- Place the dough into a large bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for about 40-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
How to make the filling?
- Place the ground walnuts, sugar and milk in a small pot and bring to a boil.
- Take off the heat, let cool for about 5 minutes, then add the rum (or rum aroma), vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract/aroma) and the lightly beaten egg whites.
- Mix well.
How to form a nut roll?
- Place the dough on the working surface and knead shortly again. Divide it into two equal parts.
- Roll one half of the dough with a rolling pin to form a rectangle of about 35x28 cm/ 14x11 inches.
- Spread ½ of the walnut filling onto the rectangle leaving about 2 cm/0.8-inch space at the bottom and the sides of the rectangle and about 5 cm/ 2 inches space at the top of the dough rectangle.
- Fold the sides of the dough over the filling to keep it from coming out during the baking. Roll the pastry starting at the bottom side and carefully fold the upper side over the roll, pressing gently to seal the roll as tightly as possible.
- Place it on a baking tray lined with baking paper, smooth side up and let rest for about 15 minutes.
- Repeat with the second dough portion and the remaining walnut filling.
Egg wash:
- Mix the leftover egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the pastry with this mixture and make some holes on the top of the beigli using a fork. This will keep them from splitting.
More rolls
Sweet Rolls with Cinnamon Sugar
Beigli - Traditional Hungarian Nut Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
- 530 g all-purpose flour 18.7 oz/ 4 ⅓ cups + 1 tablespoon
- 125 g lard 4.5 oz/ ½ cup, room temperature
- 25 g instant dry yeast 0.25 oz 0.9 oz fresh yeast or 1 sachet
- 150 ml lukewarm milk 5 fl.oz/ ⅔ cup
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 whole egg
- a pinch of salt
Walnut filling:
- 250 g ground walnuts 8.8 oz/ 2 cups
- 100 ml milk 3.5 fl.oz/ ⅓ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons
- 100 g granulated sugar 3.5 oz/ ½ cup
- 1 tablespoon rum or a few drops rum aroma
- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or a few drops vanilla extract/aroma
- 2 egg whites one from the pastry, one from the egg needed for brushing the pastry
Egg wash:
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Dough:
- Combine: Place the flour and the soft lard in the food processor. Pulse until mixed.
- Dissolve the fresh yeast and the sugar in the lukewarm milk. If using instant yeast, add it to the flour.
- Add the yeast-milk mixture to the flour and lard, and add the egg yolk, whole egg, and salt. If using instant yeast, add the lukewarm milk now as well.
- Knead until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to the walls of the machine anymore. Place the dough on the working surface and knead shortly with the hands. Form a ball.
- Dough in a food processor: If making the dough without a food processor, mix the flour and the lard with the help of a butter knife. Add the lard in small pieces to the flour and keep cutting through it with a knife until roughly incorporated. Add the dissolved yeast and the rest of the ingredients and knead until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to your hands anymore. Form a ball.
- Let dough rise: Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for about 40-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
Nut filling:
- Prepare filling: Place the ground walnuts, sugar, and milk in a small pot and bring to a boil.
- Add ingredients: Take off the heat, let cool for about 5 minutes, then add the rum (or rum aroma), vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract/aroma), and the lightly beaten egg whites. Mix well.
Beigli:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Roll dough: Place the dough on the working surface and knead shortly again. Divide it into two equal parts. Roll half of the dough with a rolling pin to form a rectangle of about 35x28 cm/ 14x11 inches.
- Fill dough: Spread ½ of the walnut filling onto the rectangle leaving about 2 cm/0.8-inch space at the bottom and the sides of the rectangle and about 5 cm/ 2 inches space at the top of the dough rectangle.
- Fold the sides of the dough over the filling to keep it from coming out during the baking. Roll the pastry starting at the bottom side and carefully fold the upper side over the roll, pressing gently to seal the roll as tightly as possible.
- Rest rolls: Place it on a baking tray lined with baking paper, smooth side up, and let rest for about 15 minutes.
- Repeat with the second dough portion and the remaining walnut filling.
Egg wash:
- Brush pastry: Mix the leftover egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the pastry with this mixture and make some holes on the top of the beigli using a fork. This will keep them from splitting.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until deeply golden and cooked through.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
The pastry made with lard must be extremely delicious and the walnut filling sounds really tempting too.
Adina says
Lard is really great for baking, I can't believe I didn't use it for so many years, it used to be so common back in Romania when I was a child.
grace says
this is so much better than a cake roll filled with frosting! love those walnuts. 🙂
Adina says
I agree, Grace.
Anca says
I wanted to make Hungarian beigli, obviously not with lard. :)) I forgot about it until I saw your recipe. I should have a proper look at the recipes I want to try.
Adina says
It happens to me all the time, so many things I want to try, so little time... 🙂
Marvellina|What To Cook Today says
I love pastry roll stuffed with nuts like this! One of the reasons I like baklava so much too. You make it sounds like I really must try this out
Adina says
I hope you do, if you like walnuts, you will love this roll.
Elizabeth szafranic says
The walnut beigli is just what I have been looking for.
Looks amazing. Cant wait to try it.
Sissi says
You are such a talented baker, Adina! This looks so perfectly shaped! In Poland this is also a traditional cake, but filled with poppy seeds paste. I have actually eaten it in Hungary too!
I promised myself I'll bake with lard one day and keep on forgetting to buy lard! I know many sweets taste 100 x better when lard is used.
Adina says
Thank you, Sissi. I actually intended to make this with poppy seeds as well, but then decided to use walnuts instead. Next time poppy seeds. 🙂
Nikolas says
Hi,
for the walnut filling ingredients you mention 2 egg whites but later on when you describe how to prepare the filling you nowhere mention where to use those two egg whites. Could you please clarify this point of your recipe?
Thank you
Adina says
Hi Nikolas, sorry for the confusion, I wrote egg yolks instead of egg whites. So you are supposed to make the filling, let it cool shortly and then add the lightly beaten egg whites.
Nikolas says
Thank you!
Bucataresele Vesele says
Arata foarte bine!! <3
Ne bucuram ca v-a placut reteta noastra, multumim de mentionare!!
Adina says
Multumesc si eu.
🙂
Tim says
Thank u Adina for your lovely recipes! So this pastry resembles a pastry a coworker gave to me to try a long , long , long time ago and was wonderful . The Doughwas a tight dense Dough like yours however it also had I believe cinnamon and nutmeg in it. So I have have of course lost that recipe and fallen out of contact with my friend and your recipe lookes and sound very familiar to hers ☺️ So adina the only catch is that I have my wife and 10 yr old is vegaterian so what would recommend to substitute for the lard and what would b the amount. Thank u so very much
Adina says
Hi Tim, I am so glad you like the recipe. I checked the original recipe and it says that you can substitute the 125 g/4.4 oz lard with 250 g/8.8 oz butter or margarine. However, I have never made this recipe with butter, I have only ever made it with lard, so I cannot say for sure what the results would be when using butter. Please let me know if you try it.
Kaylie says
Thank you for posting this. My grandmother's family came from Czechoslovakia and she would make these rolls every Christmas along with Kolaczki cookies. No one ever makes them anymore. They are so sweetly delicious and now I want to make them for my family.
Adina says
Thank you for the comment, Kaylie. I hope you like the rolls.
Suzanne says
Why does the recipe end with egg wash on raw dough? I know you’re supposed to bake it but for some reason that information is not included
Adina says
Hi Suzanne, of course there is. There is one last sentence at the end after the line regarding the egg wash.
Donna Hutchinson says
Can you substitute pecans for the walnuts in this recipe?
Adina says
I never did because pecans are pretty much non-existent in Eastern European cuisine. But from a technical point of view, it should work.
Katalin Illes says
The eggs gives it a shine
Janet Nyitray says
I followed the pastry to a tee and it’s so dry and tough feeling what could my problem be?
Adina says
Hi Janet. I am sorry it didn't turn out the way it is supposed to. It is difficult to say what went wrong from afar, the only thing I can think of is that the oven got too hot, and this way the loaf was overbaked.
Trudy A Herbst says
Correct spelling is Bejgli and has either walnut or poppyseed filling.
Audrey says
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve moved away from Hungary after living many years there. The hope of making beigli this Christmas is cheering!
Kata magyarországról says
Hi! This is not exactly the Hungarian bagel recipe. It's a walnut cake. Just crumble the yeast into the bagel dough and do not stir it. The fat is added cold. The amount of filling matches the dough. Brush the top of the roll with egg white twice. In between, we dry it completely. Bake at 180 degrees. The finished bagel does not look like this. It's a shame that I can't attach a photo of the original as I bake it.
Tommy says
Can I be really lazy and use puff pastry?
Adina says
You could try, but that would not be the same. Let me know, if it works.