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Kalács-Rolled Walnut Bread

Kalács-Hungarian Nut Roll brings back so many childhood Christmas memories. This is my Hungarian aunt’s recipe and Christmas is not the same without it. This recipe yields four rolls, so you can gift them to people you love.
Prep Time3 hours
Cook Time40 minutes
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Hungarian
Keyword: Christmas, nut roll, walnuts, yeast dough
Servings: 4 rolls
Author: Lora

Ingredients

  • For the dough:
  • ½ cup milk*
  • 2 packages 4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
  • ½ teaspoon plus 5 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 cups flour sifted, plus more for the work surface
  • 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter*, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 5 large egg yolks room temperature
  • ¼ cup sour cream* room temperature
  • For the filling:
  • 1 ½ pounds walnuts finely ground
  • 1 cup sugar
  • cup raisins chopped
  • 2 Tbsp. brandy or other liqueur, or orange juice is fine
  • cup warm milk*
  • 1 large egg white beaten, to seal the edges
  • 1 whole egg beaten, for egg wash

Instructions

  • To make the dough, heat the milk in a saucepan until lukewarm. Pour the milk into the bowl of a mixer. Add the yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar and let it become very foamy, about 10 minutes. Beat in the butter and the egg yolks one at a time until combined. Mix in the remaining 5 Tablespoons of sugar, lemon zest and sour cream and beat until combined.
  • *You could make the entire dough by hand by mixing the ingredients with a wooden spoon and then working the dough with your clean hands. It is a good warm workout. If doing by hand knead until the dough is smooth and doesn’t stick to your hands anymore. Then follow rest of the directions.
  • Slowly add in the flour one cup at a time. Mix together on medium-low speed stopping the machine to scrape down the sides of the bowl and incorporate the flour.  Slowly add the rest of the flour and mix until combined. Stop the machine as you add each cup of the flour to scrape the sides of the bowl and incorporate the flour. Mix on low speed until dough is incorporated. The dough should be soft and supple. If it is still a bit sticky, add flour 1 Tablespoon at a time.
  • Take dough out of the mixer and form the dough into a ball. Place into a bowl oiled with vegetable oil (when I put the dough in the bowl I swish the dough around the bottom of the bowl and then flip it over so all of the dough is covered in a light film of oil).
  • Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size (about 1-1 1/2 hours).
  • To make the filling: In a small bowl, mix together the walnuts, sugar, raisins, brandy and milk until fully combined and all the ingredients are incorporated together; set aside.
  • Assemble rolls:
  • Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or silicone baking mats).
  • Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Divide the dough into 4 balls. On a lightly floured (clean) surface (only flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking), roll out the first ball into a 9-by-13-inch rectangle. Cover remaining dough with a towel while you roll each one out, otherwise the dough will dry out.
  • Spread one-fourth of the filling to within ½-inch of the edges. Be sure to leave a bit of edge around the dough without filling. Roll up with the longer side in front of you, and pinch the seams shut using a little bit of the egg white to seal the dough together.
  • Place the log seam side down on the prepared baking sheets, 2 rolls per sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.
  • Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes. You could make 2 very large rolls or 4 smaller rolls if you divide the dough into 4 even portions.
  • Brush the whole beaten egg over the tops of the loaves.
  • Bake on 325F one pan at a time. Bake until lightly browned, about 40-45 minutes. Transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Optional: Dust with confectioner’s sugar.
  • Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

DAIRY FREE:  *Butter, milk and sour cream:
Now that I have do dairy-free baking for some of my family members, I have made this recipe using margarine in place of the butter, unsweetened almond milk in place of the milk, and unsweetened coconut yogurt (or almond milk yogurt) in place of the sour cream. The dough turns out PERFECTLY! So, you can make this totally DAIRY-FREE!
How to store: Leftover rolls can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, or placed in an airtight storage container, and kept at room temperature for up to 1 week.
To freeze: The nut roll can be frozen by wrapping in plastic wrap, then again in foil, and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Thaw at room temperature.