Trdelník

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gstrong white flour
• 250 mlwarm milk
• 80 gbutter, softened
• 60 gsugar
• 2egg yolks
• 10 ginstant yeast
• 1 tspsalt
• grated zest of 1 lemon

To coat

• 100 gmelted butter
• 150 gsugar
• 150 gwalnuts, finely chopped
• 1 tspcinnamon, in the modern versions

Equipment

• trdlo, wooden or metal rolling spits
• a charcoal grill or a rotisserie
• or an oven and improvised cylinders

To serve

• hot, torn in spirals

Directions

1. Warm the milk to blood heat and mix it with the yeast and a spoonful of the sugar. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest, then add the milk, yolks and softened butter. Knead for 10 to 12 minutes until smooth and very elastic.
2. Knead it thoroughly. The dough has to be rolled into a long thin rope and wound round a spit without tearing, and that needs real gluten development.
3. Prove for about 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled. Grease it thoroughly, which is what lets the finished pastry slide off. Now roll the dough into a long rope about 2 cm thick. Press the spiral gently to seal the turns together.
4. Roll the wound cylinder on the work surface to smooth it and even out the thickness. The sugar is what caramelises against the hot metal and forms the crisp shell, and it must go on before baking rather than after.
5. Set the spit over charcoal or in a rotisserie and turn it continuously. It must turn constantly. Cook it for 15 to 20 minutes over moderate heat until deep golden and the sugar has caramelised.
6. Keep the heat moderate. It is done when it is caramelised and hollow-sounding and the dough is cooked through. Roll it while hot so the nuts stick to the caramelised surface. Twist it gently to release it, and let it cool for a minute before handling.
7. Serve it hot, torn apart in spirals with the fingers. It must be eaten within about twenty minutes, since it goes leathery as it cools and the sugar shell softens.

Technique

• Skalický trdelník has held EU protected geographical status since 2007.
• The Prague ice-cream version is a 2000s commercial creation with no local history.
• Kürtőskalács from Transylvania is the close Hungarian relative.

Substitutions

• A foil-wrapped cardboard tube or a greased rolling pin in place of a trdlo.
• An oven with hand-turning in place of a rotisserie.

Variations

• The plain Skalica version with walnuts.
• With cinnamon sugar.
• Filled, as sold in Prague.

History

Dough rolled on a wooden trdlo and baked over coals; Skalický trdelník, protected in 2007, is linked to an eighteenth-century count’s cook.

Frequently asked questions

What is Trdelník?

Trdelník is a bread & pastry from Slovakia: spit-roasted sugar-walnut pastry cylinder from Skalica. Dough rolled on a wooden trdlo and baked over coals; Skalický trdelník, protected in 2007, is linked to an eighteenth-century count’s cook.

How long does Trdelník take to make?

Trdelník takes 30 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 pastries. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Trdelník?

Yes, within limits. A foil-wrapped cardboard tube or a greased rolling pin in place of a trdlo. An oven with hand-turning in place of a rotisserie.

What is the most important thing to get right in Trdelník?

Roll the wound cylinder on the work surface to smooth it and even out the thickness. The sugar is what caramelises against the hot metal and forms the crisp shell, and it must go on before baking rather than after.