Oh, the Zserbó-Bejgli Roll! A brilliant idea, a marriage of two Christmas classics: the shape of the bagel and the unforgettable taste of zserbó (walnuts, apricot jam, chocolate). Not only delicious, but much less macera than the traditional zserbó layering.
Here is a popular recipe for the Christmas table!
🎄 Zserbó-Bejgli Roll Recipe
This version is made with a shortcrust pastry similar to a bagel, but the filling gives the classic zserbó flavor.
🧈 Dough Ingredients (for 1-2 bars)
Fine flour: 35 dkg
Butter/Margarine/Fat mixture: 20-25 dkg (e.g. 15 dkg butter + 10 dkg fat, or only 25 dkg butter for crumbliness)
Icing sugar: 5 dkg
Egg yolk: 1 pc
Milk (lukewarm): 0.5 dl (approx. 50 ml)
Yeast (fresh): 1-1.5 dkg (approx. half of a cube)
Salt: 1 pinch
🌰 Filling Ingredients
Ground walnuts: 20 dkg
Apricot jam: approx. 20-25 dkg (spreadable, not too thin)
Iron sugar (optional): 5-10 dkg (to taste, if the jam is not sweet enough)
Grated lemon/orange peel: grated peel of half a lemon/orange
Rum (optional): 1-2 tablespoons (mixed with the nuts)
🍫 For the Glaze
Dark chocolate: 10 dkg
Eating oil (or butter): 1 tablespoon
👩🍳 Preparation Step by Step
- Preparing the Dough
Rising the yeast: Crumble the yeast in the lukewarm milk with a teaspoon of powdered sugar and let stand for 5-10 minutes.
Kneading the dough: In a bowl, crumble the flour with the cold shortening and salt. Add the remaining powdered sugar, egg yolks and activated yeast. Knead quickly into a smooth, even dough (do not over-knead!).
Resting: Divide the dough into 2 equal parts, wrap in foil and refrigerate for at least 30-60 minutes. - Assemble the Filling
Prepare the Walnuts: Mix the ground walnuts with the powdered sugar, grated zest and rum (if using).
Jam: Prepare the jam (if too thick, you can thin it with a little water). - Filling and Shaping
Stretching: Remove the first dough ball from the refrigerator. Roll out on a floured board (or baking paper) to a rectangle about $3\text{ mm}$ thick (about $25 \times 35\text{ cm}$).
Filling: First spread the dough evenly with half of the apricot jam, but leave a thin border of about $1\text{ cm}$ around the edges.
Walnuts: Spread half of the nut mixture evenly on top.
Rolling: Fold the two shorter edges of the dough over the filling, then roll it up tightly by holding the longer side, like a bagel.
Repeat with the second dough and filling. - Baking and Finishing
Resting and Brushing: Place the rolls on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Brush with the beaten egg yolk (this will give them a nice shine) and put in a cool place. When the yolk has dried, brush with the beaten egg white as well. Prick the bars with a skewer in several places all the way to the bottom (this is the secret to bagels, so they don’t crack during baking!).
Baking: Bake in a preheated $180\text{ °C}$ oven for about $25-35\text{ minutes}$ until golden brown.
Chocolate glaze: Let cool. Melt the chocolate with the oil over a water bath, then spread it on the cooled rolls.
Slicing: Once the chocolate glaze has dried, dip it in hot water and slice it with a sharp knife.
This cake can be kept for days and the taste only improves with rest. Happy baking!
Would you prefer a poppy seed version in the form of a bagel, or perhaps a recipe with a cocoa snail-like filling but with a jerboa filling?