Hungary - Kürtősh (Chimney cake)

Today, Hungary celebrates a special day on 15 March, to commemorate the revolution of 1848 for constitutional demands.

So let's talk about Kürtősh - one of Hungary's many breads.

Of course I’d heard of chimney cakes. Some time ago, I learned that somewhere in Sydney there was a café which made them, but I had no real concept of what they were.

No one said they were Hungarian. No one mentioned they were like a baked doughnut. I don’t even remember anyone disclosing that they are the closest thing to nirvana.

It took a trip to Wellington, New Zealand, and a morning stroll through the city’s Sunday morning riverside markets for me to have my first taste of them when I found a stall serving towers of dough rings, baked golden, lustrous with sugar, showered with cinnamon, crusty with nuts.

I knew immediately what they were, but no way did I realise how they were made. Basically it’s this: a rope of tender pliable bun dough is wound around a thick greased wooden rolling pin, covering its 20centimetre or so length. The dough is anointed with melted butter, rolled in sugar then placed in an open sided ‘oven’ where it rotates in front of the glowing heat-source, baking and caramelising. Think, doner kebabs, to get an approximate idea of the method.

But that’s where the similarity stops. The result is a million times better than the humble doner.

Once cooked, the kürtősh tower is released from its rolling pin, rolled in whatever topping is requested, then wrapped for the next person in the lengthening queue. Once I had mine, I ate it perched on a nearby concrete wall. It was too good to wait another moment for.

Back home in Sydney I couldn't wait to visit one of the string of the (now) four Kürtősh cafes in my town, Randwick, Crows Nest, Surry Hills and, newest, Darlinghurst. Find them all here.

Surry Hills worked well for me, right near the end of Crown Street where it meets Cleveland. Parking right outside, amazing aromas from inside, a table, coffee, what more could I want?

I shared my kürtősh (did I mention that unless carbs are your best friend, a whole one is a little daunting to consume solo) and it had the same effect on my friend as my virgin kürtősh-tasting had on me.

Although the flavour is similar, unlike a doughnut, there is a pastry crispness to kürtősh, in counterpoint to the cooked but tender inner parts. 

The café also had a long display counter of cakes and other goodies. Better still, little tastes were available and I have to say that ‘Mum’s chocolate cake’ was made by a Mum who truly knew what she was doing. None of that chemical, bulk cake mixture flavour, just good home cooking.

Now, you could consume these delicious things forever without a care in the world for their pedigree or provenance, but just in case you need a bit of history with your kürtősh, it is this: the name kürtősh comes from kürtőskalács - a traditional Hungarian pastry famously known as chimney cake. This cylindrical yeast pastry is often sold as street snacks from carts all over Hungary. Once a festive treat, now it is part of everyday consumption. If you are interested in knowing more, kürtősh has quite an interesting past. Read about it.

Serbia - Cesnica celebration bread

February 15 commemorates the beginning of the Serbian revolution against Ottoman rule in 1804, and the country's first constitution in 1835.

Serbian cuisine combines elements from adjoining countries: Greece, Balkan countries, Turkey, Austria and Hungary. Bread is vital and if you visit a Serbian home you may be welcomed with bread and salt.

A popular Christmas bread is Cesnica, often highly decorated, and shared by breaking the bread apart. Watch these videos for the authentic way to make this bread: the baking and the sharing.

This bread is also known as bozicni kolac, Christmas bread, or money bread as a coin is hidden in the dough before baking. Whoever gets the coin will be lucky for the entire year. In some families, the bread is made without eggs or dairy (and probably served for the fasting meal on Christmas Eve - badnje vece) others make a sweeter version with raisins 

However, as many of these breads are made with a basic bun dough recipe – sweeter, lighter, richer that everyday bread – I thought I would begin with my recipe and then add directions for a lovely cinnamon-sugar pull-apart bread.

BASIC BUNDOUGH

1/4 cup melted butter (65g)

l egg

1/4 cup castor sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dry yeast

l cup lukewarm water and milk mixed together

2.5-3 cups plain flour

Place the flour in a bowl and add salt and yeast and mix together well. Mix the butter, egg, sugar, salt and yeast into the milk-water mixture. Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Mix well and knead until well incorporated. Cover and leave for an hour or until doubled, punch down then use to make the pull-apart loaf.

Cut the dough into small pieces about the size of a small egg and roll each into a ball. Dip each ball into  melted butter, roll in a mixture of castor sugar and cinnamon, then arrange in a couple of layers in a springform cake tin. Cover and let rise for thirty minutes (or until doubled) then bake in a preheated 190C oven for around 40 minutes or until golden. Remove from tin and cool on a rack.

The bread comes out of the oven, fragrant and golden, ready to eat almost immediately.

 Break the bread apart to serve. Sometimes breads like this are called 'monkey bread' - possibly because of the way people use their hands to tear it open.

And of course you can spread it with butter or jam or anything you like. For a savoury version, after dipping the balls in butter, they can be rolled in grated cheese and chopped jalapenos, or herbs or spices.