🇸🇰 Slovakia: Skalický Trdelník

The western Slovak town of Skalica, located in the Slovak-Moravian border area, prides itself on Skalický trdelník – a traditional sweet pastry made of yeast dough. Although the delicacy is famous throughout central Europe and you can enjoy it strolling the streets of Prague as well as in Hungary, Poland or Austria, only the traditional Skalický trdelník has been granted Protected Geographical Indication by the European Union for its uniqueness. The earliest recipe for the sweet pastry was found dating back to 1783 to the royal city of Skalica from which it spread to the whole Austro-Hungarian Empire.

To make a traditional trdelník, strips of dough are wound onto a cylinder (called trdlo) and baked over hot coals on an open fire. The dough is coated with beaten egg whites and sprinkled with chopped walnuts, almonds, apricot kernels, or a mixture of these. It is then baked by radiant heat until golden and, after baking, is sprinkled with caster sugar mixed with vanilla sugar.

Few of us have an original mold for baking a trdelník over burning coals at home but fortunately there is a good trick to replace the classic trdlo cylinders. A tin can, somewhat narrower and taller, wrapped in foil, will serve well for baking trdelníks at home. Roll the strips of dough onto the prepared tin pressing lightly so they stick to each other and the tin.

For the full experience, play this traditional tune while prepping the recipe!

🇸🇰 Slovakia: Skalický Trdelník—Traditional Slovakian Sweet Pastry

Servings 4 traditional trdelníks
Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup lukewarm milk
  • 3 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 5 tablespoons powdered sugar divided
  • 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon butter melted
  • 1/2 cup oil canola, sunflower
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
  • Pinch of grated nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon of rum

For coating:

  • 1-2 egg whites for spreading
  • 2 handfuls of coarsely chopped walnuts
  • Powdered sugar for sprinkling after baking

Instructions

  • Pour the milk into the dry yeast and one tablespoon of powdered sugar, let dissolve, stir. Let rise for about 10 minutes at room temperature.
  • In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, the rest of the sugar, the egg yolks, melted butter, oil, salt, lemon zest, nutmeg, rum and the risen yeast mixture. Knead at a slow speed for about 15 minutes.
  • Allow the well-mixed dough to rise for about half an hour at room temperature.
  • Divide the risen dough into four pieces and roll each piece into a half-inch wide strip. Roll them onto the cylinders/baking mold (about 2” diameter and 10” long) wrapped in aluminium foil. To connect multiple strips in one trdelník, press the ends of the strips firmly together.
  • Slightly roll and flatten the wrapped strips around the mold so that the dough will stick to the mold and hold better while baking.
  • Let the trdelníks rise on the cylinders for about 20 minutes.
  • Heat the oven to 360 °F.
  • Before baking, coat the trdelníks with egg white and roll in chopped walnuts, covering the entire surface generously.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn the cylinder with the wrapped dough while baking by a third every five minutes or so.
  • After baking, dust with powdered sugar.
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