By: Andreea
Bread, Desserts, Uncategorized, ,

Walnut and Rum Rolls

I know that cinnamon rolls are very popular, but I never found an appeal for them, I am not very sure why. Instead, rolls with walnuts, or even poppy seeds are way more interesting to me, although the latter have an extremely different texture, and are very rarely a choice of mine.

I fell in love with them when I tasted my boyfriend’s grandma’s walnut rolls, but when I asked for a recipe, the recipe was a typical grandma recipe: everything by feel. I may do that as well when it comes to savory meals, stews, and many things, but I can’t do that with sweets. So, I’ve been trying and mixing up some recipes, and this is what I made.

I want to start with a disclaimer though. This recipe is not easy, and if you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, please use it. I don’t have one, so everything that I make is kneaded by hand, and this one was an arm workout. Other than that, it is not that complicated, and they are delicious, and the dough is soft and fluffy.

Also, this recipe uses a bit of cooked dough paste – in Japanese cuisine it is called a Tangzhong. This makes a huge difference in the dough texture, it makes it fluffier, softer and it lasts like that for longer.

Ingredients:

  • Tangzhong:
    • 20g flour
    • 20g milk
    • 20g water
  • Dough:
    • 8g dry yeast
    • 450g flour
    • 45g sugar
    • 120g milk at room temperature
    • 60g water
    • 2 eggs at room temperature
    • 50g butter
    • pinch of salt
  • Filling:
    • 45g sugar
    • 350g walnuts
    • 40g butter
  • Syrup:
    • 350g water
    • 180g sugar
    • 60 ml Stroh 80

Method:

  1. Start with the Tangzhong. You need to put the water and milk in a small pot. Add the flour. Put the pot on low heat and start stirring with a spatula. Keep stirring until the mixture in the pot gets thicker, something like a jelly paste. After that, let it cool.
  2. Let’s make the dough. In a bowl add the flour, the sugar, the yeast and mix them up a little bit. Add the Tangzhong, the milk, the water and a pinch of salt. Start mixing. Add the two eggs, and start kneading until you form a sticky mess, haha. Then start adding the butter. Don’t add it all at once, add about a tbsp of butter, incorporate it and then add another one. After you added all the butter, you can put the sticky mess on the table and knead it like you want to beat the shit out of it. I used similar techniques as for bread kneading, stretch and folds, slap and folds, until it held together and it was elastic. You will have to knead it for about 10-15 mins. If you are not strong enough to knead it until it’s a perfect smooth and elastic ball, you can still save it if you knead for 10 mins and the do some stretch and folds in the bowl, make 2 sets at about 15 mins apart after you’ve let it proof. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it proof for an hour, or until doubled in size.
  3. Time to make the rolls. Punch the air outside the dough. Flour your working surface and roll the dough into a big rectangle. Mine was around half a centimeter thick.
  4. Grind the walnuts.
  5. Melt the butter and brush it on the surface of the dough rectangle. Sprinkle the granulated sugar and the walnuts. I added quite a lot, because we really like them when they are full of filling.
  6. Roll the dough to form a … roll.
  7. Prep the oven. Preheat at 170C.
  8. To cut the small rolls I find that using a knife, even if it is extremely sharp, won’t do the job easy, so my advice is to use some thread. You slide the thread under the roll and make a knot. This will cut the dough nicely, you can use a knife in case something needs refining. It is easier with such a soft dough. I like to cut mine at around 2cm thickness and I got 16 out of this dough. You can make them thicker if you prefer them like that, they will be very fluffy.
  9. Place them in a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
  10. Place the tray in the oven. Bake for 20 mins. If you cut them thicker, you may have to leave them for 30 mins or more. Adjust the time by how they look.
  11. While the rolls are getting nice and fluffy in the oven it is the time to make the syrup. Add the water, sugar and rum in a pot and place it on low heat. Stir and keep on the heat until the sugar has melted.
  12. When you take the rolls out of the oven, start pouring about 2-3 tbsp of syrup on each roll. We like to drench them in syrup, so I added about 4-6 tbsp of syrup per roll, which is why I made that amount of syrup and did not add much sugar in the roll itself.

If you can, let them cool a bit and absorb the delicious syrup, or you can do as I do and dig in while they are hot and steamy.

Let me know if you try them out and if you like them. ^_^