2½poundsAll-purpose flourplus more for shaping - may need less
1eggfor egg wash
1tablespoonsugaroptional - for sprinkling on top before baking
Nut Filling
4½cupswalnutsfinely ground, see instructions -
¾-1cupsugardepending on sweetness desired - 150-200g
6egg whites
1tablespoonmilkonly if needed to make filling spreadable
Instructions
Sweet Dough
Before you begin, set out yeast, eggs and milk to get to room temperature.
Warm milk to about 100°F (38°C). Mix in the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Using your fingers to help dissolve the yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes or until foamy.
In a standing mixer (or you can do it by hand - it will just take longer) with a dough hook, add the remaining sugar, egg yolks, butter, salt and yeast mixture and blend briefly. As mixer is going, add in the flour, 1 cup or so at a time until it forms a sticky dough. Do not add too much. The dough should come together but still be slightly sticky. This will help reduce splitting.
Form into a ball in the mixing bowl and cover and sit in a warm place for 2 hours.
While dough is rising, prepare your filling (recipe below).
Place dough out on a floured surface and knead gently. Divide your dough into 8 equal balls.
Work with one or two at a time, keeping the others covered so they don't dry out. Roll each ball into approximately an 8" x 12" (20cm x 30cm) rectangle (or as we did, just a rough circle about 12" in diameter), making sure the long edge is in front of you. Feel free to go slightly bigger. Dough should be fairly thin.
Spread ⅛ of the filling onto the rolled out dough, to within ½-inch of the edge. How I do this is weigh the filling and divide by 8. Then use that weighted amount for each roll. You can eyeball it, but when I have done that, I sometimes run out of filling!
With the long side in front of you, roll up gently (not too tight) and pinch the seams shut. Place on prepared baking sheets, 4 rolls per sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Repeat with all eight pieces of dough.
Let sit 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 340°F (170°C). Brush rolls with egg wash (just blend up the egg a bit in a small bowl) and sprinkle sugar on top, if using. Then bake rolls on middle racks 25-30 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Start checking on them after 20 minutes. You don't want the bottoms to get too dark.
Cool completely before slicing. I usually get about 10 pieces from each roll. This note is important because my hubby is known to cut himself a slice that is about 1/4th of the roll! Wrap leftovers tightly in plastic wrap, foil or airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 1 week. The nut rolls can be frozen by wrapping in plastic wrap, then again in foil, and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Nut Filling
If grinding your own walnuts, I find it best to use a food processor and add a few tablespoons of the sugar while processing to absorb a bit of the oils. This allows you to grind fairly fine without it turning into a paste. Pulse gently at the end and don't take it too far.
Mix together the ground walnuts, remaining sugar and egg whites until you get a spreadable paste. Only add the milk if it is too thick to spread. Set aside until ready to use.