Nazook Flaky Walnut Pastry Rolls

Nazook, also known as Nazukeh, and Gata, is a flaky and slightly sweet walnut pastry rolled around a streusel-like mixture of crushed walnuts, melted butter, and flour. It is flavored with spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Some versions also include grated nutmeg.

Nazook is common in Armenia, Assyria, (Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria), and other countries around the world.  Not surprisingly, it is popular all year round, particularly with tourists, but is traditionally baked for Easter in some areas and eaten through Ascension, some 40 days later.

This delicious, not-too-sweet pastry, which tastes great with coffee or tea – or by itself, is the bread of the month for the Bread Baking Babes. Kelly is the host kitchen and she chose these flaky, melt-in-your-mouth rolls as the challenge this month.

For me, the challenge wasn’t making them, but resisting the temptation to eat them all in one sitting because they are so good.

Now before you ask how I could eat 48 rolls in one sitting, please note that I didn’t make all 48 at one time.

I made the dough several weeks ago, divided it into portions, and froze each piece separately so I could make a little at a time.

My schedule has been extremely hectic the past few weeks so making the dough ahead of time and baking the rolls on different days worked out well.  It was also a nice stress reliever.

My Nazook is made with einkorn, fermented and enriched with kefir milk (instead of sour cream), and includes a touch of orange blossom water to round out the experience.

Cathy’s Notes:

The dough freezes well, but when you take it out of the freezer, it’s best not to leave it in the refrigerator too long before baking; otherwise, you’ll end up with really fermented dough.

I left a couple of dough balls in the refrigerator for about a week and thought the dough was ruined, but decided to try it anyway.  The dough tore after I spread the filling on it and rolled it up into a log.  However, I was able to save it by rolling out another layer of dough and wrapping it around the torn mess.  It turned out okay and added an extra crispy layer of deliciousness!

Kelly (Host Kitchen’s) Notes:

Vanilla, cardamom (and cinnamon for that matter), enhance the perception of sweetness, so if you don’t use both the vanilla and the cardamom, you may want to add a tiny bit of extra sugar.  As it is, there is only 1 tsp sugar per pastry and they are super satisfying because they are so rich.  They remind me strongly of pie cookies, but lighter because of the puffy nature of the yeasted pastry.

Nazook Flaky Walnut Pastry Rolls

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• Author: Bread Experience
• Total Time: 7 hours 5 mins
• Yield: 48 rolls 1x

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Description

Nazook, also known as Nazukeh, and Gata, is a flaky pastry roll filled with a streusel-like mixture of crushed walnuts, melted butter and flour and flavored with spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Dough:

• 1/2 tsp instant yeast *
• 1 cup (227g) kefir milk (or sour cream) *
• 3 1/4 cups (390g) all-purpose einkorn flour
• 1/2 tsp (6 g) salt
• 1 cup (226g) chilled, unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. (12g) olive oil
• 1 tsp (5g) lemon juice

Filling:

• 1 cup (226g) butter, melted (+3 tbsp. optional) (I only used 1 stick of butter)
• 2 cups (240g) all-purpose einkorn flour
• 1 cup (198g) sugar
• 1 cup (113g) walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 tsp (5g) vanilla
• 1 tsp (2g) cardamom
• 1–2 tbsps. orange blossom water (optional)

Glaze:

• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 tsp (5g) yogurt (I used water)

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Instructions

Dough:

1. Whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt. Mix in the butter and blend with your fingers until crumbly.
2. Add egg, oil, lemon juice, and kefir milk (or sour cream), and mix until incorporated.
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes, or until no longer sticky. Add more flour if necessary.
4. Form into a ball, and to follow tradition, mark with a +, symbolizing a cross.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 5 hours, or overnight. Or freeze up to several weeks.

Filling:

1. Mix flour, sugar, walnuts, and cardamom. Add vanilla to melted butter and pour slowly into flour mixture while stirring. Stir until the mixture is smooth. (You should end up with a beautiful streusel consistency, once cooled.)

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt the 3 extra tablespoons of butter and set aside. Remove dough from refrigerator and divide into 8 equal portions. (I did this and the filling by weight.)
3. Roll each dough ball into a 10 x 6” rectangle. Brush with melted butter. (I found that the filling adhered to the dough just fine without the added butter and since there is a full pound in the recipe, decided it was fine to leave this step out.)
4. Spread 1/8th of the filling over each rectangle, leaving a ½-inch border. Cover with a piece of parchment paper. Press down lightly with your hands, so that the filling adheres to the dough. Fold the edges in ½-inch over the filling.
5. Roll into a cylinder. Gently flatten with the palms of your hands. (Do this because they puff quite a lot in the oven.)
6. Cut each roll into 6 pieces and arrange on 2 parchment lined cookie sheets. Brush liberally with the egg glaze.
7. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Notes

Adapted from Mom’s Authentic Assyrian Recipes

* I used kefir milk instead of sour cream. As such, I only incorporated 1/2 teaspoon of instant yeast. If you prefer to use sour cream, increase the yeast amount. The original recipe recommends using 2 teaspoons.

• Prep Time: 6 hours 30 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Category: Walnut Pastry Rolls
• Cuisine: Pastry

We would love for you to bake along with us!  

• The Kitchen of the Month is Kelly (A Messy Kitchen). Look for details on her post.

• Post your “baking the bread” experience on your blog mentioning Bread Baking Babes with a link to the Kitchen of the Month.

• The Kitchen of the Month will put up a list of our Bread Baking Buddies at her site and send you a neat BBB award for this bread that you can then add to your post on your blog.