The Fresh Loaf

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Yeasted Rugelach

LauraM's picture
LauraM

Yeasted Rugelach

I am hoping to make rugelach as a gift for a friend for Hanukkah.  The rugelach of her memory is made with yeast, but most of the recipes I have found use cream cheese and no yeast.  I saw some recommendations on TFL about the rugelach from "Inside the Jewish Bakery."  I ordered the book and it arrived today, but sadly the recipe is not for a yeasted rugelach.

Definitely worried about messing this up and would be very grateful for a tried and true yeasted rugelach recipe.

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I have been making these for almost 40 years. They are wonderful. The yeast is what makes them perfect. Hope you enjoy.c

Rugelach ( 64 pieces) 

1/2# butter

3Tbsp sugar

1 pkg. yeast ( written for regular yeast so must dissolve in warm milk)  = 2 1/4 tsp

4 c all purpose flour unbleached

3 large egg yolks

1 c evaporated milk

dissolve yeast in warmed evaporated milk ( 100 degrees ) . melt butter and combine with all of above yeast/milk included. Very easy to mix. Chill sealed in plastic box or bag for 24 hrs. in fridge. Divide into 1/4ths. Roll each into a circle and cut into triangles to = 16 for each circle. Brush with melted raspberry jelly and top as desired. We always use finely chopped chocolate and coconut and pecans etc...whatever you like.  Brush with a beaten egg white and  sprinkle with  cinnamon-sugar mixture.  No need to let rise longer than what it takes to preheat oven. Bake at 375 degrees for 20- 30 min till brown ...watch as your oven temps may vary by a few degrees. These keep in freezer VERY well. Enjoy ! c

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

puff paste ones but these sound very inviting.  Thanks Trailrunner

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

Dab hope you enjoy. I have eaten rugelach many times over the years at bakeries and these are way better than any I have ever purchased. I made a couple of additions as I forgot the eggwhite wash and cinn/sugar dusting !!  Sorry...also watch they don't burn...but they should be browned nicely. Make sure and bake on parchment because if the filling leaks it sure makes a mess and sticks to the pan. Please post pics of yours. c

LauraM's picture
LauraM

Thank you so much for sharing a treasured recipe.  I will feel more confident as I share a smile AND a rugelach with a friend over Hanukkah!

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

Please post pics of your rugelach. I got the recipe from a Jewish friend when we were grad students in Chapel Hill NC. She made them for us and I have made them every year since . We are not Jewish but I also make a " mean " challah and have been doing that as long as the cookies. Hope you and your friend enjoy. c

LauraM's picture
LauraM

I hope to make them Monday.  I am not Jewish, but I am cooking for a friend who is off her feet this Hanukkah.  I don't want to disappoint her children!  I love the Maggie Glezer "Blessings of Bread" book, and my friend waxes poetic about the challah and bobka I have contributed to her special celebrations from that book.  But sadly there is no rugelach recipe in it.  The family is dairy free, so I'm going to try to use some dairy free substitutes and bravely forge ahead.  But having never tasted rugelach, let alone watched a baker work with the dough, I appreciate your detailed instructions.  Thanks again!

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

fridge for 30 minutes, then egg wash them again, dust with turbinado sugar then bake.  It's rugelach time and can't wait to try these out.

andychrist's picture
andychrist

In the nineteen seventies I was handed down a similar recipe but it called for yoghurt rather than evaporated milk and the dough had to be frozen over night rather than refrigerated. Maybe it was more similar to dabrownman's puff pastry, because that's what she called the dough. But it made the best rugalah, tasted like cheese danish and had the most delicate crunch. Will have to give these another try, with all the fruit fillings I canned over the summer. (Yeah, you do have to watch for burning when the juices leak out.)

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

Yes the recipe says to either freeze or refrigerate the dough overnight. I have done both and don't note a difference in the final product so you could try either and report back..actually divide the dough in half and do each procedure. Thanks for posting your memory of rugelach. c

andychrist's picture
andychrist

because it is quite the chore to cut up frozen dough — If simple refrigeration works equally well then I'm all in, thanks!

The other thing I remember from Mrs. Graubart's recipe, the rolled out dough was cut from smaller circles and into wider triangles than the 1/16 sizes called for in yours.  That allowed for them to be stuffed like a pocket with a tiny bit of fruit such as pineapple tidbits before being rolled all the way into crescents. Maybe her style was not so orthodox but we were Reform Jews anyway. ;-)

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

The frozen dough is defrosted before cutting up and filling/shaping....I think the whole point of the freezing is just to make sure there is no dough rising action in the fridge over night. My dough does puff up some in the fridge overnight but that doesn't seem to hurt the final product. I just would make sure your fridge is cold and you place the dough in the coldest part near the back wall. Otherwise freeze and defrost just till malleable and fill shape. Mrs. Graubart's shaping sounds yum with pineapple !!  Would also eliminate the drips of burned filling...lots of new things to try . Thank you and please do post back when you make them. c

 

 

andychrist's picture
andychrist

Mrs. Graubart's method was to roll the dough into cylinders before freezing and slicing uniformly into discs that would be rolled out further and cut into the wedges. Think she must have divided into sixths, because IIRC the shapes were like equilateral traingles with one rounded edge. Her rugahlah came out very flakey like turnovers which is what makes me think that dough must have been closer to dabrownmans puff pastry. Funny but they did kinda look like Erica's Unorthodox Rugelach you linked to, in that they were more stuffed than spread. I'll have to try baking them again and take pics. Think all the ingredients are here except for evaporated milk/yogourt, will try it with sour cream instead (actually the more traditional ingredient, gasp.) Just gotta find my rolling pin, must have got misplaced when I moved.

BTW for a dairy free version, virgin coconut oil can replace the butter and thinned tahini the sour cream. With enough brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins, the coconut and sesame flavor will balance out. Makes a halvah good rugelach — a real joyva to eat, bubala!

Jersey Diner's picture
Jersey Diner

My grandmother used to bake rugelach from a yeast and cream cheese dough, but she has passed away, and I don't have her recipe. Does anyone have something that might be the rugelach dough of my memories?

Thanks.