Exposition is Inevitable: Old Family Recipes

This is what it looks like outside today:

That's the fish pond over there on the left, with the bubblers to keep it oxygenated. So I figured today would be the day to make the nut roll.

Okay, it's six nut rolls, but still.

This recipe comes from my mom's ~~grandmother~~ Aunt Jo and is Croatian in origin. The theme: I need bigger bowls:

Proof three packets of yeast, you say? The bowl was full-full by the time I was ready to add it to the mixture, and I put the plate under it just in case it spilled over in the meantime.

So yeah, you start with proofing three packets of yeast with a teaspoon of sugar and half a cup of warm water. But really you start with putting two pounds of pecans (or walnuts, but pecans are better) in the food processor, one pound at a time if your food processor is small like mine. You run them through that till they're finely ground, then put them in a bowl with a cup of sugar and a cup of brown sugar. I had to up-size that bowl, too. They can sit like that while you get the rest of the stuff ready, but you're eventually going to add a stick of melted better and half a can of evaporated milk or so.

Back to the dough.

So you put eight cups of flour in a big bowl. I used the biggest bowl I've got, a giant Pyrex mixing bowl, and I really wanted a bigger one. Add to that a cup of sugar and a half a teaspoon of salt, and then cut in a pound of butter.

Yes, I've already mentioned five sticks of butter at this point. Apologies to everyone I know who's trying to lose (or keep off) weight.

Once you've got the flour mixture crumbly, add the yeast mixture, a can of evaporated milk (12 oz.), and six egg yolks. At this point it's really easier to mix with your hands, and you're going to knead it all together until the dough comes off both your hands and the bowl. You may need to add a bit more flour. The recipe says you can refrigerate the dough overnight if needed, but I've never seen anyone not just roll it out straight away.

Now you're going to go back and finish mixing the nut mixture; add the melted stick of butter and half a can of evaporated milk, and then add as much more of the milk as you need to get the mixture spreadable.

Divide the dough into six parts. Roll one part out into about a nine by twelve inch rectangle and spread with a sixth of the nut mixture.

Roll it up long-ways and put it on a greased (or lined) cookie sheet. Mom fits three on a pan somehow, but I went with two.

These are going to bake at 350F for thirty to thirty-five minutes; ten minutes before they're done, you brush them with an egg glaze (one egg plus two tablespoons of water) and then bake until they're golden. Accept that they're going to split; I don't know yet how to prevent this, but I suspect it has to do with the yeast, so different a rolling tightness or possibly even just cookie sheets without sides might make a difference.

The nice thing about pan lining paper is you can just kinda slide it off the pan onto the counter once they've cooled a bit.

If you're going to eat it right away, dust the top with powdered sugar. Otherwise you can wrap them in plastic wrap, then foil, then put them in freezer bags to freeze.

The recipe as I've got it from Mom:

Croation Nut Roll from Millie Krilich (~~note: I don't actually know who Millie Krilich is, since that wasn't my Mom's grandma~~ Mom said Millie was the friend Aunt Jo got the recipe from - she tried a bunch of them, and this was the one she liked best)

First - mix 3 pkgs. dry yeast in 1/2 cup warm water in a small warm bowl & add 1 tsp. sugar & set this aside while you're mixing the items below:
Use large mixing bowl - cut together

8 cups flour
1 lb. butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

When you've got the mixture above crumbly, add:

1 can Milnot (evaporated milk)
6 egg yolks
& the yeast mixture

Knead to a nice smooth dough. Add more flour if necessary. You can knead right in the bowl till it leaves fingers and bowl. Or knead on floured place on table.

Cover bowl & refrigerate over night or you can roll out immediately.

Divide into 6 balls. Roll out to about a 9 x 12 inch size (approximately). Spread filling (ingredients below) on rolled out dough. Roll with finger tips to make a tight, small roll. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees (usually can fit three to a sheet) for about 35 minutes. 10 minutes before they are done, brush with the following glaze: 1 egg beaten with 2 T water. Put back in oven till light browned.

Mix: