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Hungarian Cinnamon Swirl Bread from the Bakehouse.

Hungarian Cinnamon Swirl Bread from the Bakehouse

One of the best things I’ve gleaned from working with the organizational ecosystem metaphor over the last few years is the reminder that everything impacts everything else. Which, in turn, I’ve been reminded of again by the arrival in the ZCoB of the Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter (now available at the Roadhouse, Bakehouse, and Deli). The butter is so good that it has me thinking anew about a whole host of dishes I want to revisit, but this time, with butter. Last week I wrote about one of them—the spelt chocolate chip pancakes at the Roadhouse. This week it’s another—the upcoming Special Bake of Somodi Kalács!

The name, if you don’t yet know it, is pronounced sho-MO-dee-ka-loch. If you’re not yet familiar with it, it is a particularly tasty cinnamon swirl bread that’s made in the tradition of the Transylvanian town of Torockó. The town’s website says, “‘Somodi’ is the pride of Torockó gastronomy.” Amy Emberling, long-time co-managing partner of the Bakehouse and co-author of the books Zingerman’s Bakehouse and Celebrate Every Day, shares that,

Somodi Kalács originated some 400 years ago, when the village of Torockó was a prosperous iron ore and gold mining town. The lucrative metals trade gave villagers the means to afford cinnamon and sugar, which back then were a big luxury. It was, and continues to be, served for Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, and until the 20th century, it was the customary wedding cake.

Made with organic wheat flour, Michigan honey, fresh eggs, and a sweet, buttery, cinnamon sugar swirl, the smell is amazing. The taste is even better. Sophia Gottfried, writing last fall, talked about her first trip to Transylvania:

It was easy to fall in love with Transylvania. From the moment I clambered off the small, tinny plane from Budapest at the small regional airport in Marosvásárhely, I was taken by its beauty. Rows and rows of golden sunflowers, framed by the verdant hills and rugged peaks of the Apuseni Mountains rolled by as we headed for our bed and breakfast. … I wasn’t really focused on dessert. … That is, until I tried a pastry called somodi kalács … it’s as if cinnamon-raisin bread and babka had a baby. While every meal served by our grandmotherly hosts left us stuffed, I loved the folded bread so much that our guide got the inn to pack us a honey-glazed loaf to go.

It’s much the same story all the way here in Ann Arbor. Many customers tell me they buy two—one to eat a large part of in the car on the way home, the other for the family. The Kalács is wonderful ripped right off the loaf and enjoyed with coffee. The Kalács make a killer French toast. Or I guess we could call it Transylvanian toast. The Somodi Kalács will be available at the Bakeshop, Deli, and Roadhouse this coming weekend! Like I said, they sell quickly so hop on one of the websites or pick up the phone and place your order ASAP! The Somodi Kalács is particularly appropriate this weekend for Easter. As food writer Anna Howard Shaw says, “No Hungarian Easter is complete without Kalács!”

Pick up your pair of loaves

 

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somodi_kalacs

It’s sweet, it’s buttery, it’s swirled with cinnamon sugar, and it’s back—but just for a very limited time. For the uninitiated, Somodi Kálacs is a delicious yeasted traditional Hungarian Easter bread that we learned how to make in a village in Transylvania during our trip there back in 2012. We’ve loved it ever since, and offer it as a special bake three times a year. One of those times is finally here!

It’s available starting this Friday, October 21 through Sunday, October 23. Its got a lot of devotees, so we recommend ordering in advance to make sure you don’t miss out. Somodi Kálacs are available at the Bakehouse (734) 761-2095 and the Deli  (734) 663-3354.

Enjoy it while you can!

 

 

Somodi-kalács-copyThis fall, several of us travelled to Transylvania in search of artisanal Hungarian foods. Why visit part of Romania to learn about Hungarian traditions? Well Transylvania, was a very important part of Hungary until the Treaty of Trianon after World War I, when it was given to Romania. Transylvania played a large role in the Hungarian national psyche as the keeper of the true and pure Hungarian identity and customs. It was known for being a particularly beautiful and idyllic part of the country. It was a cherished area, and losing it was extremely painful for the country.

After the treaty some Hungarians left, but many stayed and to this day there are villages, which remain Hungarian. Everyone in the village considers themselves Hungarian. Hungarian is spoken in private and in public. School is taught in Hungarian and Hungarian flags are prominent. As is often the case, isolated pockets of ethnic groups or nationalities tend to preserve an older version of the culture. It is in these villages that authentic Hungarian folk dance and music is taught and enjoyed, as well as Hungarian handcraft making. It was for this reason that we hoped we would find even more traditional Hungarian foods than are available in Hungary itself.

Foods and traditional old ways we found! We stayed in a family home in the village of Sic for two days and three nights, and participated in a pig slaughter, and then in the preparation of every bit of the pig in a wide variety of dishes. It was also here that we saw bread baking by our 80-year-old hosting sisters in their wood-fired oven, were introduced to the custom of Transylvania wedding cakes, ate plum dumplings, and learned raggedy retes, a quick version of strudel. We visited neighbors to collect milk from the cows living in their courtyard and to see their pigpens and chicken coops. It was quite an experience, which we will share more of as we make what we learned.

After Sic, we travelled to Torockó
which is the home of the Somodi Kalács
 (sho-mo-dee-ko-loch) a
 sweet yeasted bread laced with
 cinnamon sugar. This village
 was originally very prosperous. 
About 400 years ago, it had been
 a mining town known for it’s iron
 mines and wrought iron pieces which were exported to Italy. Some village families also owned gold mines. The lucrative trade allowed many of the villagers the means to afford sugar and cinnamon, which they used to make this “cake”. It was served for Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost (still is) and until the 20th century it was the customary wedding cake. Originally it was baked in a clay pot, greased with lard, in a wood fired oven. Nowadays, it is more frequently made in a loaf pan, still greased with lard in a gas oven. It resembles cinnamon raisin bread, and I think it’s interesting to reflect on how rich our world has become that Somodi Kalács is like something we’d eat daily.

To learn to make it we visited the B&B of Melinda Kiraly. It was a hands on, physical process. Most interesting to us was the special folding technique Melinda used to give the unique distribution of the cinnamon sugar inside the bread. We are replicating that with our own version. Although not all traditions are kept in their pure form, Melinda still greases her pans with lard. The result is a sticky, sweet, cinnamony and porky exterior. Quite delicious!!

We enjoyed it so much that we’ve decided to make it for Easter here in Ann Arbor. It will be available Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in March so if you want to enjoy it every week go ahead, but if you want to keep it for a special occasion, order one for Easter Sunday and dream of Transylvania.