Rogaliki with pecan filling

Polish rogaliki (singular "rogalik") are simple pastries whose shape is reminiscent of horns (Polish "rogi"). They are relatively easy to make, although they do take some time: the active stages take about 1-1.5 hrs (depending on whether you opt for the filling), and the required three rising stages altogether take 2 hours, plus at least 30 minutes for heating the oven, baking, and random slip-ups. This version has a pecan filling, but you can use any filling of your choice or just skip it altogether. You can scale the recipe up or down as needed, and also adjust the size of the rogaliki as you wish.

120/200 kcal per serving without/with the filling

Cooking time: 1-1.5 hrs active time plus 2.5 hrs for rising and baking

Instructions

1. Sift 600 g of all purpose flour into a large bowl.
2. Prepare 1.5 C of warm milk. It should be about 30 degrees C, or 90 degrees Fahrenheit (it's convenient to measure that with a meat thermometer). It should NOT be more than 40 degrees C, or 105 degrees Fahrenheit — in that case, it will kill the yeast.
3. From the large bowl, take 4 tbsp of flour and put them into a medium sized bowl. Add 3 tsp dry active yeast, 1 tsp sugar, and 4 tbsp of warm milk (also from the already measured amount). Mix well until the consistency of the mixture — known as a leaven — becomes a bit like that of Greek yogurt or heavy cream. Cover the bowl with a lid or a cloth and put it in a warm spot (for example, on top of a heater). Your goal is to keep the yeast around 30 degrees Celsius. Let it rest there for 30 minutes.
4. In the meantime, put 4 egg yolks into a medium-sized bowl (keep at least one egg white for later). Add 100 g sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Starting on low (to prevent the sugar from flying all over your kitchen) and steadily increasing the speed, mix the egg-sugar mixture until it becomes visibly lighter in color, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Melt 1 stick (113) of unsalted butter in a small bowl.
6. When the leaven is ready, scrape it into the big bowl, where you should also add the egg-sugar mixture, the rest of the warm milk (you will need to heat the milk back to around 30 degrees Celsius, which you can do in the microwave; I suggest heating it up in increments of 5 seconds to not overheat it), and a pinch of salt. Roughly mix the ingredients.
7. At this point you want to start working the dough with your hand(s). You should work the dough for about 15 minutes. After a couple of minutes the dough will form a ball but it will still have some uneven texture. The goal is for the dough to become smooth and springy.
8. Add the melted butter and start working the dough again. The goal now is for the dough to stop being shiny, which should take about 10 minutes. Once the dough achieves that condition, cover the bowl with a lid or a cloth (or a cling wrap) and put it in a warm spot where it will rise for the next 60 minutes.
9. In the meantime, prepare the filling (if you're opting for it). First, ground 200 g of pecans in a blender.
10. Take a small pot and measure out 80 g of butter, 2 tbsp honey, 1/2 C sugar, and 1/2 C milk. Put everything on medium-low heat and bring to a simmer.
11. Once the mixture is simmering, add the ground pecans and 2 tbsp of c ocoa powder. You can try mixing this with a spoon, but I always prefer to get things done quickly with a hand-held mixer. Set aside to cool.
12. After the dough has risen, divide it into four parts. While keeping the remaining parts covered in the bowl, take one part, form it into a ball, and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a circle of about 14 inches (35 centimeters) in diameter.
13. Cut the circle into 8 parts. If you're using the filling, cover each triangle with a desired amount. (Obviously, this is an optimization problem: you want the largest amount of filling that won't all spill out during baking, although nothing awful happens if it does — unlike, e.g., jam, this filling won't burn in the oven if it leaks out.)
14. Roll each triangle from the outside in until the thin end is under the rolled dough, then form it into a crescent shape.
15. Put the sheet pan with rogaliki in a warm place and let the rogaliki rise for 30 minutes. After that time set the oven to 190 degrees Celsius or 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and let the rogaliki continue to rise until the oven reaches that temperature.
16. In the meantime, lightly beat an egg white to make a simple egg wash, then use a brush to cover the rogaliki with it.
17. Bake the rogaliki for 15 minutes, by which time they should be nicely browned. Take out of the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
18. Using a fine sieve, sprinkle about 1 tbsp of powder sugar over the rogaliki. Voilà!