Vízen kullogó can be called the Hungarian brioche, which is, however, undoubtedly much better than the French version. It’s an old-time folk pastry made of a soft yeast dough and rolled into sugar, which caramelizes on the top during the baking process. Vízen kullogó was generally baked for weddings and christening feasts. Its name clearly reflects the versatility of our language: the expression of vízen kullogó could be described in English as the dough that plods in the water, which refers to the extraordinary rising technique the pastry’s speciality lies in.

After kneading the dough is wrapped in a kitchen towel, which is greased with melted lard, and it’s put into a big pot of room temperature water. The dough sinks to the bottom and during the proofing it slowly comes to the surface. The whole process lasts a relatively long time, it takes about 2-3 hours. When the dough is well poofed, it’s rolled into ropes, which are then twisted and rolled up into spiral forms.