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Kalács, as it is known in Hungarian, is actually a sweet brioche-type bread commonly served at Easter. Somewhere along the line, Slovak and Hungarian Americans smashed a few different holiday breads together and what was once known as Bejgli (and still is in Hungary) is now usually known as Kalács in English. The reason for the confusion is that the word kalács (despite being a Hungarian word) is Slavic in origin.
The basic difference between Bejgli and Kalács is the dough. While they both contain yeast, Kalács is kneaded and Bejgli is not. Bejgli dough is thinner, and has more filling. The two traditional fillings are walnut or poppy, but chestnut, marzipan and some fruit fillings have become very popular as well.
Nowadays Bejgli is more popular especially around Christmas time. The traditional baking process of Bejgli requires a lot of time, often a whole day. It is definitely not a quick or easy dessert to make. It is very important to follow the steps one by one, and pay close attention to the resting processes. While the baking time is only 30 minutes, the preparation takes hours.
Zserbó Bakery offers a traditional Bejgli made with pozsonyi dough. We offer walnut or poppy filling. Both are seasoned with cinnamon, vanilla, rum, cloves, lemon and orange zest. Now the question is, which one would you like to try?
