Nutroll Recipe #1

Bowl of raw yeast dough and ingredients of yeast dough on cloth
Westend61 / Getty Images
  • 80 mins
  • Prep: 20 mins,
  • Cook: 60 mins
  • Yield: 1 cake (12-16 servings)
Ratings (18)

By Barbara Rolek

Updated 09/05/17

Nut roll is an Eastern European sweet yeast bread with a variety of fillings from sweet to savory. This recipe is for a walnut filling, known in Serbian as orehnjaca.

While it is a favorite at many celebrations, you will often see nut roll on the sweets table of a Serbian family's slava.

What You'll Need

  • For the Nutroll:
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 egg yolks (beaten)
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • For the Filling:
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups finely ground walnuts
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 3 egg whites
  • 3/4 cup sugar

How to Make It

  1. Dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. Heat butter, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt until lukewarm and butter has melted.
  2. In large bowl, combine yeast mixture, butter mixture and beaten egg yolks.
  3. Add flour gradually, beating well.
  4. Divide into 2 equal portions, wrap and refrigerate overnight. Next day, make the filling.
  5. To make the filling: Combine walnuts, 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, 1/4 cup milk and honey in a saucepan. Place over low heat, stirring constantly until hot. Remove from heat and cool.
  1. Beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff. Mix together with cooled walnut mixture. Set aside.
  2. On floured surface, roll 1 portion of dough into a 24-inch square. Spread with 1/2 the filling and roll as for a jellyroll. Coil in a well-greased, 10-inch tube pan.
  3. Repeat process with remaining dough and place second roll on top of first. With sharp knife, cut to bottom of pan in several places. Let rise, covered, until doubled, about 1 hour, or follow this Quick Tip to cut the rise time.
  4. The dough can also be rolled to a 1/8-inch thickness, spread with filling, rolled as for a jellyroll and baked as a log.
  5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 1 hour or until nicely browned. Cool in pan 20 minutes and invert onto a wire rack.
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
Calories 296
Total Fat 20 g
Saturated Fat 9 g
Unsaturated Fat 5 g
Cholesterol 73 mg
Sodium 128 mg
Carbohydrates 26 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Protein 5 g
(The nutrition information on our recipes is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. Individual results may vary.)