What is Kurtosh?

The name ‘Kurtosh’ is a word which was first used in Israel instead of the original word Kürtőskalács, Kurtoskalacs or kurtos kalacs.

A lot of people find that the original word is too difficult to pronounce by locals and so vendors started using the word ‘Kurtosh’ pronounced ‘Kurt -osh’ as its easier to phonetically pronounce.

What are Kurtosh made of?
The kurtosh is made from a yeast dough.

The ingredients used to produce the dough normally consist of: Milk, sugar, salt, eggs, flour, fat (butter or oil) and yeast, which can be fresh or dry.

One of the most important ingredients of the Kurtosh is the flour. It can sometimes take several attempts to find the right flour for the product, especially in countries which risen bread is not produced, where ‘flat’ bread is more popular.

To solve the issue in counties where the right type of flour is difficult to source, we created two ready mix products which INCLUDE European flour.

R2 – Premium original complete – Kurtos kalacs mix – 10kg bags
R4 – Vegan style complete – Kurtos kalacs mix – 10kg bags

As well as the two complete Kurtos kalacs bakery mixes, we also produce a two concentrate versions.

R1 – Premium original concentrate – Kurtos kalacs mix – 10kg bags
R3 – Vegan style concentrate – Kurtos kalacs mix – 10kg bags

Both of the premium Kurtosh mixes contain cow’s milk powder, whereas the vegan mixes contain coconut milk powder.

None of our Kurtosh mixes contain eggs and eggs are not required to add to the finished recipe, which is good news for those which have allergies to eggs.

What kind of toppings can be applied to the Kurtosh after baking?
To create a sweet kurtosh, granulated sugar is applied to the outside of the dough. After the dough has risen on the cooking roll, it is then baked inside a specialist Kurtosh oven or on a Kurtosh grill.

During the baking process, the sugar-coated dough will bake and turn brown and at the end of the baking process, the sugar will melt or caramelise.

It is this melted sugar which the topping will stick to and so its very important that the topping is applied as quickly as possible, so that the caramelised sugar does not go hard again as if this happens, the topping will simply slide off and not stick.
Popular toppings are:

Cinnamon sugar
Most vendors will make their own cinnamon sugar as its very easy to do. You simply need granulated sugar (small crystals, but not powdered sugar) and powdered cinnamon.

We start with a mix of three quarters sugar to one quarter cinnamon powder, however, after tasting, you might want to adjust the recipe to your own taste.

Desiccated Coconut
Most vendors will buy desiccated coconut in packets which is ready to use. The smaller pieces are the best as they stick to the melted sugar easier. Some vendors have been known to colour the coconut for special occasions, such as ‘red’ for Valentine’s Day or ‘green’ for Saint Patricks Day.

Milk shake / sweetened coco powder
We have found that the best chocolate flavour (without using actual chocolate pieces) can be achieved by using granulated (not powdered) dry chocolate milk. In our country (Slovenia) a product called ‘Benquick cacao’ is available to buy in most supermarkets. Another option would be to mix coco powder with granulated sugar.

Nuts
Hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pecan nuts, pistachio nuts all make great toppings for the Kurtosh, however, the trick is, to put the nuts into a food processor to make the pieces of nuts small, so that the nuts are not too heavy, which causes them to fall off.
Some vendors will also toast the nuts before. Basically, you spread out the crushed nuts onto a baking tray and pop the tray under a conventical grill to toast them., moving the nuts around during the grilling, to toast on all sides.

Vanilla sugar
The best vanilla sugar is that which is home made. Empty several packets of granulated sugar into a plastic box and add the seeds of the vanilla pod and mix. Leave for a day or two (mix a couple of times each day) so that the vanilla infuses into the sugar granules.

Freeze dried fruits
Freeze dried fruits can be expensive, but the colour and intense flavour works well as a topping for the Kurtosh.

The most popular are freeze dried raspberries and freeze-dried strawberries which are both red in colour. Freeze dried dragon fruit powder is bright purple, which makes an attractive topping. Some of the freeze-dried fruit powders can be a little ‘tart’ or ‘sour’ so adding a small amount of sugar is recommended.

Oreo crumb
You can buy packets of Oreo crumb from some supermarkets and wholesalers. For those which cant, you can put the Oreo biscuits into a food processor and make your own. When making an Oreo themed cone, some vendors will place a whole Oreo biscuit on the top of the ice cream.

Lotus crumb
Lotus Bakeries is a Belgian biscuit company, founded in 1932, with its headquarters in Belgium. The brand is well known for a biscuit, called the Lotus Biscoff, which is a caramelised biscuit, containing cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves and is commonly served and eaten with a coffee. Kurtosh vendors will put the lotus biscuits into a food processor to make a biscuit crumb, which is then sprinkled over the melted sugar. As with the Oreo Chimney cones, vendors also place a whole Lotus biscuit on the top of the ice cream. Lotus bakeries also produce a Lotus cookie dough spread, which some vendors warm and spread on the inside of the baked Kurtosh.

Dober Kürtős – The Chimney cake, Chimney cones, Trdelnik, & Baumstriezel experts