Nazook
Նազուկ·(nah-ZOOK)
Coffee Hour (Sweet Endings & Baking Traditions)
In the Armenian kitchen, there is an eternal debate between the heavy, ceremonial gata and its delicate cousin, nazook. This is the pastry you want with a strong cup of dark coffee—a flaky, yeasted sour-cream dough rolled around a dense core of butter, crushed walnuts, and cardamom known as khoriz. To make it work on an American weeknight without compromising the soulful, slow-fermented flavor of the old world, we rely on cold retardation. Mix the dough in fifteen minutes, let it sleep in the fridge overnight, and roll it out fresh the next evening. The aroma alone will transport you straight back to your grandmother’s table.
Before you start
Break the work across two days.
Make the dough and the khoriz filling on day one, wrapping and refrigerating both. The slow fermentation develops deeper bakery-level flavors, and leaves you with a quick 30-minute assembly job the next evening.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour3 cup
- Instant yeast1 1/2 tsp
- Kosher salt1/2 tsp
- Unsalted butter1 cup
- Full-fat sour cream1 cup
- Egg1 large
- All-purpose flour1 1/2 cup
- Granulated sugar1 1/2 cup
- Unsalted butter3/4 cup
- Walnuts1 cup
- Vanilla extract1 tsp
- Ground cardamom1 tsp
- Egg yolk1 large
- Milk1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Combine the dry ingredients for the dough.
In a large bowl or food processor, whisk together three cups of the flour, the instant yeast, and the kosher salt.
- 02
Cut the cold butter into the flour.
Toss the cold butter cubes to coat them, then use your fingers or short pulses in a food processor to work the butter in until the mixture resembles coarse, pea-sized crumbs.
- 03
Bring the dough together with the wet ingredients.
Whisk the sour cream and whole egg in a small bowl, pour it into the flour mixture, and gently knead just until a soft, slightly tacky dough forms.
- 04
Chill the dough overnight.
Divide the dough into three equal balls, flatten each into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 36 hours.
- 05
Mix the khoriz filling.
In a medium bowl, combine the remaining flour, sugar, crushed walnuts, cardamom, vanilla, and softened butter. Rub the mixture together with your hands until it feels like damp sand and clumps when squeezed.
- 06
Roll out the chilled dough.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of dough into a 10x12-inch rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.
- 07
Press the filling into the dough.
Scatter one-third of the khoriz evenly over the dough, leaving a half-inch border bare at the top edge. To keep the filling from spilling when rolling, lay a piece of parchment paper over the scattered filling and gently run a rolling pin across the top to press it into the dough.
- 08
Roll the dough into a tight cylinder.
Starting from the long edge closest to you, roll the dough tightly like a jelly roll, pinching the bare edge to seal, then gently press down to flatten it slightly into an oval shape.
- 09
Glaze and cut the nazook.
Whisk the egg yolk with the milk, brush it generously over the log, and use a crinkle cutter or sharp knife to cut the log on a slight diagonal into pieces about two inches wide.
- 10
Bake until glossy and golden.
Transfer the pieces to the baking sheets an inch apart, prick the top of each once with a fork, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm.
Notes
Sour cream stands in for matzoon.
Traditional recipes rely on matzoon, an indigenous fermented milk. American full-fat sour cream perfectly mimics its fat ratio and lactic tang, ensuring a tender dough without a trip to a specialty market.
Cardamom is the secret.
While some recipes use only vanilla or cinnamon, cardamom is the hallmark of the Iranian-Armenian diaspora flavor profile. It provides a distinctly aromatic, floral note that elevates the pastry.
From Cook Armenian in America.