Kada

Ingredients

• 14⅛ ozwheat flourfor the dough, sifted
• 5 ozbutterfor the dough, cold and cubed
• ½ cupmatsoni or plain yogurtfor the dough; sour cream also works
• 1eggfor the dough
• ½ tspbaking sodafor the dough; baking powder also works
• ½ tspsaltfor the dough
• 1⅓ ozsugarfor the dough (optional)
• ¾ cupwateronly for the plain water dough instead of yogurt, lukewarm (optional)
• 4¼ ozwheat flourfor the filling, toasted
• 4¼ ozbutterfor the filling; ghee also works
• 5¼ ozsugarfor the filling
• 1 tspvanillafor the filling
• 1egg yolkfor brushing; a whole egg also works
• 2 tbspmilkbeaten with the yolk for brushing; a little water or sour cream also works
• walnutschopped, scattered over the filling (optional)

Method

1. Rub flour and butter togetherFor the dough, rub the sifted flour and the cold, cubed butter together between your fingertips until you have coarse crumbs; if you like, mix in the sugar at this point too.
2. Knead and chill the doughWhisk the matsoni or plain yogurt with the egg, salt and baking soda, stir it into the crumbs and knead just briefly into a smooth dough. Cover and chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes.
3. Toast the flour for the fillingMeanwhile, make the filling: melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and toast it over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes until it's golden brown and smells nutty.
4. Sweeten filling, preheat ovenTake the pan off the heat, stir in the sugar and vanilla and let the filling cool. Preheat the oven to 180–375 °F.
5. Roll out and spread the doughDivide the dough and roll each piece into a thin rectangle, 3 to 5 mm thick. Spread the filling evenly over it, leaving a clear border all the way round, and scatter over some chopped walnuts if you like.
6. Roll up and shape the pastryRoll the dough up tightly from the long side. Cut the roll into thick pieces or coil it into a spiral, and place it on a baking tray or in a greased tin.
7. Glaze and bake until goldenBeat the egg yolk with the milk, brush it over the pastry and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 to 40 minutes until golden.
8. Cool before slicingLet the kada cool for at least 15 to 20 minutes so the filling can set, and only then cut it into pieces.

Tips and variations

Instead of the matsoni shortcrust you can make a simple water dough with no yogurt or raising agent, and if you have time, brush the dough with butter, fold and chill it several times for a flaky, puff-pastry-style result. For the filling, you can also toast the flour dry first and add the butter afterwards, skip the toasting altogether and rub soft butter, sugar, vanilla and flour into crumbs, or use ghee instead of butter. Besides slices and spirals, small filled pouches or diamond-shaped pieces cut on the diagonal like pakhlava are common too, and raisins work on the filling just as well as nuts. To serve, simply give it a dusting of icing sugar.