St Martin's crescent rolls with apple and hazelnut filling

St Martin's crescent rolls made from spelt yeast dough, filled with apple, hazelnuts, cinnamon and honey, for St Martin's celebrations on 10 and 11 November. Family-friendly desserts for sharing.

At a glance

• Serves 12
• Prep time: 95 min
• Cooking time: 18 min
• Total time: 113 min
• Calories: 247 kcal per serving
• Protein: 7 g
• Fat: 10 g
• Carbs: 30 g

Ingredients

• 200ml milk
• 400g spelt flour
• 50g butter
• 50g honey
• 1 egg
• 100g hazelnuts
• 2 apples
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cube of yeast
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Method

You’ll need: oven · baking tray · chopping board · knife · grater

1. Warm all but one tablespoon of the milk until lukewarm and dissolve the yeast in it. Knead with the spelt flour, butter, two thirds of the honey, the egg and salt for 5 minutes into a dough. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour.
2. Grind the hazelnuts, coarsely grate the apples with their skins and mix both with the remaining honey and the cinnamon.
3. Divide the dough into two halves, roll each half into a circle 30 cm across and cut it like a cake into 6 triangles.
4. Put a spoonful of filling on the wide end of each triangle and roll the triangles up towards the tip. Bend them into crescents and lay them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan). Whisk the egg yolk with the remaining milk and brush the crescents with it.
6. Bake the St Martin's crescents at 180 °C for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.

Good to know

In Erfurt and across Thuringia, St Martin's celebrations call for crescent rolls rather than St Martin's bread men. The shape recalls a horseshoe from St Martin's horse. These are filled with apple and hazelnuts and sweetened with honey.

Swaps

Hazelnuts → walnuts. Honey → maple syrup. Spelt flour → plain flour. Apples → pears.

Cooking tips

Press the filling down lightly before rolling and it won't fall out. Only grate the apples just before using, or they'll turn brown and watery.

Storage

They stay fresh for 2 days in a tin, or 2 months in the freezer.

Allergens

Contains gluten (spelt), milk, egg and hazelnuts. Because of the honey, not for babies under 1 year old; suitable in pregnancy.

Frequently asked questions

Can you freeze St Martin's crescent rolls?

They stay fresh for 2 days in a tin, or 2 months in the freezer.