Pastry

Slovenia

Translated as simple povitica, this simple and frugal dish hails from the Slovenian region of Bela Krajina. It consists of thin sheets of dough that are coated in melted lard, sprinkled with salt, and smeared with beaten eggs. The dough is then rolled, and the whole pastry is shaped in a swirl. Prosta povitica can be enjoyed on its own and is best served warm and freshly baked.

Prosta povitica

France

Puits d'amour is a traditional pastry originating from Paris. It was first mentioned in Vincent De La Chapelle's book Le Cuisinier Moderne, and it consists of layers of puff pastry rings. The pastry has a hollow center that's filled with strawberry jam, redcurrant jelly, or vanilla pastry cream. The top is usually dusted with sugar and lightly caramelized. The name puits d'amour means well of love, referring to the visual appearance of the pastry.

Puits d'amour

Qagħaq tal-għasel is a traditional pastry filled with a treacle mixture. The pastry is made with flour, egg yolks, margarine, and either anisette liqueur or water, while the filling is a mix of black treacle, water, sugar, semolina, cocoa powder, aniseeds, orange flower water, and grated tangerine, orange, and lemon zest. The dough is rolled into long rectangles, filled with a treacle mixture, then shaped into rings. The top is usually decorated with a few slashes before the pastry is baked until it develops a light beige color &ndash; it should never be baked until golden brown. Qagħaq tal-għasel is especially popular during the festive Christmas season.

Qagħaq tal-għasel

Portugal

Queijada is a traditional pastry originating from Sintra. As mentioned in its name, queijada is prepared with a combination of queijo (cheese), eggs, milk, flour, and sugar. When properly baked, queijadas should have a fluffy crust on top. They can be bought at almost every pastry shop throughout Portugal. In medieval times, these small pies were used as a form of payment due to the fact that Sintra had great pastures and a surplus of fresh cheese which was used in the preparation of queijadas. Nowadays, there are many variations, such as the ones flavored with oranges (queijadas de laranja) and coconut (queijadas de coco). It is recommended to consume queijadas with a cup of espresso on the side.

Queijada

Rasstegai is a traditional pastry with a hole in the center, which is stuffed with a wide variety of fillings &ndash; from liver with eggs to rice with mushrooms. However, the traditional stuffing is minced fish such as sturgeon or salmon. The pastry is made with flour, yeast, milk, eggs, butter, sugar, and salt, while the fish filling is typically combined with onions, butter, and cream. Traditionally, rasstegai is served as an accompaniment to soups and broths &ndash; the hole in the pastry is used to add broth to the filling.

Rasstegai

Rissole is an interesting group of dishes with an intriguing history. The original French rissoles were prepared by enclosing the main ingredients in pastry dough and frying them, but over time the original recipe has evolved and changed. Today, a large number of slightly different dishes are incorporated under the same name, and each country usually has their own rissole variety. They can be found in numerous European countries, but also in Australia, New Zealand, and even Indonesia and Brazil. This French invention might refer to both food items which are made by enclosing ingredients in a pastry, to create a food item similar to turnovers, or by rolling the ingredients in breadcrumbs, which creates a dish similar to patties. Primarily, rissoles were deep-fried, but today the name also encompasses the varieties that are baked in an oven or fried in shallow oil. Even though savory rissole fillings are more common, there are also some sweet varieties. They can be made with minced or cut meat, seafood, or vegetables, and the sweet varieties are usally made with fruit. Most of them, including both sweet and savory rissoles, are usually served with a sauce on the side.

Rissole

Poland

Rogal świętomarciński, also known as St. Martin's croissant or St. Martin's roll, is a filled croissant in a coating of icing with chopped nuts sprinkled over it. It gets its name from the traditional baking and eating of the rolls on Saint Martin's Day for 150 years up to this day in the city of Poznań and some districts in the Wielkopolskie Voivodship in Poland. According to a traditional tale, the croissants date back to the days of the 1683 siege of Vienna when king Jan Sobieski and Poland's hussars defeated the Turks in a battle and bakers started to make the croissants to keep the victory in public memory, while the Turkish crescent contributed to the shape of the final product. On the exterior, the rolls are dark golden to light brown while the dough is cream-colored, and the filling is beige. The filling consists of poppy seeds, sugar, raisins, nuts and almond flavoring. The flavors and aromas are sweet with hints of almond and poppy seeds. All these elements combined together make this flaky pastry a unique and original product that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Rogal świętomarciński

Spain

Rosquillas de Alcal&aacute; are traditional Spanish donut-shaped pastries originating from Alcal&aacute; de Henares. They're made from puff pastry (hojaldre) that's dunked into a creamy glaze consisting of egg yolks, water, and sugar. These sweet pastries are renowned and easily recognizable for their yellow coloring, and they're usually eaten at breakfast or merienda.

Rosquillas de Alcalá

Rosquillas de Santa Clara are Spanish doughnuts traditionally prepared for the feast of San Isidor. They consist of a round-shaped, anise-flavored dough that is generously covered in a powdered sugar glaze. The dough is wrapped into a circle, leaving a hole in the middle. Rosquillas de Santa Clara are baked in the oven, and when chilled, they are coated in a thick glaze made with sugar and whipped egg whites. These doughnuts are traditionally associated with Madrid, and they are a staple on the feast of San Isidor, the city's patron saint.

Rosquillas de Santa Clara

Malaysia

These Malaysian buns were invented at the namesake bakery in Penang. First marketed as Mexican coffee buns, they consist of a leavened dough that is filled with butter and topped with a layer of coffee-infused buttercream. During baking, the cream top completely covers the bun and creates a thin, crispy coffee layer. The Mexican conchas allegedly inspired the bun, hence its original name. Soon after they were introduced in 1998, the buns were an instant success. Nowadays, the franchise has spread throughout Asian and Arab countries, and their signature bun is better known as rotiboy or roti kopi.

Rotiboy

These Greek pastries consist of two layers of yeasted dough. The dark-colored part is enriched with cocoa and cinnamon and is neatly wrapped with a layer of white, vanilla-flavored dough. Roxakia is then cut into bite-size pieces, and when baked, doused in a sweet syrup. These pastries are best served well-chilled when they thoroughly soak up the syrup.

Roxakia

Ashkenazi in origin, the Jewish pastry known as rugelach is made by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling, resulting in crescent-shaped pastries. Alternatively, the dough can be rolled in the form of a strudel or a nut roll which is then sliced prior to baking. The dough can be made with sour cream or cream cheese, but the dairy ingredients can be omitted, while the fillings can vary from nuts and raisins to fruit preserves. These delectable pastries are traditionally eaten on Hanukkah, but they can also be bought all year round in cafes and bakeries.

Rugelach

Sacramentos is a type of Argentine factura or pastry that is similar to medialunas but usually shorter in size and without the distinctive crescent shape. These soft rolls can be made plain or with sweet or savory fillings such as quince paste (dulce de membrillo), sweet potato jam (dulce de batata), melted chocolate, or ham and cheese. Another difference between sacramentos and medialunas is that the first have their corners closed inwards before rolling, whereas the latter have open corners. The pastry&rsquo;s name means sacraments, and it is one of many traditional Argentine pastries which were given blasphemous and anti-state names by anti-clergy anarchists who wanted to oppose the church, the state, and the police. Argentinians usually enjoy them for breakfast with a cup of coffee, or as an afternoon snack accompanied by yerba mate, a traditional Argentinian herbal tea. Sacramentos are commonly prepared at home, and they are also available in traditional Argentinian bakeries called panaderias.

Sacramentos

Croatia

These traditional Slavonian pastries take their name from the Croatian word salo, meaning leaf lard. Typically filled with homemade apricot or plum preserves, salenjaci are traditionally made in wintertime, especially during the pig slaughter season when there is an abundance of fresh lard available in Slavonian households. Besides leaf lard as the main ingredient, it is the method of folding the yeasted dough that is crucial in achieving the leaf-like appearance and texture of the so-called Croatian croissants. While they are still hot from the oven, salenjaci are dusted with icing sugar and eaten warm, though they will keep fresh and succulent for days.

Salenjaci

Samsa from Central Asia is a traditional pastry widely enjoyed in countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. This dish is a staple of Central Asian cuisine, known for its flavorful filling encased in a crisp, golden pastry shell. The dough is made from wheat flour, water, and sometimes a bit of oil or butter, rolled out thinly to create a sturdy casing. The filling typically consists of minced lamb or beef mixed with finely chopped onions and seasoned with spices like cumin, black pepper, and sometimes coriander. Tail fat, a traditional ingredient in Central Asian cooking, is often added to enhance the richness of the dish. Unlike the deep-fried samosas of South Asia, Central Asian samsa is traditionally baked, often in a tandoor oven, which gives it a distinctive crisp and slightly charred exterior while keeping the inside moist and flavorful. The samsa is usually shaped into a triangle or square, though round versions are also common, with the pastry carefully folded around the filling to prevent leakage during baking. Served hot, samsa is a popular street food and is often enjoyed as a snack or quick meal. It can be eaten on its own or accompanied by a simple dipping sauce, fresh salad, or yogurt. More than just a snack, samsa is a reflection of Central Asia's rich culinary traditions, offering a taste of the region's aromatic flavors with each bite.

Samsa

Sweden

Semmelwrap is a Swedish pastry and a modern twist on the classic semla bun, which is traditionally consumed on Shrove Tuesday. Unlike semla, the dough for semmelwrap is rolled very thin, then lightly baked and rolled into a wrap, which is subsequently filled with a delicious combination of almond paste and whipped cream. The pastry was invented by Mattias Ljungberg in Stockholm in 2015. Semmelwrap quickly went viral, and not long after, several Swedish bakeries tried to copy Ljungberg's idea because he did not trademark it.

Semmelwrap

Sfințișori or Moldavian martyrs is a traditional dessert pastry coated in nuts and honey. The pastry is soft and fluffy on the interior, while the exterior is crispy, crunchy, and sticky. It is made in the form of figure eight, representing the human body and referring to the 8th of March, the day before an Orthodox holiday celebrating the Forty Martyrs, when the dessert is traditionally prepared. There is also a Dobrogea regional version of sfințișori where the pastries are smaller and topped with walnuts and cinnamon.

Sfințișori

Norway

Skillingsboller is a traditional version of a cinnamon roll. This circular pastry is usually associated with Bergen. The rolls are made with a combination of flour, milk, yeast, eggs, sugar, cardamom, lots of butter, and chopped almonds (optional). After the baking, skillingsbolle are brushed with additional butter on the top and the bottom while they are still hot. The top is also sprinkled with extra sugar and cinnamon. The name skillingsboller means penny bun. They're usually eaten as an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee on the side, but some people like to eat them with brown cheese (Brunost).

Skillingsboller

Skolebr&oslash;d are traditional Norwegian custard buns. They're made with a combination of butter, milk, yeast, sugar, flour, and cardamom for flavoring. The custard is made with milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar, cornflour, and vanilla. The cardamom buns are stuffed with custard, then topped with desiccated coconut. These sweet rolls are typical children's treats in Norway, and the name is a reference to the fact that skolebr&oslash;d was a part of school lunches.

Skolebrød

United States

Southern butter rolls are traditional pastries that originate from the states of the American South, such as Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. They're usually made with a combination of flour, salt, butter, sugar, cinnamon or nutmeg, milk, and vanilla. Visually, the pastries look similar to cinnamon rolls. These spiraled pastries are placed in a wide pan and baked in a sauce of sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon or nutmeg. Once baked, the sweet, sticky, and hot pastries are served straight out of the oven while still warm. The rolls are especially popular during winter.