Publication of the amended single document following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012

(2019/C 342/13)

The European Commission has approved this minor amendment in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 6(2) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).

The application for approval of this minor amendment can be consulted in the Commission’s DOOR database:

PRODUCT SPECIFICATION OF A TRADITIONAL SPECIALITY GUARANTEED

‘BRATISLAVSKÝ ROŽOK’/‘POZSONYI KIFLI’

EU No: TSG-SK-0056-AM02– 12.2.2019

‘Slovakia’

1.   Name(s) to be registered

‘Bratislavský rožok’/‘Pozsonyi kifli’

2.   Type of product

Class 2.24. bread, pastry, cakes, confectionery, biscuits and other baker’s wares

3.   Grounds for registration

3.1.   Whether the product:

☒ results from a mode of production, processing or composition corresponding to traditional practice for that product or foodstuff

☐ is produced from raw materials or ingredients that are those traditionally used.

The Slovak name ‘Bratislavský rožok’ began to be used in about 1920, after the city of Pressburg, then part of Czechoslovakia and the capital of Slovakia, had been renamed Bratislava. As of that year, the name of the pastry was adapted in line with the city’s new name, hence ‘Bratislavský rožok’. After the city’s new name was adopted, the word Kipfel began to be used in Austria, instead of the usual Beugel, combined with the city’s old name. The name originally used in Hungarian was Pozsonyi patkó, which translates as ‘Bratislava horseshoe’. According to current information from several Hungarian bakers or confectioners, particularly in Budapest, this product is produced and marketed under the name ‘Pozsonyi kifli’, which translates into Slovak as ‘Bratislavský rožok’, Pozsony being the city’s original name, as used until 1918. In view of the established customs, we propose that the name ‘Pozsonyi kifli’ be retained.

3.2.   Whether the name:

☒ has been traditionally used to refer to the specific product

☐ identifies the traditional character or specific character of the product

The product is specific in terms of its historically established composition and method of production. The term ‘Bratislavský rožok’ is used exclusively to denote this particular type of fine baker’s ware or pastry.

The specific character of the product lies in its distinctive surface, which is marbled, i.e. finely mottled with lighter colouring than the rest of the upper crust. The surfaces of other baker’s and confectioner’s wares are not finished in this way:

—	the product differs from similar types of fine baker’s wares or pastries on the market by virtue of its shape and weight, but also the quantity of filling. The dough has more fat added to it than other products, and no other type of fine pastry has marbling on its surface;

—	the product has a specific aroma and flavour, deriving from the poppyseed or walnut filling used;

—	the product has a distinctive appearance and a horseshoe or letter C shape.

To preserve the traditional character of the product, the following recipe requirements must be met when it is prepared:

—	the dough must have a fat-to-flour ratio of at least 30 %;

—	the filling must account for at least 40 % of the total weight of the baked product;

—	whole egg or egg yolk must be brushed on to the product before it is baked so that the baked product has a marbled surface.

4.   Description

4.1.   Description of the product to which the name under point 1 applies, including its main physical, chemical, microbiological or organoleptic characteristics showing the product’s specific character (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

Fine baker’s ware or pastry with poppyseed or walnut filling and a glossy marbled surface.

Organoleptic characteristics

Colour: brown to dark brown crust; on the cut surface, after a few millimetres of rough pastry case there is filling only – the poppyseed filling is dark grey to black, and the walnut filling is brown;

Appearance: a uniform glossy brown to dark brown surface with delicate mottling in a lighter shade, resembling marbling, on the upper crust;

Texture: firm, delicate casing which crumbles when broken;

Odour and taste: delicate, typical of the filling used (i.e. typically walnut or poppyseed flavour), pleasantly sweet taste with an aroma of the ingredients used.

Physical characteristics

Shape: horseshoe shape, tapering towards the ends, for the poppyseed filling, and a letter C shape for the walnut filling;

Weight: usually 40-70 g.

4.2.   Description of the production method of the product to which the name under point 1 applies that the producers must follow including, where appropriate, the nature and characteristics of the raw materials or ingredients used, and the method by which the product is prepared (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

The main raw materials used to make the dough are: wheat flour, fat (table margarine, puff-pastry margarine, butter, lard, etc.), sugar, salt, yeast, eggs, powdered milk, vanilla or vanillin sugar, lemon peel or dried lemon peel and water; cinnamon sugar may also be used. The dough must have a fat-to-flour ratio of at least 30 % and the filling must account for at least 40 % of the finished product’s weight.

The walnut filling is usually made by adding granulated sugar (or honey), sweet breadcrumbs, vanilla or vanillin sugar and cinnamon sugar to chopped walnuts and mixing them together with hot water or milk.

The poppyseed filling is usually made by adding granulated sugar (or honey), sweet breadcrumbs and vanilla or vanillin sugar to ground poppyseed and mixing them together with hot water or milk.

Jam (plum or apricot) or raisins may be added to the filling to improve its flavour.

Production method

The dough is prepared by mixing the flour with water, or water to which powdered milk has been added, yeast, salt, sugar and edible fat. The fat may be mixed with the flour first, the other raw materials being added later. The mixed dough is left to rise for 30-40 minutes. After the dough has visibly increased in volume, it is kneaded again briefly and then separated into pieces which are formed into balls. After rising for 15-20 minutes, these are rolled out into elliptical strips measuring 12-15 cm along their longer axis. The thickness of the rolled pastry strip must be 2 to 3 mm. Cylindrical pieces of poppyseed or walnut filling are placed on the rolled pastry strips and wrapped to form cylinders 12 to 15 cm long, gradually tapering towards the ends. When the filling is wrapped, the dough should be joined evenly and the point at which the join is made must be on the underside of the product when it is shaped into a crescent on the baking tray. The product is formed into a horseshoe shape if it has a poppyseed filling, or into the shape of a letter C if it has a walnut filling. The shapes must be sufficiently different for it to be clear at a glance which filling they contain.

The poppyseed filling is prepared by boiling or scalding poppyseed in hot water (the volume of liquid equating to 35-40 % of the amount of poppyseed). Sugar is dissolved in a small quantity of water and brought to the boil (honey may be used instead of sugar). Ground poppyseed mixed with powdered milk, sweet breadcrumbs and raisins is gradually added to the dissolved sugar under constant stirring and boiled to produce a fairly thick paste. After the poppyseed filling has cooled and thickened, grated fresh lemon peel or lemon paste is added to enhance its flavour, together with cinnamon and a small amount of vanilla sugar where necessary. The walnut filling is not cooked, but ground walnuts are simply mixed with sugar (or honey), raisins, powdered milk, hot water, vanilla sugar or vanillin sugar and ground cinnamon. Up to 10 % by weight of the chopped walnuts or ground poppyseed in the filling may be replaced by sweet breadcrumbs.

Both fillings must be thick enough after cooling for small rolls to be formed by hand.

The shaped products are placed on a baking tray and brushed with whole egg or egg yolk only. The egg-brushed products on the trays are left in a cool place with air circulation so that the egg on their surface dries slightly. Once the surface has dried and they have risen slightly, they are brushed again with egg wash, allowed to dry and then placed in a proving oven. When they have risen, they are baked as fine yeast-based pastry products. During rising, and particularly during baking, the dried egg wash on the surface becomes slightly crackled, creating the typical marbled structure of the product’s upper crust.

The products are baked without steam at 170-220 °C.

The baking time depends on the size of the products. For products weighing 40-50 g, the time is 10-12 minutes, and for those weighing 50-70 g it is 15-20 minutes.

After cooling, the baked products are prepared for dispatch and sale.

Technical losses due to baking amount to around 10 %, depending on the weight of the product and the consistency of the filling.

Labelling: the highlighted product name ‘Bratislavský rožok’ or the equivalent in Hungarian; the Community logo or the logo and the inscription Zaručená tradičná špecialita (Traditional speciality guaranteed). The abbreviation ZTŠ (TSG) may appear on the packaging. The font size of the logo must be no less than 15 mm.

Method and place of sale: ‘Bratislavský rožok’ is sold by the piece in the producer’s specialist outlets or in confectioners’ shops, cafés and fast-food outlets. For non-prepacked products, the ZTŠ (TSG) logo may appear on a price marker close to the product name, or on an information panel close to the products.

Storage: at room temperature.

Depending on the amount of yeast used, the product keeps for 3-10 days.

The product is made by hand and not mass-produced.

It must not be produced as a frozen par-baked semi-finished product which is then defrosted and finished in the oven; it must always be baked fresh.

4.3.   Description of the key elements establishing the product’s traditional character (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

The traditional character of the product is based on its traditional composition, i.e. the filling must account for at least 40 % of the total weight of the finished product.

A product with the specific name has been made for more than two centuries in the neighbouring countries of Hungary and Austria, with which Slovakia shared a single constitution getting on for 90 years ago.

Vladimír Tomčík’s book S vareškou dvoma tisícročiami (Tracing two thousand years with a cooking spoon) quotes entries from ledgers indicating that ‘Bratislavský rožok’ was being served at inns in 1590, although the secret of its production is much older.

It is stated on page 305 of the publication Ulice a námestia mesta Bratislavy (The streets and squares of Bratislava) by Tivadar Ortvay, published in Bratislava in 1905, that not far from Viktor Mayer’s confectionery shop, the old Scheuermann bakery (now Lauda) bakes poppyseed and walnut horseshoes, specialities for which Bratislava has become famous [Ulice a námestia mesta Bratislavy, the text continues as follows: The city’s history according to the names of its streets and squares, based on original research, written by Dr Tivadar Ortvay, Bratislava, 1905; printed by F.K. Wigand]. Pages 304 and 305 of the book listed in Annex 1 in Hungarian mention the Scheuermann bakery in connection with what is now Hviezdoslavovo námestie. The relevant part of the text reads: ‘Nearby there is the old Scheuermann (now Lauda) bakery that makes poppyseed and walnut horseshoes and which established Bratislava’s fame for this speciality. The Bratislava rusk (bratislavský suchár) is another of these specialities …’.

On page 52 of Chlieb náš každodenný (Our daily bread) by V. Szemes and V. Karovič, published in Bratislava in 1992, it is stated that: ‘For St Nicholas’ Day in 1785 the baker Schiermann placed in his shop window a new kind of filled pastry which went down in history as the prešpurské beugle’. We regard the difference in the names Scheuermann and Schiermann as a typographical error; the correct spelling is Scheuermann.

‘Bratislavský rožok’ was subsequently made by several bakers in Bratislava. One of the best known was Ágoston Schwappach, whose bakery was founded in 1834 and used to sell poppyseed and walnut horseshoes. Two of the successors to the ‘Bratislavský rožok’ producers Scheuermann and Lauda were the master baker Johann Korče (1851-1919), who was a knight of the Order of Franz Josef, and his son, the master baker Hans Korče. The Korče family was succeeded by Emil Kastner.

The Gustáv Wendler bakery in Štefánikova ulica in Bratislava, which also sent ‘Bratislavský rožok’ by post, was also well known.

In the former Bratislava journal Pressburger Wegweiser of 1863, the Anton Pressberger baker’s and confectioner’s business advertises, amongst other things, ‘poppyseed and walnut beugle’.

The Viennese newspaper Neue Freie Presse of 16 April 1938 has a recipe for ‘Pressburger Kipfel – Bratislavské rožky’. The recipe and production method described are almost identical to those used today.

Terézia Vansová and Ján Babilon also described ‘Bratislavský rožok’ in their book in 1870.

A succession of bakers and confectioners have made ‘Bratislavský rožok’ in several European cities, particularly in Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary. According to information gathered from bakery experts in other countries, a product bearing the name ‘Bratislavský rožok’ is made in several cities, or its shape, approximate recipe and production method is at least known. Practical training in the making of the ‘Bratislavský rožok’ was given at vocational colleges of bakery and confectionery in the former Czechoslovakia, particularly after 1950. The name ‘Bratislavský rožok’ began to be used in 1918, after the founding of Czechoslovakia and the re-naming of the city from the original Pressburg or Pozsony to Bratislava. The name of the product also changed. The original name Beugel was in Hungarian turned into patkó, meaning ‘horseshoe’. The term rožok apparently began to be used together with the new name of the city. In Hungary, the name ‘Pozsonyi kifli’ (‘Bratislavský rožok’), i.e. the old name for the city with the new name for the shape, is used to the present day. In Austria, too, the name ‘Pressburger Kipfel’ is used more often and the term Beugel is rarely heard.

With its history behind it, ‘Bratislavský rožok’ remains popular to the present day. According to estimates, it is made regularly by more than 20 bakeries and confectioners and at least once a week by dozens more producers in Slovakia.

In 1999 and 2005, the Slovenské družstvo pekárov [Slovak bakers’ cooperative] included ‘Bratislavský rožok’ amongst the competition products presented in the final of the Lesaffre Cup in Paris, and they were highly commended by the judges.

At the beginning of 2007, an international competition for the best ‘Bratislavský rožok’ was held for the first time in history as part of the Danubius Gastro exhibition in Bratislava, attracting nine teams from three countries (front page of Bratislavské noviny, 25 January 2007).

Bratislava newspapers and several nationwide periodicals ran a series of articles about the competition.

On 25 July 2008, the daily Nový čas ran an article on ‘Bratislavský rožok’. The article also contains a traditional recipe from 1938, and the description of the shape of the product states that: ‘… when it has a poppyseed filling, it is formed into a horseshoe shape, and when it has a walnut filling, it is shaped into a letter C.’.

An article entitled ‘Bratislavský rožok – tradícia s dlhou históriou’ (Bratislavský rožok – a long tradition) on p. 52 of Epicure magazine states that ‘with a poppyseed filling the product is formed into a horseshoe, and with a walnut filling it has the shape of a letter C’.

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(1)  OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.