Frgál

Frgál is a large, flat, round sweet bread made in the Wallachia region of Moravia, in the eastern Czech Republic. A thinly rolled yeast dough is spread with a filling such as fruit or cheese, scattered with crumble and baked. A filling of dried pears is the signature flavor of the region.

Thin dough, generous filling

The dough is stretched into a circle from the center outward, and the filling is spread over it, leaving a border. Some methods have the filling account for 40% or more of the total weight before baking, so the flavors of fruit or cheese lie richly over the thin bread. “Wallachian frgál,” which is protected by a geographical indication, is finished with a single type of filling per frgál.

The pear filling is made by simmering dried fruit until soft and then mashing it. Spread on the dough and baked, it lets you enjoy the soft bread, the rich layer of fruit and the crumble on top all at once. Besides pear, there are also varieties made with quark, plum, poppy seeds and other fillings.

Preserving pears for sweets

The product specification for Wallachian frgál includes an account of small, sweet local pears being dried slowly over a wood fire, put into woven sacks and stored in the attic. By simmering the dried fruit to rehydrate it and mashing it when needed, the preserved fruit can be used as a filling for sweets.

A large sweet bread sliced for celebrations

The same product specification cites a record from 1826 that reportedly describes a large sweet bread of wheat or rye dough topped with quark, plum paste, or simmered and mashed dried pears. It was baked for weddings, christenings, Christmas, Easter, the end of the harvest and other occasions, and cut into pieces to be eaten. In some households, it appeared on the table not only on holidays but also on Sundays.

Today, “Wallachian frgál,” which bears the name of this region, is protected as a name tied to a defined area and production method.

Glossary