Your kifli looks different than what I know, but the dough might be similar, just rolled and filled a little differently. I'll have a look at the online recipes sometime. The first Hungarian kifli recipe I came across yesterday had no resemblance to what I know - 4 egg whites whipped with sugar, 4 egg yolks mixed with the rest of the sugar, then flour and butter folded in - so there are probably many versions. If you want to search yourself, I googled the words kifli and Magyar, figuring that would get me a more authentic recipe. There might be some versions already translated into English, though I didn't see any offhand.
Is the kalács what I would know as a nut roll or poppyseed roll?
Yes. Though I thought afterward that kolach is how most Americans would try to pronounce kalács. Anyway, here's my easy kalács recipe:
Dough make in bread machine, on dough cycle
7/8 cup buttermilk
1 egg
4 tbsp butter
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
1.5 tsp yeast
Divide dough in half. Roll out each piece into a large rectangle (at least 9 x 11 inches, or as big as you can get it without the dough tearing. Spread filling over the dough and roll the dough up from one end like a jelly roll. Seal the ends and seam as much as possible so the filling won’t ooze out, and place the two rolls seam side down, side by side on a baking pan. Spread melted butter over the top, let rise in the refrigerator overnight, or on the countertop for maybe 30-40 minutes. Bake at 325 or 350 until the outside is medium brown. The timing can be a little tricky, but you want to be sure none of the dough in the middle is underdone, without actually burning the dough on the outside.. Let cool and slice.
Filling:
My family traditionally made a nut version and a poppyseed version. This is where it gets subjective.
The simplest version of the nut type is to grind the nuts very finely (a rotary-type fine nut grater works best), and add sugar to taste. I grind roughly a cup of nuts (can’t remember exactly, but I usually end up with a pasta bowl that’s heaped with ground nuts) , add maybe 3 heaping tablespoons of sugar, then taste and go from there. I also add a little grated lemon rind – maybe half a teaspoon – and a small amount of heavy cream, half and half or butter – just enough that the filling sticks together a little, rather than being a big, fluffy, hard-to-work-with pile of nuts and sugar. I’ve made walnut, hazelnut and pecan versions and all turned out well. The amount of filling can vary, though it's usually a generous amount. The only thing to watch out for is that if you put too much in, it will weigh the dough down and not turn out well.
The poppyseed version is similar, but probably an acquired taste. You grind the poppyseeds and add sugar. I looked for proportions on this (haven’t made it in a while myself), and found one recipe that said ½ pound of poppy seeds, 2 tbsp honey, ½ cup sugar, 2 tbsp butter. 2 tsp lemon juice, ½ tsp grated lemon rind, +/- a pinch of cinnamon. I don’ think I ever added butter myself (the ground poppy seeds themselves are sticky), lemon or cinnamon.
I’ve also experimented with other versions, like adding a couple of tablespoons of cocoa or chocolate to ground hazelnuts and sugar.