Makowiec

Makowiec (Polish Poppy Seed Roll)

A classic Polish celebration bread: a soft yeasted sponge rolled around a dense, sweet filling of ground poppy seeds, honey, raisins, and almonds. In Poland it is served at Christmas Eve and Easter, sliced to show off its spiral.

Prep

45 min

Cook

40 min

Total

85 min

Serves

8

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) plain wheat flour, all-purpose
• •200 ml (7 fl oz) whole milk, lukewarm
• •100 g (3½ oz) unsalted butter, melted
• •80 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar, for the dough
• •7 g (1 packet) instant dry yeast, or 25 g fresh yeast
• •2 whole (2 large) eggs + 1 yolk, one white reserved for glaze
• •1 tsp fine salt
• •1 tsp lemon zest, from 1 unwaxed lemon
• •200 g (7 oz) poppy seeds, ground, home-grind from whole blue poppy seeds if possible
• •120 g (½ cup) honey, use mild blossom honey; buckwheat is too strong
• •80 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar, for the filling
• •120 g (1 cup) raisins, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, then drained
• •100 g (1 cup) blanched almonds, finely ground, or walnuts
• •60 ml (¼ cup) whole milk or cream, to loosen the filling
• •2 tbsp rum or strong tea, for soaking the raisins
• •1 tsp vanilla extract
• •1 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting, optional
• •1 whole egg white, lightly beaten, reserved for the glaze

Steps

1. 1 Make the sponge: whisk 100 g flour, the yeast, 1 tbsp of the sugar, and the lukewarm milk in a small bowl. Leave 10 minutes until foamy.
2. 2 In a stand mixer, combine the remaining flour, salt, lemon zest, eggs and yolk, melted butter, and remaining sugar. Pour in the sponge and knead 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic; the dough should clear the bowl but stay soft. Cover and rise 1 to 1.5 hours, until roughly doubled.
3. 3 Meanwhile make the filling: warm the honey with the 80 g sugar and 60 ml milk in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves; do not boil. Stir in the ground poppy seeds, ground almonds, drained raisins, rum, and vanilla. Cool to room temperature; the filling should be spreadable, not runny. Add a splash more milk if too stiff.
4. 4 Line a 25 x 35 cm (10 x 14 in) baking tin or a large sheet pan with parchment. Punch down the dough and roll it on a lightly floured cloth into a rectangle about 40 x 30 cm (16 x 12 in) and 5 mm (¼ in) thick.
5. 5 Spread the poppy filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 2 cm (¾ in) border along one long edge. Roll up tightly from the opposite long edge, like a Swiss roll. Pinch the seam to seal and tuck the ends under.
6. 6 Transfer seam-side down into the tin, brush with the reserved egg white, and rise again 30 minutes, until visibly puffy. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (fan 160°C).
7. 7 Bake 35-40 minutes. The crust should be deep golden and the roll should sound hollow when tapped; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the centre of the dough (not the filling) should read 94°C / 200°F or above.
8. 8 Cool fully on a rack, then dust with icing sugar. Traditionally sliced into 2 cm (¾ in) pinwheels to show the spiral.
9. 9 Safety note: raw poppy seeds sold for baking are food-grade and safe to eat without heat treatment; this filling is fully cooked inside the baked roll, so no separate step is required.