Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Poppy Seed Roll for #BreadBakers

It wouldn't be a holiday in a Polish household without a couple poppyseed and walnut rolls.  Our theme today for Bread Bakers, hosted by Pavani of Cook's Hideout, is Family Feast Breads.  This bread has Eastern European roots including Czechoslavakia from whence my grandmother hailed but I had never heard of it or tried it until I married into a Polish family.

Image result for happy birthday jesus cake
image from pinterest.

My family was not big on traditions as I was growing up.  We did all gather at my parents house on Christmas Eve but dinner was casual, usually a pot of chili.  The kids all played with the new stuff they got and the adults all sat around the kitchen table playing cards.  We did have one tradition that I cherish and that was the birthday cake that we would all gather around to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.


Frank, on the other hand, had lots of Christmas traditions growing up.  They could not light the Christmas tree until the first star shone in the sky on Christmas Eve.  They fasted during Advent until Christmas Day so Christmas Eve dinner was (and still is) meatless, a tradition called Wigilia. We break bread and share Oplatek before dinner and they always have certain foods.  Mom Klik's mushroom soup, Nalesniki, Pierogi, and Poppyseed or/and Walnut Rolls.

So, of course, when Pavani asked for Family Feast Breads I knew I had to make a roll and I decided on Poppyseed because Frank likes it better than the Walnut roll.


Roll your dough into a rectangle and spread the poppyseed filling leaving a 1" border.


This recipe will give you 2 poppyseed rolls.
Let rise in a warm spot for an hour and then brush with egg wash.


Bake until golden brown.
Let cool completely before icing.


A simple glaze and you are done.
This is not a sweet bread so if you like sweet you may want to add more glaze.



Poppy Seed Roll

1/2 c. warm water (110-105*)
2 T. sugar
2 1/4 t. active dry yeast
2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. butter, room temperature
1 egg separated
1 can (12.5 oz) poppyseed filling

Glaze
1 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1-2 T. half and half

Combine water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl and let set until frothy, about 5 minutes.

Place flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add the butter and cut in with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles course crumbs.  Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and add the yeast mixture and egg yolk to the flour mixture.  Run at slow speed for 3 or 4 minutes until the dough comes together adding more flour, a bit at a time, if necessary.  Once the mixture forms a ball continue to knead with dough hook for another 5 minutes at low speed.  The dough should spring back when touched.

Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half.  Roll each half into a 12x16" rectangle. Place 1/2 can of poppyseed filling onto each rectangle, leaving a 1" border.  Fold the border back down over the filling, pressing down as you go.  Starting at short end, roll it up like a jelly roll, pinch the seams and end closed and place seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Set in a warm place and allow to rise until double in size, about 1 hr.

Beat the egg white with a fork and brush over rolls.  Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 30-40,minutes, until golden brown.  Cover with a towel and allow to cool completely before glazing.

Mix half and half into the powdered sugar, 1 T. at a time, until desired consistence is reached. Drizzle over the cooled poppyseed rolls.  Print Recipe


Let's take a look at what my fellow bakers have baked for this month’s Family Feast Breads event:
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.
BreadBakers

33 comments:

  1. So nice to know about your family's tradition of eating meatless meals on Christmas Eve. And I love love love all Eastern European breads. I can't wait to make these poppy seed rolls.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love how the filling makes swirls inside the loaf-- a beautiful loaf for a festive occasion!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wendy, that looks amazing! How interesting about your different family (non) traditions!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, a short time after my husband and I were married, my daughter was trying to explain wigilia to a friend and said "I'm not really sure because we weren't Polish until we married Frank". LOL

      Delete
  4. Wendy, did you grow up Catholic or marry into Catholic? We didn't have many traditions for Christmas either when I was growing up. My mom was not a big fan of Christmas because we were so poor. She couldn't seem to see beyond that! I have a few traditions for my family now and that is what I love about Christmas. This bread looks really, really good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was born catholic and married catholic the second time. My first husband had no religious background but was supportive of me raising the kids catholic. I guess we just had no family traditions because my Grandmother was so happy to be here from the "old" country that she wanted no traditions from there in her celebrations here.

      Delete
  5. This looks wonderful and I haven't had poppyseed anything for a long time!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tara and thanks for the apron that I won from your blog post. I will be posting about it when I get back from Vegas

      Delete
  6. What a beautiful roll, Wendy! When I saw your title, I was sure you had left off the S and meant to say rolls because I had no idea what to expect. I love reading about other families' traditions. We always spent Christmas Eve with my father's parents opening gifts from that side of the family because Christmas Day was spent with my mom's side. Best of all worlds for a child!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I guess when I say we had no traditions that I meant passed down from generations past. We, of course, went to Mass, had a Christmas tree and stockings. I don't recall any baking of cookies but there was always a cake for Jesus.

      Delete
  7. It looks great and I'm sure my daughter will love it :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh what a pretty roll with a pretty filling! I am sure it tasted as wonderful as it looks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What's unassuming from the outside is beautifully dramatic once cut--what a lovely loaf, Wendy!

    ReplyDelete
  10. That poppy seed swirl is so beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I recently read about of this Polish Poppyseed bread , but now visually seeing it, looks awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It is really nice to read about your family holiday traditions. Your poppy seed rolls look amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love hearing about other peoples traditions around Christmas time and seeing the foods they bake each and every year. These rolls look lovely. Laura@ Baking in Pyjamas

    ReplyDelete
  14. a beautiful roll. I love poppy seeds. Wondering what else a poppy seed filling contains.

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy getting comments and feedback from my audience. Please let me know what you think, keeping in mind that we are all entitled to our own beliefs and opinions. I am happy to hear yours as long as they are stated nicely.