Here is the recipe for delicious, mouthwatering poppy seed and walnut rolls. These delightful rolls feature a fluffy, thin dough generously filled with a scrumptious mixture that will satisfy both poppy seed and walnut lovers alike.
Traditionally, these rolls are a staple on holiday tables on Eastern European countries, adding a touch of warmth and nostalgia to festive gatherings. However, their irresistible taste and delightful texture make them perfect for enjoying all year round. There’s no need to wait for a special occasion to indulge in these treats; they make an excellent addition to any breakfast, brunch, or dessert spread.
The dough for these rolls is incredibly soft and airy, providing the perfect base for the rich, flavorful filling. The poppy seed mixture offers a subtle, nutty sweetness, while the walnut filling adds a hearty, earthy richness.
They are best enjoyed when fresh out of the oven, but they also store well, allowing you to enjoy them over several days. Pair them with a cup of coffee or tea for a delightful treat any time of the day.
How to make poppy seed and walnut rolls
Start with preparing the dough. In a large bowl, mix flour with sugar. Dissolve the fresh yeast in a little warm milk and add to the flour mixture. Add eggs, the rest of the milk, sour cream, lemon zest, and oil, and mix everything together. Knead until smooth. Cover the dough and let it sit for about 1 hour at room temperature, allowing it to rise until nearly doubled in size.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling mixtures. Mix ground walnuts with sugar and vanilla, and set aside. In a separate bowl, pour hot milk over the ground poppy seeds, stir well, and let cool completely. Once cool, add sugar and vanilla, and stir.
How to shape and bake the rolls
Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).
Punch the dough down, knead, and split into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle about 30 cm (12 inches) long. Use oil if the dough is sticky.
Cover the dough with 1/3 of the poppy seed or walnut mixture, leaving a 1-inch border on each side. Roll each piece of dough and place it on a greased baking sheet.
Beat the egg and brush each roll with the egg wash. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.
Let the rolls cool slightly before serving. Hope you will try them out and enjoy these deliciously filled rolls warm or at room temperature. If you do, make sure to share the photos with me on Instagram.
For more similar recipes check our full collection of Bread Recipes.
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Poppy Seed and Walnut Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 1/2 pounds (1.2 kg ) flour
- 5 eggs
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 4 tbsp sour cream
- 2/3 cup (135g) sugar
- 50 g fresh yeast (4 1/2 active dry yeast)
- 10 tbsp oil
- 2 cups (500 ml) warm milk
Poppy seed Mixture - for 3 rolls
- 14 oz (400g) ground poppy seeds
- 3/4 cup (150ml) hot milk
- 2/3 cup (135g) sugar
- vanilla
Walnut Mixture - for 3 rolls
- 14 oz (400g) ground walnuts
- 2/3 cup (135g) sugar
- vanilla
Garnish
- 1 egg , beaten
Instructions
Prepare the dough.
- In a large bowl, mix flour with sugar. Dissolve the fresh yeast in little warm milk and add to the flour mixture. Add eggs and rest of the milk, sour cream, lemon zest and oil and mix everything together. Knead until smooth. Cover it and let it sit for about 1 hour at room temperature, to let the dough rise until nearly doubled in size.
Meanwhile, prepare the walnut and poppy seed fillings.
- Mix ground walnuts with sugar and vanilla, and set aside. In a separate bowl pour hot milk over poppy seeds, stir well and let cool completely. When is cool enough add sugar and vanilla and stir.
- Preheat the oven to 150C (300F).
How to shape and bake the rolls.
- Punch the dough down, knead, and split into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rectangular, about 30 cm (12 inches) long. You can use oil if the dough is sticky.
- Cover the dough with 1/3 of the poppy seed or walnuts mixture, leaving uncovered 1 inch on each side. Roll and place it on a greased baking sheet.
- Beat egg and brush each roll. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @homecookingadventure on Instagram and hashtag it #homecookingadventure.
The bread looks wonderful. It reminds me of another bread I used to make all the time.
They look absolutely gorgeous!
typical cake for whole former Czechoslovakia:-) my grandmother bakes this every Sunday:-)
Exactly, I was for writing the same
Seriously? 400 ground poppy seeds. You count the poppy seeds? Really? And, 400 ground walnuts? That’s a lot of freaking walnuts. I sense a couple of errors here.
Of course you can count poppy seeds. why is that so surprising??? And there is no error. 400 g of walnuts or poppy seeds is enough for 3 rolls (about 12 inches long), not one , so for one roll we use only 140 g which is really not that much.
Typical hungarian christmas cake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is typical polish cake 🙂 one of my fauvorite 🙂
for Filling Poppy seed mixture we use also honey (then reduce to few tbsp of sugar) and raisin and walnuts. After baking sprinkle “makowiec” (it is polish name of this cake) an icing sugar.
Gorgeous spiral rolls. These look so tasty. I would like a poppy seed roll plz…yum!
No need to wait for the holidays for something this tasty. Man I love your blog!
It seems that most Slavic / East Europian countries have the same cake and call it for their own. Well, we in Bosnia call it “Makovnja?a” (with poppyseeds)and “Orahnja?a” (with wallnuts)! However, it tastes great! I love to make them with razens which were soaked in rum!
This recipe isn’t about counting either the walnuts or the poppy seeds. The g in the recipe by either the poppy seeds or walnut stands for grams. 400 Grams.
My mother makes this a lot during the holidays (we’re Romanian) and the poppy seed is by far my favorite.
Christine, where were you born?? Behind the Moon?? Sorry, but your lack of information and culinary IQ is smashing… Yes, finding poppy seeds is challenging in USA (to say the least) but these breads are worth every effort. They are THE BEST. Another issue I’ve been dealing with here in the States is the yeast dough: it is always too dry, no matter what I’ve tried…
It is certainly hard for the spoiled european pallate to change location.. I remember my mother visiting us and changing her plane ticket. Initially she was planning on staying 6 months. After 6 weeks she left this country, claiming that she could not eat any of this cr… (Excuse my french) anymore. I knew it wasn’t me!
Anyways, this recipe is a good place to start. Not hard to make, visual effect is stunning and boy,does that taste good!!
So Christine, count those poppy seeds, you won’t regret it!
Mark Mywords
There is nothing that compares to this dessert. My grandmother has a recipe that has been handed down from my great grandmother who was originally from Poland. I’m learning to make it this year for Christmas and daunting as it is to make it “the right way,” I’ve never tasted anything better.
I agree with you. 🙂 This is one of my favorite dessert, especially the poppy seed one.. mmmm I could never refuse a slice from this . I know this recipe has its origin in Eastern Europe, I am glad it finally gain popularity in other parts of the world :).My mother is making these every Christmas and Easter and she always send me one roll of each right after she take them out of the oven. Serving them warm is heavenly.
Ahh.. finally I found the recipe that I couldn’t find. The pics just add to the overall sense of memory. My mother was from Germany and spent a couple of years in Hungry during WW2. She made these as “mohne and nuss kuchen”. I am guessing from the comments, that they are in general a European dish. They are moorish, poppy seed is the favourite and I intend on making these. Thanks
This rolls are incredible delicious indeed. The poppy seeds ones are my favorite too. Let me know how these turned out for you.
These desserts are the best. My Oma made them, then my Mom. Now that they are sadly no longer here with us, it is my turn to make them. My Mom taught me these recipes and yours look great. My Mom and Oma were from Germany and we didn’t need a special occasion to make them, just a Sunday family gathering. I love making them and they are eaten very quickly!! Great post, so happy to see familiar recipes that say HOME!
In Transilvania is called baigli, I am making some tomorrow…thanks for this recipe, first I find that isn’t overloaded with butter 😛
Maria si eu sunt din Transilvania… reteta asta o face maica-mea de fiecare data de sarbatori si e super.. Sper ca o sa ii incerci.
Hi,
I made this today, I am just about to take it out of the oven. I made it to the letter and on the sides in some places it burst a bit, I think from the poppy seeds. I was just curious if same happened to you? I love a good amount of poppy seeds, but I might use a 100gr less next time.
Many thanks,
Elizabeth
Hi,
What do you mean by 4 1/4 active dry yeast? sachets? is not very clear.
Thanks
How much vanilla extract is needed for each filling mixture? Thank you for your time.
Sorry, please clarify: 4 1/2 active dry yeast…tsp? tbsp? packets? grams? Thank you!
I’m unable to find fresh yeast but I’m unsure about the measurements for your dry yeast. Is it teaspoons or sachets of yeast? Thank you
Why do the poppy seed or nut rolls split and filling comes out?
Dear Ella, may i know how to store this bread roll? we are located in sunny Singapore. Would it be possible to divide the recipe by 3 to make 1 roll instead? Thank you so much for sharing & making these beautiful videos! looking forward to more exciting videos.
Yes.. you can definitely divide the recipe, but the recipe here makes 6 rolls.. so you can divide by 3 and make 2 rolls. You can store the rolls in the pantry, will last for days. No need to refrigerate even if it is sunny. You can store either in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap. Hope you will try these out.
Hello Ella, thank you so much for sharing this recipe with all of us. I have tried different recipes, but I have made this one for a few times now and each time it came out very well. The other ones did not come out right. I meant to post here before, but I kept on forgetting. May the Lord bless you and reward you!
So happy to hear that Gina 🙂 Wish you Happy Holidays and God bless you and your family too!