Croatian recipe: Makovnjača

by croatiaweek
October 23, 2022
in Food & Wine

Makovnjača (Photo: Cro Chef/Zagreb Tourist Board)

Makovnjača is a poppy seed roll and is popular at Christmas and Easter time in Croatia along with the walnut roll.

There are many variations out there but here is a simply Makovnjača recipe which you can try just in time for Christmas.

Ingredients

Flour – 500 g
Yeast – 3.5 g
Egg – 1
Egg yolks – 2
Butter – 100 g
Poppy seeds – 300 g
Milk
Sugar – 550 g
Rum
Raisins – 100 g
Lemon

Makovnjača (Photo: Cro Chef/Zagreb Tourist Board)

Instructions

1. In a small bowl mix together the yeast, a teaspoon of sugar and flour and 50ml of lukewarm milk. Leave for 45 minutes.

2. In another bowl now put the rest of the flour, yeast foam mix, 1 egg, a bit of milk, grate some lemon core, sugar and mix together.

3. When the dough is ready take out, sprinkle with flour, place in another bowl, cover and let rest for 40 minutes.

4. Whilst the dough is resting prepare the filling. In a pan boil around 400ml of milk, when it boils add sugar, the ground poppy seeds and the raisins which have been soaking in the rum. Mix until binds together and then take off heat.

5. On a bench sprinkled with flour roll out the dough. Add the filling onto the rolled out dough and roll it up. Place the Makovnjača into an oven dish. Paste with egg yolk before placing it in the oven.

6. Bake in the oven at 180 ºC for around 60 minutes (once the top has the desired colour cover in toil foil for the rest of the time).

Let cool and dobar tek!