Croatian Poppy Seed Roll
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 c. flour
- 3/4 c. milk
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 2 cakes yeast
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated
- 6 tbsp. melted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
MAKOVNJACA. Allow the yeast to rise in one quarter cup of warm milk until doubled in size. Sift the flour into a deep bowl. Make a well in the center and place the yeast in the well. Add the remaining milk, sugar, egg yolks, lemon rind, vanilla, butter and salt. Mix together well and beat with a wooden spoon until blisters begin to form on the dough. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled in bulk. Divide the dough into two sections. Roll each section out very thin, brush with melted butter and fill with poppy seed filling. Roll like a savijaca* by filling the edge of the table-cloth on which the dough was rolled out. Place the two sections of MAKOVNJACA on a well greased baking sheet and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for another half hour. Brush the rolls with a well beaten egg white and bake at 350 F for about an hour until they become golden. Cool before slicing and serving. Filling 2 c. ground poppy seeds 1/2 c. sweet cream 3 tbsp. raisins 1/2 c. sugar 4 tbsp. honey 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tbsp. rum 1 tsp. lemon rind Mix the finely ground poppy seeds, the lemon rind, raisins, sugar and cinnamon. Spread this mixture over the rolled out dough. Heat the cream. Combine the cream, honey and rum and pour this mixture over the poppy seeds. Roll the MAKOVNJACA up like a sajivaca. Note: savijaca is a roll in Croatian. OREHNJACA (Walnut Roll) MAKOVNJACA dough 1/2 c. melted butter 3/4 c. sugar 1 c. hot milk 2 tbsp. strawberry jam 1 lb. walnuts, ground 1 tsp. grated lemon peel 1/4 c. raisins 1 tsp. cinnamon 2 tbsp. rum Prepare the OREHNJACA dough in the same manner as the MAKOVNJACA dough. Pour the scalded milk over the walnuts. Combine with the remaining ingredients and allow to cool before spreading over the dough. Fill with the walnut filling. Bake according to the directions for MAKOVNJACA.