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    Home » Desserts

    Poppy Seed Roll – Czech Makový závin

    Published: May 7, 2021 · Modified: Jan 13, 2023 by Petra Kupská

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    Are you a fan of poppy seeds? If the answer is yes, then I have an excellent recipe for you! An Old Bohemian poppyseed roll that will delight everyone who tastes it.

    czech poppy seed roll makový závin
    Table of Contents hide
    ➜ What is Czech Poppy Seed Roll?
    ➜ Ingredients
    ➜ Instruction with Photos
    ➜ Serving
    ➜ Cook's Tips
    Poppy Seed Roll – Czech Makový závin

    ➜ What is Czech Poppy Seed Roll?

    Czech poppy seed roll is a sweet pastry made of yeast dough, filled with poppyseed filling, and swirled into a loaf shape. The baked roll is dusted with icing sugar and cut into slices. It tastes excellent with coffee or tea, at family gatherings, or just for breakfast.

    This delicacy is called "makový závin" or "makový štrúdl" in the Czech Republic. 

    poppyseed roll old czech makový závin

    Poppy seed bread roll is very popular with our eastern neighbors in Slovakia. Slovaks call the poppy strudel "maková štrúdla". 

    MY TIP: Try out Czech apple strudel too (sweet pastry roll filled with apples)

    Poland, which borders the Czech Republic to the north, calls the poppy seed roll "makowiec". This word can be misleading for us Czechs because a similar name makovec means a delicious poppyseed coffee cake with lemon icing in Czech.

    Enough talk, let's bake!

    ➜ Ingredients

    This recipe makes two loaves of poppyseed rolls—the exact amount of ingredients are listed below in the recipe card.

    Yeast roll dough ingredients:

    indredients yeast dough
    • All-purpose flour
    • Milk; lukewarm
    • Granulated sugar
    • Unsalted butter; softened at room temperature
    • Pinch of salt
    • Egg
    • Vanilla paste; or essence
    • Active dry yeast; or fresh yeast (both work well)

    ✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

    Poppyseed filling ingredients:

    poppyseed filling ingredients
    • Poppyseed; ground
    • Milk
    • Powdered sugar
    • Jam; any spicier one, Czechs usually use plum jam
    • Raisins
    • Golden rum; for more flavor (optional)

    If you want the poppyseed filling to smell better, grate a teaspoon of fresh lemon zest into it. In old Czech cookbooks, ground cloves were often included in the poppy seed filling.

    Learn, how to grind cloves and other dry spices by hand.

    ➜ Instruction with Photos

    First, prepare the poppy seed filling. This must be completely cooled before you use it to fill the roll.

    Making poppyseed filling:

    STEP 1: Put the ground poppy seeds in a saucepan, pour in the milk. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat to a minimum and cook for 10 minutes while stirring (photo 1).

    making poppyseed filling

    STEP 2: Remove from the stove, stir in the sugar, jam, and raisins (photo 2+3). Transfer to a bowl, let it cool completely. Pour in the rum and stir (photo 4).

    making poppyseed filling

    Making yeast dough:

    STEP 1: Heat the milk up to be warm but not hot. Add the butter, let it melt in the milk. Add the egg and beat in the mixture with a fork.

    egg mixture

    STEP 2: Sift the flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Add the vanilla paste. Pour in the prepared mixture of milk, butter, and egg.

    making yeast dough

    STEP 3: Stir in the dry yeast.

    making yeast dough

    STEP 4: Work everything into a smooth dough. I use only my hands, not a kitchen mixer. I start with a fork to incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Then I dump everything on the countertop and knead the dough with my hands. Please do not underestimate the kneading itself; it takes about 5 minutes.

    yeast dough for a roll

    STEP 5: Cover the dough in the bowl with a clean tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume. This takes about an hour.

    ⤍ Learn how to make dough rise in the oven.

    yeast dough proofed

    STEP 6: Divide the dough into two equal parts. Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll out one piece of the dough roughly into a rectangle so that the longer part is no longer than the baking sheet. I baked the poppyseed roll on a 16x14 inch baking sheet and rolled out the dough to about 14x12 inches.

    STEP 7: Spread the rolled-out dough with the cooled poppy seed filling, leaving an uncovered strip about 1 inch wide around the perimeter.

    STEP 8: Beat one egg in a bowl and brush the edges of the dough. This step will help prevent the poppy seed filling from oozing out of the roll when baking.

    making poppyseed roll

    STEP 9: Carefully roll up the poppyseed roll. Squeeze both ends lightly and fold them down.

    rolling up czech makový závin

    STEP 10: Transfer the strudel to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

    CZECH MAKOVÝ ZÁVIN

    STEP 11: Prepare the second roll in the same way.

    STEP 12: Bake the rolls in a preheated oven at 340°F for about 40 minutes until their surface is golden brown.

    ➜ Serving

    Let the roll cool down, dust with icing sugar, and slice it into pieces about 1 and ½ inches wide. Poppyseed roll tastes great with coffee when meeting with family or friends.

    CZECH poppy seed roll

    ➜ Cook's Tips

    • First, prepare the poppyseed filling so that it has time to cool down. The yeast dough should always be filled with room temperature warmed stuffing; that is, not too hot or too cold, e.g., taken out of the fridge.
    • In the Czech Republic, you can buy poppy seeds already ground. If you purchase whole poppy seeds, grind them quickly in a coffee grinder or food processor.
    • Raisins in the poppyseed filling are optional; if you don't like them, feel free to leave them out.

    More poppyseed recipes:

    • Škubánky s mákem – a Czech sweet treat
    • Noodles with poppyseeds – nudle s mákem
    • Puff pastry with poppyseed filling – kohoutí hřebeny
    • Poppy seed bundt cake – Czech makova babovka

    Tried this recipe?

    Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    Follow me on Facebook and Pinterest. Subscribe to my newsletter. Send me any question about Czech cuisine to my e-mail. I love hearing your feedback!

    old czech makový závin poppyseed roll recipe

    Poppy Seed Roll – Czech Makový závin

    Are you a fan of poppy seeds? If the answer is yes, then I have an excellent recipe for Old Bohemian poppyseed roll here that will delight everyone who tastes it!
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes
    Rising Time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 2 hours
    Servings: 2 loaves
    Calories: 2412kcal
    Author: Petra Kupská
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Dessert, Sweet Bread, Sweet Pastry
    Cuisine: Czech
    Keyword: Czech recipes, poppyseed recipes

    Ingredients

    Poppyseed filling:

    • 2 ½ cup ground poppy seeds (225 g)
    • 1 cup milk (240 ml)
    • 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g)
    • ⅓ cup raisins (50 g)
    • 2 Tablespoons jam
    • 2 Tablespoons spiced rum optional

    Yeast dough:

    • 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (490 g) plus some for dusting the worktop
    • ¾ cup milk (180 ml) warm
    • ⅓ cup granulated sugar (65 g)
    • ½ stick unsalted butter (55 g)
    • ¾ Tablespoon active dry yeast
    • 1 egg
    • pinch of salt
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla essence (optional)

    Instructions

    Poppyseed filling:

    • Put the ground poppy seeds in a saucepan, pour in the milk. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat to a minimum and cook for 10 minutes while stirring.
    • Remove from the stove, stir in the sugar, jam, and raisins. Transfer to a bowl, let it cool completely. Pour in the rum and stir.

    Yeast dough:

    • Heat the milk to warm but not hot. Add the butter, let it melt in the milk. Add the egg and beat in the mixture with a fork.
    • Sift the flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Add the vanilla paste. Pour in the prepared mixture of milk, butter, and egg.
    • Stir in the dry yeast.
    • Work everything into a smooth dough. I use only my hands, not a kitchen mixer. I start with a fork to incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Then I dump everything on the countertop and knead the dough with my hands. Please do not underestimate the kneading itself; it takes about 5 minutes.
    • Cover the dough in the bowl with a clean tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume. This takes about an hour.
    • Divide the dough into two equal parts. Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll out one piece of the dough roughly into a rectangle so that the longer part is no longer than the baking sheet. I baked the poppyseed roll on a 16x14 inch baking sheet and rolled out the dough to about 14x12 inches.
    • Spread the rolled-out dough with the cooled poppy seed filling, leaving an uncovered strip about 1 inch wide around the perimeter.
    • Beat one egg in a bowl and brush the edges of the dough. This step will help prevent the poppy seed filling from oozing out of the roll when baking.
    • Carefully roll up the poppyseed roll. Squeeze both ends lightly and fold them down.
    • Transfer the strudel to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
    • Prepare the second roll in the same way.
    • Bake the roll in a preheated oven at 340°F (170 °C) for about 40 minutes until the surface is golden brown.

    Notes

    1. Makes 2 poppyseed loaves.
    2. SERVING: Let the roll cool, dust with icing sugar, and slice it into pieces about 1 and ½ inches wide
    3. First, prepare the poppyseed filling so that it has time to cool. The yeast dough should always be filled with room temperature warmed stuffing; meaning: not hot or too cold, e.g., taken out of the fridge.
    4. In the Czech Republic, you can buy poppyseeds already ground. If you purchase whole poppyseeds, grind them quickly in a clean coffee grinder or food processor.
    5. I used a 14x16 inches baking pan to bake this roll.

    DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

    Conversion chart

    Nutritional Estimate pro portion

    Calories: 2412kcal | Carbohydrates: 352g | Protein: 58g | Fat: 87g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 38g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 175mg | Sodium: 183mg | Potassium: 1704mg | Fiber: 33g | Sugar: 118g | Vitamin A: 1187IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 2107mg | Iron: 24mg
    Do you like the recipe?I would be happy for your feedback! Please, rate the recipe and share your opinion or questions in comments bellow. Thank you very much.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Peter Filip

      December 27, 2021 at 9:31 pm

      5 stars
      Great job! Thank you for the delicious roll ????

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        January 03, 2022 at 10:07 am

        You are very welcome, Peter!

        Reply
    2. Amy

      January 29, 2022 at 5:39 pm

      My dad talks about his Czech grandmother making a bread with ground poppy seeds and dried fruit, that he called “pachka.” (That’s how it sounds, not sure how it’s spelled.) Based on his description, it sounds pretty close to this - can’t wait to make this for him!

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        January 30, 2022 at 2:26 am

        Thank you for your comment, Amy! I have already heard the word "pachka" or "paska" in connection with the strudel roll. I hope your dad will like this recipe.

        Reply
    3. Mary

      February 04, 2022 at 8:34 am

      Hi there,
      Your recipe sounds great and I can't wait to try it. I'm wondering why there isn't a second rise after the loaf is rolled?
      Thanks. Mary

      Reply
    4. Cindy W

      February 19, 2022 at 12:11 pm

      5 stars
      Would it be sacrilegious to use Solo brand poppy seed filling with some added raisins in a cake like this? I use it in Kolachkes and often have left over that I don't know how to use. This looks delightful!

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        February 19, 2022 at 5:21 pm

        I don't live in the US, so I can't judge objectively. However, I have heard nothing but praise for Solo's poppy seed filling! I've read that it's used to fill sweet pastries and works perfectly fine. I firmly believe it would be great in this poppy seed roll recipe as well 🙂 With warm greetings from Bohemia, Petra

        Reply
    5. Katie

      November 07, 2022 at 11:13 pm

      5 stars
      just made this for my friends and it was a big hit! Bookmarked for future use! I like that they aren't too sweet, really good with my morning coffee.

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        November 11, 2022 at 6:40 am

        Thank you for your nice comment, Katie! Glad to hear you liked the poppy seed roll 🙂

        Reply
    6. Sarah

      November 11, 2022 at 10:16 am

      Thanks, as always, for your great recipes! Do you think I could freeze the already baked poppy seed roll? I'm thinking about making this ahead for holiday breakfast. It would be great to pull this out of the freezer, ready to go, amidst the craziness of the holidays.

      Reply
    7. Jim

      December 09, 2022 at 7:38 pm

      My dough is not rising. I used active yeast. Did I do something wrong?

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        December 11, 2022 at 4:50 pm

        Jim, I am sorry to hear this! There may be several reasons why the dough does not rise. Have you tried making a starter beforehand, i.e., pouring the yeast into lukewarm milk with a little sugar and testing to see if the yeast starts to foam and bubble on the surface? Is the dough placed in a warm, draft-free place during rising? The more fat the dough contains, the heavier it is and the longer it takes to rise than the recipe may indicate. I believe that the dough did eventually proof, and you successfully baked the poppy seed roll.

        Reply

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    Hi there, I’m Petra, a self-taught home cook and a Czech mom of two teen boys with more than 20 years of cooking experience. I am here to share traditional recipes from the Czech Republic, a small country in the very heart of Europe.

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