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    Home » Desserts

    Czech Sweet Crescent Rolls with Poppyseed – Loupáčky Recipe

    Published: Jun 7, 2020 · Modified: Jan 1, 2022 by Petra Kupská

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    In the eighties, the loupáčky or loupáky were very commonplace in former Czechoslovakia. You could buy these sweet rolls sprinkled with poppyseed in any store or bakery, together with Czech "koblihy" filled with jam.

    czech loupáčky
    Table of Contents show
    Pronunciation
    What Is Loupáček?
    Ingredients
    Instructions with Photos
    Extra Bonus
    FAQs
    Loupáčky – Czech Sweet Crescent Rolls with Poppyseed

    Today, stores are filled with various other sweet pastry types, often originating from a different country. A traditional loupáček became quite an old-school food, but it hasn’t lost its appeal and is still a classical Czech baked treat.

    Other Czech recipes with poppy seeds include "makovec" or "škubánky s mákem".

    Pronunciation

    I recorded a short audio clip on pronouncing the Czech word loupáčky. The first word in the audio is "loupáčky", the last is "loupáky", which has the same meaning.

    What Is Loupáček?

    Loupáček (plural loupáčky) is a fluffy sweet bread rolled into a crescent shape (similar to Czech rohlík). Loupáček is made from yeast dough. Before baking, loupáčky are brushed with a beaten egg and sprinkled with crunchy poppy seeds.

    Loupáček is also sometimes called makovka.

    Ingredients

    Loupáčky are baked from sweet yeasted dough, which has to be leaven twice. Leavening twice will ensure that the shape and puffiness are perfect when finished.

    • All-purpose flour
    • Milk
    • Granulated sugar
    • Lard
    • Salt
    • Yeast; fresh or instant dry
    • Eggs; for dough plus an egg wash
    • Poppy seeds; to sprinkle the surface before baking.

    Pork lard is used instead of butter in loupáček, which gives it its signature taste. If you don’t have lard, use unsalted butter instead.

    Instructions with Photos

    Leavening of the dough takes the most time. It’s leavened twice, once for 45 minutes just the dough, then you form the loupáčky, and they are leavened for additional 45 minutes.

    STEP 1: Put flour in a bowl, add lukewarm milk, sugar, lard, eggs, salt, and yeast.

    STEP 2: Mix and knead everything with your hands until you have a smooth, non-sticky dough.

    STEP 3: Split into 4 equally sized pieces, dust lightly with flour and cover them with a towel. Let it leaven for 45 minutes in a warm place.

    dough for loupáčky

    STEP 4: Flatten the pieces with a rolling pin until you have a layer about ⅕ inch (4 mm) in thickness. Cut the piece into 6 triangles.

    making loupáčky

    STEP 5: Roll the triangle from the wide side to the tip. Press down the tips lightly together, and place them on a baking paper-lined baking tray. Bend the loupáčky into a horseshoe shape.

    loupáčky before baking

    STEP 6: Let it leaven for additional 45 minutes. Do not skip this step!

    STEP 7: Brush the leavened loupáčky with beaten eggs and sprinkle their surface with poppy seeds.

    sprinkle loupáčky with poppy seed

    STEP 8: Bake in a 350 °F (180 °C) preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until the surface turns golden.

    baked loupáčky

    Extra Bonus

    This is a quick recipe from my grandpa. He used to make a fabulous dessert out of left loupáčky!

    He sliced some older loupáčky and put them in a strain. He poured hot milk over them, then he arranged them on a plate and sprinkled them with poppy seed and sugar. As the final step, he poured the butter over them. Totally amazing!

    FAQs

    How to eat loupáček?

    Czechs love loupáčky both alone or with butter, honey, or jam. Old fashioned people like loupáčky as a breakfast, soaked in white coffee. The taste of a loupáček slightly resembles a brioche or a croissant. Loupáček doesn’t contain any filling, raisins, or other dried fruit types.

    Can I freeze loupáky?

    If you have more loupáčky than you can eat, it’s best to freeze them while they’re still fresh. You can then take one or two from the freezer and let them thaw whenever you want some. Loupáčky taste as if they were fresh.

    Recipe card

    czech loupáčky poppyseed recipe

    Loupáčky – Czech Sweet Crescent Rolls with Poppyseed

    A traditional Czech baked treat - authentic recipe
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    2x leavening: 1 hour 30 minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
    Servings: 24 pieces
    Author: Petra Kupská
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Czech
    Keyword: loupáček, makovka

    Ingredients

    Yeasted dough for loupáčky:

    • 1 and ¾ cups (420 ml) milk lukewarm
    • 2 lb (900 g) all-purpose flour
    • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
    • 3 oz (84 g) pork lard or ¾ stick unsalted butter
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 2 oz (60 g) fresh yeast or 2 tsp dry yeast
    • 1 whole egg

    For finishing:

    • 1 egg for brushing
    • whole poppy seed to sprinkle loupáčky before baking

    Instructions

    • Put the flour into a bowl, add lukewarm milk. Add granulated sugar, lard, salt, eggs. Break the yeast down into the mix.
    • Mix and knead everything with your hands until you have a smooth, non-sticky dough. Add some milk/or flour if necessary.
    • Split into 4 equally sized pieces, dust lightly with flour, and cover them with a towel. Let it leaven for 45 minutes in a warm place.
    • Flatten the pieces with a rolling pin until you have a layer about ⅕ inch (4 mm) in thickness. Cut the piece into 6 triangles.
    • Roll the triangle from the wide side to the tip. Press down the tips lightly together, and place them on a baking paper-lined baking tray.
    • Bend the loupáčky into a horseshoe shape.
    • Let it leaven for additional 45 minutes. Do not skip this step!
    • Brush the leavened loupáčky with beaten eggs and sprinkle them with poppy seeds.
    • Bake in a 350 °F (180 °C) preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until the surface turns gold.

    Notes

    Loupáčky taste best fresh, but you can soak them in white coffee for breakfast.

    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
    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.

    More typical Czech desserts:

    • Lívance, Czech yeasted pancakes with cinamon
    • Frgály, Wallachian sweet cake with blueberries
    • Kefírka, easy Czech buttermilk sheet cake with chocolate icing
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jan

      January 20, 2022 at 12:51 pm

      Hi Petra,
      I live in Cincinnati Ohio and was brought up eating poppyseed horns with coffee. There are no longer bakeries making them. I would like to make them for my siblings.
      Do these horns have a firm outer crust? If not, would baking with steam toughen them?

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        January 20, 2022 at 2:55 pm

        Ahoj Jan,
        Thank you for your comment. These poppyseed loupacky horns have a regular crust, I would say. However, the poppy seeds sprinkled on the surface make it crunchier. Steaming in the oven always helps to crisp up the baked goods; you can give it a try; it is a good idea!

        Reply
        • Jan

          January 20, 2022 at 8:57 pm

          Thank you for your speedy response. I’ll let you know how they turn out!

          Reply
          • Petra Kupská

            January 24, 2022 at 4:04 am

            I'll be looking forward to it! 🙂

            Reply
    2. Pam Anderson

      July 19, 2022 at 1:48 pm

      5 stars
      Hi! I appreciate seeing this recipe; thank you (and your son) for posting it. I currently am completing a book of poems based in Czechoslovakia from 1938-1945 and plan to use this recipe as an anchor to one of my poems. Of course, I will acknowledge that this recipe is from your kitchen, but I also want to ask your permission to use it. You can read more about me on my website: https://www.pamelaranderson.org/
      I will be trying this recipe this week! With warmest regards...Pam

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        July 22, 2022 at 11:29 am

        Hi Pam! Thank you for reaching out. Your idea is great, the years 1938-1945 cover the period of WWII in former Czechoslovakia. Of course, feel free to use the recipe in your book of poems, I don't have a bit of a problem with that. I wish your poetic muse never leaves you! Petra

        Reply

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    Hi there, I’m Petra, 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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