Czech Sweet Crescent Rolls with Poppyseed – Loupáčky Recipe

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.

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.

MY TIP: Learn more about Czech pastries!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

Cook ModePrevent 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 cinnamon
• Frgály, Wallachian sweet cake with blueberries
• Kefírka, easy Czech buttermilk sheet cake with chocolate icing