Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gstrong white flour
- 250 mlwarm milk
- 10 ginstant yeast
- 80 gsugar
- 1 tspsalt
- 2egg yolks
- 80 gbutter, softened
Lamination
- 250 gbutter, cold, for the block
White poppy filling
- 300 gwhite poppy seed, biały mak
- 150 gsugar
- 100 gbutter
- 150 mlmilk
- 100 graisins
- 80 gwalnuts, chopped
- 50 gcandied orange peel
- 1 tspvanilla
- 2 tbsprum
- 50 gbiscuit crumbs
To finish
- 1egg, beaten
- 200 gicing sugar
- 2 tbspwater
- chopped nuts and candied peel
Directions
- Grind the poppy seed, or buy it ready-ground, then scald it with hot milk and let it stand 30 minutes. Poppy seed must be ground and softened, because whole seeds stay hard and give a gritty filling.
- Cook the softened poppy seed with the sugar, butter and milk for 15 minutes until thick. Cook it until it is thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon, because a wet filling leaks out of the croissant in the oven.
- Stir in the raisins, walnuts, peel, vanilla, rum and biscuit crumbs and cool it completely. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, milk and yolks, then knead in the softened butter, and knead 10 minutes. Wrap the dough and chill it for an hour. Beat the cold block butter between two sheets of paper into a flat rectangle and keep it cold.
- Roll the dough out, enclose the butter block in it, and seal the edges. Now do three single folds, chilling for 30 minutes between each. Work quickly and keep everything cold, and stop and refrigerate if the butter starts to break through.
- Roll the dough out to about 4 mm and cut it into long triangles. Do not overfill. Roll each triangle up from the wide end and curve the ends into a crescent. Set them on lined trays, well apart, and prove 45 minutes until noticeably puffed.
- Brush with beaten egg and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20 to 25 minutes until deep golden. The layers should be visible at the cut ends and the pastry should be flaky rather than bready.
- Let them cool slightly on the tray before glazing. Mix the icing sugar with water into a thick glaze and spoon it over the still-warm croissants. Glaze them warm so the icing spreads and sets to a sheen rather than sitting in a lump.
- Scatter chopped nuts and candied peel over while the icing is wet. Serve them the day they are baked. In Poznań the tradition is tied to Saint Martin, and there are stories about a baker dreaming of a horseshoe, which is offered as the reason for the crescent shape.
Technique
- White poppy seed is sold in Polish shops and is quite different from the common blue poppy.
- Around a million of them are sold in Poznań on 11 November.
- They are heavy and rich and one is a substantial thing.
Substitutions
- Ready-made poppy seed filling, masa makowa, which is widely sold.
- All-butter croissant dough, bought ready-laminated.
Variations
- Made with blue poppy seed, which is not the protected version.
- With almond paste as well as poppy.
- Made small, as individual pastries.
History
A Poznań speciality with EU protected status, sold by the tonne every 11 November.
Frequently asked questions
What is Rogal świętomarciński?
Rogal świętomarciński is a bread & pastry from Poland: croissant filled with white poppy seed paste, eaten on Saint Martin’s Day. A Poznań speciality with EU protected status, sold by the tonne every 11 November.
How long does Rogal świętomarciński take to make?
Rogal świętomarciński takes 1 hr 30 min plus overnight chilling of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 croissants. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Rogal świętomarciński?
Yes, within limits. Ready-made poppy seed filling, masa makowa, which is widely sold. All-butter croissant dough, bought ready-laminated.
What is the most important thing to get right in Rogal świętomarciński?
Grind the poppy seed, or buy it ready-ground, then scald it with hot milk and let it stand 30 minutes. Poppy seed must be ground and softened, because whole seeds stay hard and give a gritty filling.
