Mom’s Poppy Seed Roll (Roulette) Recipe
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This is my Mom’s recipe for poppy seed roll and it’s one of my husband’s favorites. I’ve always been intimidated by this classic roulade, but I’ve come to find it’s not as complicated as I thought it would be.
Mom makes these at least once a month and always makes enough to share. They go fast! If you are going to make Rouletti (a half-a-day process; most of which is dough rising time), you may as well make 4 and share them with your family and friends. They will sure appreciate it!
I’m not a fan of using “special” ingredients but this recipe is really best with flour that is made in Canada; you’ll have the softest dough with Canadian flour. P.S. have any of you tried canned poppy seeds for this?
Ingredients for Poppy Seed Roll:
1 and 1/3 cups 1% milk
1 Tbsp active dry yeast (I used Red Star Brand)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick (8 Tbsp) salted butter (or unsalted butter plus 1/4 tsp salt)
4 cups bleached all-purpose flour (I used flour Made in Canada, which is best for this recipe) *measured correctly
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla powder
1 cup poppy seeds (you will need a food grinder to prepare these)
1 egg white, for egg wash
8 oz sweetened condensed milk (from a 14 oz can)
1 cup raisins
How to make Russian Poppy Seed Roll (Roulette):
1. Heat 1 1/3 cups milk in the microwave until it’s luke-warm. Pour milk in a large mixing bowl (preferably the bowl from your KitchenAid mixer). Add 1 tbsp yeast, 2 Tbsp sugar and 1 cup flour. Mix until flour is well blended. Let stand in a warm oven (100 degrees) for 1/2 hour or put it on the counter for 1 hour at room temperature if you have all the time in the world.
(My oven doesn’t set that low, so I heat it to the lowest setting, then turn it off and let it sit in the warm oven with a towel underneath it. I also put a wooden spoon in the door to prop it open a bit. Quite the set-up!).
Dough should rise about 1.5 times in volume. Stir dough lightly.
2. Melt 1 stick (8 Tbsp) butter (until it’s just melted – it should not be hot). Add butter to the batter. Add 2 whole eggs. Add the rest of your 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 cups flour. Whisk together.
3. Using the dough hook (on speed 2), add the remaining 2 cups of the flour 1/2 cup at a time. After all the flour is in, let it continue mixing 15 minutes. Dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. Finished dough will be soft. It will feel sticky to the touch but should not stick to your fingers.
4. Place dough in a very large mixing bowl (our Kitchenaid bowl is 6 Qts so I left it in the same bowl), cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place (in a 100 degree oven or in the sun) Let sit 2.5 hours to rise (until about 3-4 times in volume) Carefully peel off cellophane when it’s done.
Prepping the Poppy Seeds while dough is rising:
1. Fill medium saucepan with 1 cup poppy seeds and add enough water for impurities to float to the top, drain off the water and repeat.
2. Add 3 cups water to the pot. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer. (Don’t boil). Turn off. Cover with lid and let it sit for 30 minutes.
3. Return to a simmer (don’t boil). Turn off. Cover and let it sit for another 30 minutes. Drain poppy seeds by keeping lid on and put cheese cloth on lid to catch stray poppy seeds, or if you have a fine mesh sieve like this OXO Strainer
4. Push the poppy seeds through a food grinder using the fine grinding plate. You can also use a coffee grinder and do it in smaller batches. With the meat grinder, you need to push firmly. The seeds won’t grind well unless they are under pressure. P.S. I’ve tried putting them through a food processor and it did not work.
5. Mix 8 ounces of sweetened condensed milk into ground poppy seeds.
Assembling Poppy Seed Rolls (Rouletti):
1. Line an extra large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Put dough onto a clean, dry, non-stick surface (a sheet of parchment paper works well). Divide into 4 equal pieces.
3. Roll out the dough into an 11″ x 8″ oval-ish shape; similar to a thin crust pizza dough. It should not stick to your rolling pin. Spread 1/2 cup poppy seed mixture over the dough and sprinkle about 30-40 raisins over the poppy mixture.
4. Roll the Roulette (not too tight!) and place side-by-side on the lined baking sheet. Brush the top with egg wash (1 egg white, 1/2 tsp sour cream, 1/2 tsp sugar – whisked together). Let them rise on the counter for 1 hour (or in a 100˚F oven for 30 minutes).
5. Preheat Oven to 360°F and bake 28-30 min until the tops are deep golden (but not brown; I over-baked just a tad, but they were still great. My husband was raving about them. See the picture below; he couldn’t wait long enough for me to take a picture of all 4).
Enjoy! 🙂
Mom's Poppy Seed Roll (Roulette) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/3 cups 1% milk
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast, I used Red Star Brand
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 stick, 8 tbsp salted butter (or unsalted butter plus 1/4 tsp salt)
- 4 cups bleached all-purpose flour, I used flour Made in Canada, which is best for this recipe
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla powder
- 1 cup poppy seeds, you will need a food grinder to prepare these
- 1 egg white, for egg wash
- 8 oz sweetened condensed milk, from a 14 oz can
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
How to make Russian Poppy Seed Rolls (Roulette):
- Heat 1 1/3 cups milk in the microwave until it's luke-warm. Pour milk in a large mixing bowl (preferably the bowl from your KitchenAid mixer). Add 1 tbsp yeast, 2 Tbsp sugar and 1 cup flour. Mix until flour is well blended. Let stand in a warm oven (100 degrees) for 1/2 hour or put it on the counter for 1 hour at room temperature if you have all the time in the world. Dough should rise about 1.5 times in volume. Stir dough lightly.
- Melt 1 stick (8 Tbsp) butter (until it's just melted - it should not be hot). Add butter to the batter. Add 2 whole eggs. Add the rest of your 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 cups flour. Whisk together.
- Using the dough hook (on speed 2), add the remaining 2 cups of the flour 1/2 cup at a time. After all the flour is in, let it continue mixing 15 minutes. Dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. Finished dough will be soft. It will feel sticky to the touch but should not stick to your fingers.
- Place dough in a very large mixing bowl (our Kitchenaid bowl is 6 Qts so I left it in the same bowl), cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place (in a 100 degree oven or in the sun) Let sit 2.5 hours to rise (until about 3-4 times in volume) Carefully peel off cellophane when it's done.
Prepping the Poppy Seeds while dough is rising:
- Fill medium saucepan with 1 cup poppy seeds and add enough water for impurities to float to the top, drain off the water and repeat.
- Add 3 cups water to the pot. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer. (Don't boil). Turn off. Cover with lid and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Return to a simmer (don't boil). Turn off. Cover and let it sit for another 30 minutes. Drain poppy seeds by keeping lid on and put cheese cloth on lid to catch stray poppy seeds, or if you have a fine mesh sieve, use it!
- Push the poppy seeds through a food grinder using the fine grinding plate. You can also use a coffee grinder and do it in smaller batches. With the meat grinder, you need to push firmly. The seeds won't grind well unless they are under pressure. P.S. I've tried putting them through a food processor and it did not work.
- Mix 8 ounces of sweetened condensed milk into ground poppy seeds.
Assembling Poppy Seed Rolls (Rouletti):
- Line an extra large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Put dough onto a clean, dry, non-stick surface (a sheet of parchment paper works well). Divide into 4 equal pieces.
- Roll out the dough into an 11" x 8" oval-ish shape; similar to a thin crust pizza dough. It should not stick to your rolling pin. Spread 1/2 cup poppy seed mixture over the dough and sprinkle about 30-40 raisins over the poppy mixture.
- Roll the Roulette (not too tight!) and Place side-by-side on the lined baking sheet. Brush the top with egg wash (1 egg white, 1/2 tsp sour cream, 1/2 tsp sugar - whisked together). Let them rise on the counter for 1 hour (or in a 100˚F oven for 30 minutes).
- Preheat Oven to 360°F and bake 28-30 min until the tops are deep golden (but not brown).
Notes
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Another fabulous recipe, equally good to your kulich! I made this for my Dad (88) this Christmas and he said it was just like what his Mom made when he was a little boy. I cannot get Canadian flour, and used King Arthur bread flour. The resulting dough was smooth and elastic, rolled out like a dream, and produced 4 beautiful loaves. Definitely a keeper!
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Diane! That’s so special. I’m all smiles!
Hi Natasha your a gal after my own heart! You said, best with flour that is made in Canada; !! And I totally agree with you! My cousin live in the states and when her mom goes to visit; she always takes Canadian flour with her!!!!! Other wise her baking never turns out!!!!
Yes, glad you agree to that!
it s like coming back to my childhood in Kiev. My babushka always made this pirog, just like you describe it, and it was so good with tea in the cold evenings!!!! I don’t think she used Canadian flour, hahahaha, but still came out delicious!!!! I am not a baker but will dare and try to make it…..Thanks
You’re welcome! I hope you love it.
I have a can of Helcom poppy seed filling. Can I use it in place of the poppy seed filling in your recipe? Are there any other changes that I would have to make to the recipe if using the canned filling?
Hi Gladys, Some of our readers have used canned poppy seed. One reader writes “The brand is SOLO (I’m sure there are others). It’s very good and you don’t need to add condensed milk it’s already very sweet”. Honestly, haven’t tried any other substitution so it is difficult to say. Hope this helps.
Hi Natasha. I just wanted to say that this poppy seed roulette recipe is amazing. I have been making it for years as well as many other of your recipes. My mother-in-law has a very good recipe of it, but she wouldn’t share it. Once I found your recipe, I no longer need her to share hers. Yours is so much better! I use Canadian flour as well. It comes our so airy, fluffy and stays fresh for days, not like some other baked goods that are great only on the day they were made. Four roulettes make it easy to share with family, friends, and neighbors. I also like the other one of your poppy seed rolls, the one covered with chocolate ganache. My husband wouldn’t mind it that would be the only dessert I would make, lol. It takes only 1 and half hours to make those two long rolls, but the end product looks like it took hours to make! Your recipes have great directions and you pay attention to details in your explanations, making it easy to follow. I have made several of your recipients and have never been disappointed. My husbands favorite is your chicken fritters recipe and of course ALL of the deserts 😂. Thank you! May God bless you and your family.
It sounds like you both have amazing taste! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Ruslana! I hope you get to try more of my recipes soon! Blessings to you!
Natasha, I made this bread yesterday. This bread is so delicious and so easy to make, I finally used my kitchen aid mixer for this reason 😁 I added whole milk and regular flour as this is what I had and everything came out sooo beautiful and tasty. Next time I will use the ingredients as you advise and will see if there is any difference. Thank you again for sharing with us these recipes and make us look like superwomen.🥰🌺
I’m so glad it all worked out, Eugenia! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
An other amazing recipe!
Used fresh yeast … truly amazing results ! Made poppy seeds / cinnamon brown sugar and raspberry jam . Serves a few people and everyone had thirds and fourth helping 😂wish I could add photos !
Spasibo !
So glad you enjoyed how the recipe turned out! Feel free to share some photos on our Facebook page or group next time so others can see some of your creations too.
Hi Natasha,
Love your website; thank you so much for the work you do!
This is my third time making your makoviy rulet, and I’m still getting the hang of the filling. Hoping you can share some advice on how to get the right consistency.
After soaking the poppy seeds, I put them through the KitchenAid meat grinder attachment. However, it immediately jammed. Do you have to dry the poppy seeds before grinding?
My filling always comes out too liquidy and spills out; I noticed that to another reader you commented that the poppy seeds should be dried after their soaking. How dry do you get them? Do you find that the fine-meshed strainer is enough?
Hi Jen, my first thought was maybe your poppyseed were too wet. My fine mesh strainer is enough and I don’t do anything special aside from using that. Just make sure it is well-drained. You should not see water dripping from the bottom. Let as much drip off as you can before pushing them through. Also, you do need to apply pressure with the little plunger that comes with the meat grinder attachment for them to get crushed properly inside.
If I may I’d like to add alternate way to grind the poppy seeds. I used to have my mother’s poppy seed grinder and it did a wonderful job until it wore out. I guess that 40+ years of use will do that. The plates got worn down and the poppyseeds wouldn’t grind any more. I used my VitaMix! The job took less than a minute and the results have been very satisfactory. My filling recipe is different than yours (the ground poppyseeds get cooked with milk, sugar, a bit of butter and then vanilla is added after cooking-seems like the end result is very similar though) I grind my seeds dry and the VitaMix has an extra jar that is for grinding grains and that’s what I use. If I was following your recipe I’d cook (simmer) the poppyseeds and condensed milk together for about 20 minutes (after grinding) perhaps adding some water to it maybe around 1/4 cup? Love your site and recipes Natasha and you are a delight to watch on your videos. One final thought about the VitaMix-it turns regular sugar into confectioner’s sugar (or fruit sugar) in seconds! No need to buy the specialty sugar.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Liz!
I’ve made similar with my own recipe. Although I am going to try yours and make my own poppy filling from your recipe (I usually buy this prepared at my church bazaar). I’ve made it with poppy filling (we call it Makivnyk) prune butter, appricot butter (that’s my favorite) and nut spread. They’re all great.
I hope you love this recipe! Thank you for that great review.
I have not made your recipe but I have made the same thing using my grandma’s recipe which I grew up eating. I have made my dough in a breadmaker for convenience. I used walnut mix (ground walnuts in a food processor, 2-3 TB white sugar, 1 tsp rum essence, 2-3tsp water to bind the mix), chocolate mix (minis chocolate chips + ¹/4 cup white sugar & dark cocoa powder) and a Cinnamon mix (1 TB cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup small chopped walnuts or pecans). I brush each dough sheet with a bit of melted butter to make the filling stick a bit, then roll it up and let it rise in a baking pan. Baking in a metal pan will be faster than in a glass dish.
As far as the poppy seeds mix, here is how my grandma does it: first, we never, ever wash the seeds. I used to pick impurities out of the poppy seeds we grew in the garden but we never washed them. They are ground in small batches (2-3TB) in a hanf held coffee grinder until they turn into a powder. Ten she adds regular sugar to it, vanilla sugar (or essence) and a bit of water to bind it all loosely. No boiling, no condensed milk but the grinder is a must. I don’t have one where Iive now so I have yet to make it with poppy seeds filling but it is by far my favorite one with walnuts a close second. My grandma still makes these and she churns them out in 2-4 hrs depending on how fast the dough rises.
Thank you so much for sharing your tips on making the poppyseeds in the coffee grinder.
Natasha, Have you ever heard of putting coconut in with the poppy seeds? I keep getting this recollection of my mother’s roll with coconut in it. I can almost taste it. Or I’m just crazy!
Hi Karen, I have not tried that yet but sounds like a good idea. I think it’s worth experimenting with, if you try it please share with us how it goes.
I always add 3/4 cup coconut to home made poppy seed filling..
If you want, chop it even smaller than it is in the bag. It’s a wonderful addition if you like coconut. 3/4 cup coconut to 1# ground poppy seeds….
CAN YOUR RECIPE BE USED FOR NUT ROLL ALSO?
Hi Nancy, I haven’t tested that to advise. If you happen to experiment, I would love to know how you like that.
Mine came out on side- maybe too much poppy seed mixture— will try again ..
That could be the culprit. Please make sure that the ingredients are measured exactly as it is in the recipe, please let us know how it goes on your next try. I hope you get a perfect seed roll next time.
Also another thing, I have 2% milk instead of 1% milk. So can I use 2% milk instead?
Hi David, 2% would work fine.
My go to recipe for poppy seed roulette. Instead of making the poppyseed filling, I buy a pre-made one at the Russian or Polish store.
Thanks Natasha!
That’a a good one too! Thanks for sharing that with us.
it’s difficult for mixer to do 2 portions at once?
Hi Ana, yes that will overwhelm most mixers.
This is my 3rd time making this roll. This time dough was so sticky I had hard time rolling it out. I followed the recipe. What went wrong? I had to use some flour to roll it out and i think it changed the texture of the roll a little.
Hi Tanya, I wonder if it could be something as simple as mis-counting how much flour went in. I’ve sure done that before! Also, be sure you measure the flour correctly and this post should help with that.
The weather can also cause dough to be stickier at times.
The best recipe 😘making it again for easter 4th year in the row it became our easter tradition👍😘😘😘
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Rosemary’s recipe is good,thank you but from the photo I prefer the poppy seed filling to occupy most of the internal space with very little dough inside the casing. How is this achieved?
Hi Henry, we found this to be the right balance to maintain the fluffiness of the dough. I imagine one with considerably more poppyseeds would be more dense.
Is this rolled up from the long side??
Hi Rosemary, yes we rolled this from the long side.
Hello,
Thank you for posting the recipe which I suspect is very similar to the one that I grew up loving.
My polish grandmother had a bakery in the 30’s. Using a recipe from the bakery, Mom made poppy seed and nut rolls often. It was a big production as she hung temporary curtains over the kitchen doorway to maintain a high temperature in the room. It was always a festive affair. My job was to grind the poppy seed and nuts.
A bit of trivia: Mom referred to the process of heating and soaking the poppy seed in water as “debittering the poppy seed.”
Now that I am nearing retirement,
I need to dig her many recipe boxes out of storage and go through them. Just today a coworker asked if I have a recipe for Polish Chrusiki, which I know I do.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Brian! I hope you find some treasured recipes in her recipe box!
Hi! I’m going to use this wonderful recipe, and I was wondering if I can substitute active dry yeast, with fresh yeast. I’ll be making this recipe tomorrow, and I’m very excited! Thank you
Hi David, I honestly don’t work with fresh yeast in my kitchen so I haven’t tested this with fresh, but here is a helpful yeast article from King Arthur Flour company that might help with conversion.
Natasha, can i mix walnuts with poppy seed or make with just grinded walnuts? I remember my grandma making with walnuts.
Hi Gina, I haven’t made a walnut roulette, but I imagine it would taste good with some walnuts mixed into this poppy seed filling.
Natasha, i made one roll with walnuts ( grinded and mixed with condensed milk). It came out veery delicious! My family loved it and said thank you to you!!)
That’s so great!
Hi Natasha, my dough was raised 4 Times in volume in under an hour. Should I go ahead and go to next step or wait a total of 2.5 to rise anyway?
Hi Marina, If it’s 3-4 times in volume, it should be good to use.
Hi Natasha,
I have made this recipe numerous times and it’s amazing! I wanted to ask if you could share a non condensed milk version of the poppy seed mixture? Although I think this is the best method yet… I don’t always want to use up my condensed milk especially if I’m doing a double or triple portion. Thanks for all your awesome recipes!
Hi Marina, Some of our readers have used canned poppy seed. One reader writes “The brand is SOLO (I’m sure there are others). It’s very good and you don’t need to add condensed milk it’s already very sweet”. Honestly, haven’t tried any other substitution so it is difficult to say. Hope this helps.
What is the wax paper for? I use parchment for baking. This is my second attempt
Oh my goodness, you’re right! That should be parchment paper. We used to use wax paper but now almost exclusively use parchment for everything we can use it on. It’s a wonderful surface and safer in the oven than wax paper.
My Polish grandmother used to make this and ground her own poppy seeds. My mother also made it from my grandmother’s recipe but used the canned poppy seed. It works but it is sweeter than the homemade variety. We used to call it bulki and made it with various fillings: poppy seed (my favorite), cinammon, sugar, ground nut and apricot.
Yum, I bet that tastes delicious! Thanks for sharing Ann!
My family loves this bread. They always said better the Babushka !
I’m happy to hear the whole family enjoys the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review Dora!
Worked really well! The recipe was very clear and easy to follow. I think grinding the poppy seeds fine is essential, otherwise they come out kind of gritty. Also, make sure your trays are in the center of the oven, as the buns tend to blacken on the bottom if set too low.
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe Kavitha! Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!
So is it 6 cups of flour total?? The recipe says 4 cups of Canadian flour then later is the description says “add an additional 2 cups” of flour. My dough is becoming flaky now! Ugh
Hi Lana, I put that in parenthesis to clarify the instructions before it, but I can see how: “add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time (add an additional 2 cups)” can be misread to mean an additional 2 cups of flour. I clarified that step to read: “add the remaining 2 cups of the flour 1/2 cup at a time.” So sorry for the confusion :(. The 4 cups of flour in the ingredients list is correct.
Hello! What wast the brand of canadian flour and where can i find it? Tried to scroll through the comments to see id anyone else was wondering the same thing and couldn’t find anything. Thanks!
Hi Olga, we have been able to find flour made in Canada in Winco and Cash and Carry (a restaurant supply store). It isn’t available everywhere and online it can get spendy. I think I need to re-do this recipe with regular all-purpose flour as well. It still works with regular all-purpose, it just requires a little more flour. Canadian flour has more gluten so it requires a little less flour for most recipes.
I am new to your site. I will try out your Poppy seed rolls, they look so scrumptious. However, can I substitute almond milk and stevia for sweetener instead of sweetened condensed milk.If you have any other suggestions to circumvent this problem I would love to hear from you. My husband has dairy allergies and I cannot use pure mild products. Thank you very much for your input.
Hi Hanne, I honestly haven’t tried that substitution so it is difficult to say. I worry that the almond milk might be too think and would result in a dry mixture. I did come across (during some quick research), an article on making dairy free condensed milk at home. There is a video tutorial here. It looks like this type of mixture might work. I sure hope that helps!
Thank you, Natasha, you have just given me the opportunity to expand my culinary know how. I never even thought about turning coconut milk into condensed milk, and yet I have used any of the dairy free ‘milk’ products in my cooking, except soya ,(hubby just won’t go for it). I’ll be sure to give it a try asap and thanks again for your prompt advice. hugs from your newest fan.
My pleasure, please let me know how it turns out!
Thank you for sharing this recipe,however I prefer to have the whole centre filled with the poppyseed mixture so that it will not be dry.What modifications to the ingredients and technique need to be made for this?
Hi Henry, overfilling can also weigh down the soft dough. To ensure it is moist, it is important not to overbake. Also the filling its fairly moist here with the condensed milk mixed in. I haven’t tested it specifically with more filling so I am not able to provide instructions.
This is my second time making these, and both times they turned out super flat/thin after cutting in and after taking them out from oven. while they rise in room them they look really good. what could be the reason? I use canada flour fyi,
HI Inna, I wonder if maybe your oven was too hot while the dough was proofing. If it goes above 100˚F, you can deactivate your yeast and start cooking it. Also, are you certain your yeast was fresh and not expired? I hope that helps!
I was asked to make some Ukranian food for a couple of missionaries who were homesick and missing their home food. This website has been so helpful when trying to make food items I haven’t even tasted. The photos are so good for a reference. I will be dropping them off tonight. Wish I could see their faces, but it is a surprise for a party tomorrow. By the way, I used my Blendtec with the twister jar to grind the poppy seeds and it worked really well. Took less than a minute to do them.
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe Lori! I hope it brings comfort to the missionaries. Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
Thank you so much for your recipe! This is my second Christmas season making the recipe. They are fabulous. I make them a few weeks before Christmas, so I freeze them and they keep so well. They taste exactly the same as the day I made them.
You’re welcome Molly! I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your excellent review with other readers!
Do you freeze them whole or in slices? Making them for the first time this afternoon,
Hi…I have to ask….do you really mix the dough for 15 minutes after the flour is added….?? I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t take that long for it to leave the sides of the bowl. I’m also wondering if I could grind the poppy seeds, and then add the milk and some water….skipping the soaking?
Hi Yvonne, I do mix it that long with the dough hook attachment. The kneading creates a very soft dough in the end product. I haven’t found a better process than soaking the seeds first to produce the same results with the seeds. They don’t grind well if they are dry.
Natasha, what rolling pin would you recommend? I’m overwhelmed by the amount that popped up on amazon.
Hi Anastassia, our rolling pin is in storage and I honestly cannot remember the brand. My Mom’s is similar in style to ours (the traditional classic rolling pin). I usually pick whichever one is best rated on Amazon but there are several that are close. My Mom’s is not marked with the manufacturer either. Tough decision Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Hi Natasha,
May I use a sour cherries( frozen) as a filling instead of poppy seeds? Do you know maybe how to use this dough with sour cherries?
Thank you
Hi Irina, I have only tried cherries in my smaller sweet buns but not in this recipe. I think it could work well, I just haven’t tested it.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I’ve always struggled with bread dough for some reason but this was so easy and turned out great! Better than I’ve found in Russian bakeries actually :-). I like that you don’t have to knead this dough. Just time consuming as you mentioned since you have to let the dough rise so many different times but turned out great on the first try. I used the “warm-oven-with a -wooden-spoon-propping -it-open method” and a coffee grinder for the poppy seeds and worked perfectly. Also, I don’t have the luxury at this point in my life to have a KitchenAid mixer (sniff sniff) so just mixed the dough with a wooden spoon until flour was incorporated and not for 15 minutes, maybe 3 or 4. Still turned out fine (just a side note).Thanks again for this recipe!
I am seriously so happy to hear about your success! Thank you so much for sharing that with me 🙂
If I’m using all purpose flour how much flour do I need?
Hi Azemina, One of our readers wrote a great review using unbleached all-purpose flour. I imagine it would be the same amount.
Thank you for the great recipe! It is pretty easy to make and tastes delicious.I used the poppy seed filling and it was so easy! Wanna attach some pics but could not find the upload field.
Hi Irina, I don’t have a feature on my site where you could upload photos, but I would love to see them! If you are on Facebook, post some pictures to my facebook page! 🙂
Posted! Thanks!
My huband is IN LOVE with this recipe! He is a native of you Ukraine and my wonderful mother in passed away last year. Over the years she had taught me a lot of her recipes, but i have been able to fill in any blanks. I have used your website for years, probably since there were 20 recipes on it, and i have enjoyed watching you flourish and grow into branded sponsorships. I wanted to let you know that i appreciate the work that you do and your light hearted spirit. Through your website i have been able to recreate the nostalgic memories of my mother in laws cooking. Working mothers don’t get enough appreciation these days and I want you to know that you really do make an impact on people’s lives and for that I thank you!
Hi Jessy, If I had an award for comment of the year, it would surely go to you! Thank you so much. That totally made my day!! 🙂 Thank you for following along all this time and for your super encouraging words 🙂
I’m not sure how I’m just seeing this now, but thank you and the praise is much deserved! I hope that you are doing well and staying safe. God Bless!
Hello, Jessy. So great to have you here and thank you so much for your appreciation. Enjoy trying out my recipes and stay safe too!
I would have loved to have known about the raisins BEFORE the sprinkle raisins step. Rising raisin-free now. I hope they are great!
Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I missed that in the ingredients list!! Sorry about that! It still works great without them but they are nice in the rolls. I have updated the ingredients list. Not sure how I missed that!!
Oh my goodness, I’ve followed you for years (I think maybe my hungarian/ukranian mom met your husband at a phone store or something in Boise?) and just now happened upon this recipe! We’ve made this kulach all my life but I’ve always used the solo poppyseed filling. We had some friends come over from the Ukraine one year and they brought some with homemade filling but I wasn’t a big fan so I’ve been hesitant to try it myself. But I can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m so excited, especially with the timing – it’s our yearly Christmas morning breakfast:) (We also make it with almond filling, with maricino cherry/dried apricot filling, and with cinnamon nut filling – love it!)
Thank you for following Kerrie! Let me know how it turns out!
hey natasha do i have have to use egg yolks or just eggs
Hi Miriam, please see step 2: “add two whole eggs” (not just the yolks). Enjoy! 🙂
excellent.
Like many others I don’t have access to any kind of grinder so I blended my poppy seeds and condensed milk together on the “dip” setting a couple of times. it seems to have worked well.
Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hello Natasha, if using canned poppyseed, do they still need to be boiled and/or ground through a coffee grinder? I’ve never made this so I’m not sure, Thankyou
Hi Marie, most canned poppyseed mixtures are already prepped, sweetened and ready to go. If that is the case, you don’t have to add or do anything to it. If it seems dry and un-sweet, you can mix in a little condensed milk.
I was wondering, would I just combine all dough ingredients together if I were to use a bread maker to prep the dough for the rolls?
Have you ever used a bread maker machine?
Hi Anna, I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure if it would work. One of my readers said their mom makes it in a breadmaker but it wasn’t clear if she was using my recipe or her own. Another reader said to use a bread maker only if you are doing half of the recipe (It’s alot of dough otherwise).
Hi! I just wanted to say that I use canned poppyseeds. I don’t prepare roulette often and as a college student enjoy the convenience of the canned ones. Just wanted to say in case anyone else was curious 🙂
PS. I love this recipe.
Thanks for sharing your time saving tip! 🙂
Hi,Natasha!
Can i use jam instead of poppy seads?
I think that would work but make sure to use a thick jam and not a loose one.
My oven goes to 170F lowest, what do I do?
Hi Jessica, my old oven was the same way and I either let it rise at room temperature (which takes longer, but it’s safer) heat the oven then turn it off and prop it open with a wooden spoon. You don’t want the dough to get too hot or it starts cooking and deactivates the yeast.
I don’t have a grinder of any sort? What can I use to substitute if possible?
Hi Sel, the only things I’ve tested are a food processor (which does NOT work), and the coffee grinder (which works) along with the food grinder (which works best). I haven’t been able to find a comparable substitute.
I’m really excited to try this recipe. I’m giving these away as gifts and I was just wondering how long they would last if I wrapped them well with plastic wrap.
Gifting them is a great idea. They would easily last at least a week in the plastic wrap.
What’s the reason for grinding the poppy seeds?
The poppyseed filling needs to be ground to get the right texture and absorb flavor, otherwise it would just be a wet mixture of poppyseeds.
I am going to try this recipe today but I was wondering is 2% milk or even whole milk would work? By the way I love your blog and many of your recipes are our family’s favorites.
Hi Lena, yes that should work fine. Thank you for the awesome compliment! I’m so happy you’re enjoying our blog 🙂
DOES IT HAVE TO BE BLEACHED ALL PURPOSE FLOUR I HAVE NOT SEEN BLEACHED IN YEARD .LOOKS LIKE A GREAT RECIPE THANKS
The Canadian flour is typically bleached and it works best for this recipe because it has a higher concentration of gluten, but unbleached all-purpose flour would be the next best substitute.
Has anyone done this without a mixer? I’m planning on kneading by hand and just wondering what you might choose to do differently when doing so.
Hi Greta, you can do it by hand but you’ll need to put some elbow grease into it to get the dough soft and elastic. If doing it by hand, I’d follow the same process.
Thanks! I definitely did put in elbow grease, as well as probably an extra 1/3 – 1/2 cup of flour (I tried to be as sparing as possible). I also used bread flour for the higher gluten count. It’s in the oven to rise for the second time now, hoping it turns out as lush as in your photos! Спасибо большое!
Thank you so very much Natasha for this great recipe! I’ve made it at least 6 times. I do use my bread machine with this recipe, but I pre mix everything in a bowl in the same order that’s written (I skip the first rise) then throw the dough into the bread machine and let it do its work. results are always amazing!
That’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear it’s become a repeat recipe for you. That’s an amazing compliment. Thank you! 🙂
Natasha thank you so much! I think I’ve already commented this recipe but need to do it again, this recipi is so good and dough is perfect. A lot of work of course but it worth it.
I didn’t have poppy seeds and used raisins with pecans instead and condensed milk.
I never could think I can be so great in baking! Thank you very much, you’re my favorite !!!
Thank you for such a nice review again Aigul, it’s quiet a compliment 😊. I’m glad you like the recipe and you are welcome.
Just made this poppy seed roll tonight. It turned out amazing. This is probably the best poppy seed pastry that i have ever made. I used canned poppy seeds mixed with grated apple for two, and apple jam with walnuts for the other two. My whole family loved it. Will definitely make them again. Thank you for a great recipe.
Your filling ideas sound truly fantastic! thank you so much for sharing that with me 🙂
Just made those yesterday! My family loved it so much!
I also used already cooked canned Poppy Seeds (cake & pastry filling) from WinCo. It saved me some time as I have four months baby and try to speed up some cooking time 🙂
Tanya, thank you for the great review and nice job improvising to speed thing up 👏.
Hi Natasha, I was just wondering have you tried making the dough in the bread machine to make it easier? I’ve made the piroshki dough from your site and it worked fine, was wondering if I could use bread machine for this one as well. thank you for the recipe!
To be honest, I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure if it would work. One of my readers said their mom makes it in a breadmaker but it wasn’t clear if she was using my recipe or her own. Another reader said to use a bread maker only if you are doing half of the recipe (It’s alot of dough otherwise).
I followed the recipe and It turned out amazing! Everyone loved it.
Thank you so much!!!
I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂
Thank you so much for all the great pictures. I will try your recipe today. I just can’t get my dough to rise so with all your step by step pictures I will try this for the third time. Thank you …
Are you sure you aren’t using instant yeast? Instant yeast would not work for this recipe. Make sure it is active dry yeast. I hope that helps! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
so I am trying out this recipe today and I am currently waiting one hour for the first step. I mixed the yeast, flour and sugar and lukewarm milk but there were a lot of bits and pieces still, like little clumps. I even tried to squish it all with a spoon but it’s just still many clumps coming to the top. Clumps of flour and yeast. Is this ok? will it affect anything? It’s rising so that’s a good sign!
Hi Kathy, yes that is ok to see some clumps of yeast and will be fine as long as it did poof up after an hour like in the photo. Sometimes yeast will clump if you sprinkle it on heavy in some areas – it’s nothing to worry about 🙂
Thank you for your reply, Natasha! My husband said it is really yummy! He ate half a roll! meaning he ate about 3-4 slices! I’m a new wife so I come to your website often! I’ve already tried about 5-6 of your recipes and counting : ) About the poppy seed roll, the only thing is the dough was more sticky and I had a hard time rolling it because it was sticking to the roller. I thought I followed all ingredients and directions step by step, what could cause the stickiness still? once I did cook it, it wasn’t full and fluffy like yours. It was more flat.
Hi Kathy, i’m so glad you are enjoying our recipes. I’m always happy to help troubleshoot! Is it possible that the yeast was not fresh? Did you make sure to give the rolls enough time to rise? Sometimes if you keep them in a cool room, it will take considerably longer for the dough to rise. I hope that helps! Also, you may just have needed an extra couple of tablespoons of flour if it was sticking to the rolling pin.
Hi Natasha, This recipe looks so very good and I’m making it this week for a upcoming brunch after my son’s wedding. Can you successfully freeze them for a later date, so they are fresher to serve. I just need to freeze them for 2-3 days and then thaw and serve. THanks
I haven’t tried freezing them, but I think it could work. If you wrap them in plastic wrap once they are at room temperature, they will stay good for 2-3 days at room temp without needing to freeze them.
Ok, I will give it a try. They are cooking as I”m writing you and they smell so wonderful. Can’t wait to try it!!
Thanks!
Hi Natasha,
Poppyseed rolls are one of my weaknesses:) we get big can of filling out local Amish store. It’s delicious and so convenient. Also my mom makes the dough in the bread maker and they are quick and easy.
I don’t think we even have an Amish store locally; that would be pretty cool. I love the idea of making the dough in the bread maker. Thanks for the tip!! 🙂
Hungarians use poppy seeds do much they use a special poppy seed grinder! I found I can use my Yama hand crank burr coffee grinder if I wash it first. Crushing is better then cutting.
Slavic people use loads of poppy seeds also. That’s a great tip about the coffee grinder. Thank you!
Hello Natasha – I’m glad to have found your blog. I’m making your Poppy Seed Roulade for Easter brunch. I’m not a huge fan of poppy seed filling, but will try half with poppy seeds and half with prune filling. My mother used to make this, but as she has passed, and no one else wants to try this, it’s up to me to pick up the slack. Thanks for the recipe!
You are welcome Mike :). Prunes are a good addition. Also some people just use combination of cinnamon and sugar like in this recipe. Let me know how it turns out :).
Wow these are better than Bend OR ocean rolls
Thank you Wut, it’s hard to have any self control around them :).
It looks so good! Where do you find Canadian flour? I have ever seen it in U.S. stores…
I have purchased it at Cash and Carry and Also at winco. It is flour made in Canada. It doesn’t necessarily say “Canadian flour” directly on it, just made in Canada. I hope that helps.
Thank you! I will look next time I am in a store. We don’t have cash and carry in FL though. 🙂
So, I made it today. Poppy seeds from a russian store weren’t too fresh (will never buy it there again) and I shouldn’t try to mix dough in bread machine…unless making half but the recipe is wonderful and dough is so tasty and light! Thank you Natasha for sharing great recipe! 🙂
Hi Natasha, I made this yesterday and now I’m your biggest fan! I’ve tried several roulette recepies but this one is the only which came absolutely delicious. Now this is my favorite desert and I’m going to make it again tomorrow.
Thank you very much!
Aigul, thanks for the great review, I’m glad you loved it and you are welcome :).
I just made these- and they always break open on one side!!!
What am I doing wrong???
It’s really hard to say without being there. I haven’t had that problem. Do they crack after baking or before?
Hey Natasha,
To answer your question, i use canned poppyseeds,, to be honest those are the only ones i make them with and they turn out great!
I get mine at a local Walmart they are located by the pre made crusts to cheesecakes. Try it out!
Thanks Darya!
Hi Natasha,
does it matter if I use vitamin D milk instead of 1% milk for this recipe?
No it doesn’t matter. Vitamin D milk will work just fine. 🙂
Thank you for answering my question and God Bless you.
Thanks Tanya. God bless you too! I have the best blog readers in the world, I tell ya! 🙂
loved the recipe! thanks!! Made them today and they turned out perfect!
That’s awesome! Thanks so much for sharing that with me. It’s so inspiring to hear a great report 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! i can’t wait to make it. you make it look easy. i just feel that 4 rolls is too many for my little family. can i cut the recipe in half?
This recipe is for just one roll. Did I write 4 rolls somewhere?
Sorry typo…. recipe says serving is 4 rouletti. I just read comment from Lidiya and she said she cut it in half so I will try that. Thanks! I will let u know how these turn out. My mom usually makes these but she makes such a big batch and she basically eye balls the ingredients. So to make a small batch for my family is almost impossible we only get them when she makes them. And that’s not too often. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe !! I can’t wait to try!!
Oh goodness, I was thinking of another recipe reading your comment. Sorry! Yes, you are right; there are 4! Thanks Ira 🙂
no worries, just wanted to make sure. thank you!! 🙂
Thank you Natashen’ka! 🙂
I just made them <3 Soooo good!!
My heart rejoiced with gratefulness to God when I took the first bite :)) I can't believe I can actually make these myself :))
May God bless you!
You know, comments like yours are so incredibly encouraging (and I really needed it today!). It’s not just food, is it? You’re the best! God bless you in all your cooking adventures.
do you think you can substitute condensed milk with sugar?
It really needs the condensed milk for the moisture and sweetness. It would be too dry with just sugar.
Natasha,
What is the purpose of boiling the poppy seeds twice (and boiling them at all) … None of the other recipes online have this step 🙂
Thank you!
It softens them and forces them to open up so you can actually taste the poppyseed. Its so much better when they are cooked! 🙂
It turned out great! I used the 2 cans of poppy seed filling for 4 roulettes from Winco. The only problem I had was baking it. The roulette became golden brown after abt 15 minutes so, I had to lower the temp to 325* in order to fully bake it thru.
You weren’t baking it convection style were you? Maybe you have a more powerful oven? Was it in the center of the oven? We might never know ;). I’m just happy you liked it! 🙂
Just found a website that carries it. The packaging is slightly different for some reason (maybe they didn’t update a recent photo) but everything else is the same… http://www.kalyx.com/shopexd.asp?id=1037382.
Thank you! Although that is huge!! 7.5 lbs. It sounds good. I’ll keep an eye out for it 🙂
lol, yes I know that sounds huge, after opening I usually transfer all of it to a plastic container and freeze it. It freezes very well as long as it’s in an airtight container:) and when you want to use it again you can just start spreading anything you want right away, it spreads so easy just a tiny bit stiffer than it would be room temp but still workable:)
That’s awesome to know that it freezes well! How does it compare to the stuff that’s sold in regular grocery stores? I’ve heard such negative reviews on the typical poppyseed pre-made filling, but it sounds like you’ve found a winner. The only bummer is that my son doesn’t eat nuts for now, but I definitely want to try it.
Im not sure how it compares to other brands but I do know the poppy seed filling I’ve tasted from our local russian store seems to be very bland in taste. Where as this filling can be eaten alone it’s that good:) You can’t taste the almonds at all! It’s just a very thick and creamy poppy seed butter spread. I highly recommend you trying it. I doubt you won’t convert, lol:) Iv’e noticed no matter what kind of recipe I’ve used this for it’s not a fail even if the dough didn’t come out the way I wanted it to but the taste of this stuff evens everything out:)))
It sounds like an easy substitute and I love that it’s freezer friendly considering it’s such a large can! 🙂 Thanks again for sharing that with me.
BTW, just made your carrot apple craison salad! That was such a brilliant idea, tasted amazing! Where do get all your creative recipes from?
The carrot apple salad was something we just thought up last minute and it worked! 🙂 We do alot of our own recipe development but many of my ideas are from family, friends, some are from readers. I rarely post recipes from books or magazines but occasionally I do if I really really love something. 😉
QA products is the brand. It reads “Chicago almond ready to use poppy filling”. It’s a 7.5 lb can. I have a photo if you want to see how the can looks…
Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Where can it be found?Helen
Hi Natasha,
You were asking if anyone has used a canned type of poppy seeds, I just wanted to let you know that I discovered a huge can of poppy seeds butter mixed with grinded almonds and I have never tasted better poppy seeds filling. My mom has made her roulettes with it and I don’t think people have never not asked how she made them because there that good! The poppy seed filling is very sweet and ready to spread you wouldn’t need to mix anything else to it. We get it at the minnonites store.
Thanks for sharing that! We don’t have a minnonite store (not that I know of!) What brand is it?