Cozonac is a fluffy, traditional sweet bread with origins in Romania. This bread has a hint of citrus notes and a sweet dough braided with a rich poppy seed filling, that makes a beautiful spiral interior after baked. This traditional recipe is usually enjoyed during Easter and Christmas but this sweet bread can be enjoyed year long!
Traditional Recipe Varieties
Cozonac is a traditional Romanian dessert that is enjoyed during various holiday seasons, like Easter and Christmas! It is usually filled with a walnut filling (nuca) or with poppyseed filling (mac). In Hungary, they eat a similar traditional poppyseed roll called beigli. The Polish poppyseed roll is called makowiec and Ukraine also has a similar version as well which they call babka. Regardless of which one of these Eastern European countries came up with the idea first, there is no debating that this is a great recipe that you will be sure to enjoy!
The first time I made this recipe was last December when I wanted to have a traditional Romanian Christmas dessert on the table. At first, I had a hard time getting the dough to be fluffier, but after I switched to fresh yeast, that solved the issue! Fresh yeast is slightly sweeter and richer than dry yeast and it activates more. This is great for breads that have a longer rise time because it creates the best texture for the ultimate fluffy bread! I have tweaked the recipe since then and have included various substitutions and add-ins so anyone can make this at home! This is definitely not my usual style of recipe since it takes longer than 30 minutes, however, it is definitely worth the extra time and effort!
Ingredients for Poppy Seed Roll Recipe
- Fresh Yeast: I have tried this recipe with both fresh yeast and active dry yeast and found that the fresh yeast creates a more soft and fluffy dough. Conversions will be included at the end of this post!
- All-Purpose Flour: You will need to sift the flour before using for the best texture!
- Eggs: We will be using egg yolks, egg whites, and an egg wash for this recipe. No egg goes to waste!
- Milk: You will need warm milk for this recipe to help the yeast bloom and to help form a dough.
- Olive Oil: You can use any neutral tasing oil for this recipe but I prefer olive oil.
- Butter: Unsalted butter works best for this recipe. It will be melted with the oil in this recipe.
- Granulated Sugar: White granulated sugar will be used to sweeten this traditional poppy seed roll.
- Poppy Seed Filling: I used the brand Helio which includes raisins and orange peels in it. There is another brand called Solo that is also really good! I had to drive two hours away to the European store to get it and it saved me a lot of time in this recipe. You could also make your filling homemade by finding a recipe online.
- Rum and Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract will work the best here and rum extract gives this that traditional flavor without the alcohol!
- Vanilla Sugar: This is a key ingredient that I recommend to use because it gives the bread a beautiful vanilla flavor! You can sub for sugar if you can’t find it but you can buy these on Amazon!
Substitutions for Poppy Seed Roll Recipe
If you are missing a few ingredients, don’t worry! You can still make this cozonac recipe! I included a list below of some good substitute options and add-ins for this recipe!
Add Ins:
- Cacao Powder: You can add a tablespoon or two to the egg white mixture for a chocolatey flavor!
- Raisins: You could add any dried fruit to the egg white and poppy seed mixture.
- Turkish Delight/Rahat: You can chop up some Turkish delight and add it to the poppy seed mixture for an extra sweet touch!
- Lemon Zest: You could add in some lemon zest when you are whisking the egg yolks to balance some of the sweetness of the vanilla sugar if you’d like.
- Walnuts: Instead of the poppy seed filling, you can do cozonac cu nuca which is with walnuts. Mix the egg whites with 1 1/2 cups of ground walnuts, the vanilla and rum extract, and 2 tbsp of cacao powder. Then fill your bread with this if you don’t have poppy seed on hand!
Substitutions:
- Active Dry Yeast: If you don’t have fresh yeast, swap for 2.5 tablespoons of active dry yeast. You will need to add up to 1/2 cup more milk to activate the dough.
These can be wrapped in plastic wrap then placed in an airtight container for 3 days then placed in the fridge. These taste even better the next day! I hope you enjoyed this recipe, the effort and time is worth it for this delicious bread! Leave a star rating is you enjoyed it and as always, poftă bună!
Romanian Poppy Seed Roll Recipe (Cozonac cu Mac!)
Ingredients
- 8 cups all purpose flour sifted
- 5 tbsp fresh yeast (or 2.5 tbsp active dry)
- 2.5 cups warm milk (will need 1/2 cup more if using active dry yeast)
- 2 cups sugar reduce by to 1.5 cups if you want it less sweet
- 3.5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3.5 tbsp oil
- 1.5 tbsp vanilla sugar or 2 packets
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
Poppy Seed Filling
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2.5 cups poppy seed paste (Helio)
- 1 tsp rum extract
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 5 egg whites
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift your flour. In a medium saucepan, heat up the milk until it's warm to the touch but not burning hot. In a small bowl, combine your fresh yeast with 1/2 cup of the milk until smooth.
- Make a well in your flour and pour the yeast mixture in. *if using active dry you will just add the dry yeast to the well with some sugar and then pour the milk*
- Add a tbsp of sugar to the yeast mixture then cover with a towel and let bloom. Leave the milk on low so it will stay warm.
- Separate your egg whites and yolks. Set the egg whites aside in a medium bowl to use later.
- Whisk in a teaspoon salt and the packets of vanilla sugar to the egg yolks until smooth.
- Melt the butter and add the oil to it. Next, add the yolk mixture to your large bowl with flour and yeast. Add in the rest of the sugar and a tbsp of vinegar and start slowly mixing everything in the middle of the well and slowly start adding in the milk. Add the milk in increments of 5 or 6 continuing to scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Once the dough is starting to form into a ball, start adding in the butter and oil mixture a little bit at a time. You want to gently pull the dough as you do this. Once the dough is starting to become elastic, put it on an oiled surface and begin to gently knead for about 8-10 minutes.
- Then put the soft dough back in an oiled bowl and let it rest for an hour in a warm place. It should double in size. Rising time may vary.
- Whip the egg whites on high speed with an electric mixer and slowly add in your sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Add in the rum and vanilla extract and continue to beat on medium speed.
- Switch to a spatula and start mixing in the poppy seed paste (or walnuts and cacao if you are making the nuca version)
- On a floured surface, place your risen dough and divide into 3 portions. (You could also do 4 if you want to make smaller loaves)
- Divide each one of the 3 again so you have 6 balls. Roll out each dough ball into a rectangle with a rolling pin until about 1/2 inch thick.
- Fill each rectangle with the poppy seed mixture, it will be messy! Begin to roll it it up and pinch the seams to close it. Take two rolls and pinch them together at the top then twist them into a braid. Pinch the bottom and fold the top and bottom in so the filling doesn't fall out. Then place it in your greased pan. You can also just place it in the pan with the seam side down if you do not want to braid these.
- Once you finish all the rolls, cover with a towel and let the dough rise for another hour or until double in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F then brush an egg wash on the rolls and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Bake them for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on your oven. The tops should be golden brown.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack then slice with a serrated knife and enjoy! Great job! 🙂
Leave a Reply