Sweet Poppy Seed Buns (Pirohi)
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My husband remembers having poppy seed buns just like these growing up in Ukraine. He requested that I re-create his childhood memory and then just inhaled these as soon as they came out of the oven.
I loved seeing that satisfied and very smug grin on his face as he was chomping into these. My son really loved them too so I guess this means we’re passing on the tradition! 🙂
You might recognize the dough from my baked apple and braised cabbage piroshki that I posted last year. I also used this same dough for the super soft, melt in your mouth cinnamon rolls with salted maple glaze. Now I wish I hadn’t looked at those cinnamon rolls; they’ve induced some fierce pregnancy cravings!
What I love about this dough:
(1) It’s versatile – you can use it for sweet (cherries, apples) or savory treats
(2) You don’t need any special flour (all-purpose is just fine)
(3) It’s soooo soft
Ingredients for Sweet Poppy Seed Buns Dough:
2 cups warm milk (I used 2%)
1 Tbsp active dry yeast (I used Red Star Brand)
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
6 cups all-purpose flour, (divided into 1 cup and 5 cups) *measured correctly
3 large eggs
1 and 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten for egg wash
1 Tbsp dry poppy seeds to sprinkle over the top
1 Recipe for Poppy Seed Filling (click here for tutorial)
3/4 cup raisins (white or brown raisins work)
Tip for Success with Yeast Doughs:
A yeast dough will rise much faster in a warm oven and can cut your prep work in half. When letting a yeast dough rise in the oven, it should never be hotter than 100˚F. If you have a proofing option on your oven, use it. My old oven didn’t have such a luxury and the low setting was at 150˚F which will start cooking your bread, deactivate the yeast and ruin your buns.
I used to get creative by preheating to low, turning the oven off, propping the door with a wooden spoon and placing my dough over a towel in the oven. I’ve ruined yeast dough before by letting it get to hot and I’d love to spare you the same disappointment
How to Make Sweet Poppy Seed Buns (pirohi):
Preheat your oven to 360°F at step 13.
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add 2 cups warm milk and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp yeast. Let sit 5-7 min.
2. Add 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar. Whisk together until blended and let it rise at room temp 30-45 min or 20 minutes in a 100˚ oven.
3. Whisk in the 3 eggs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1.5 Tbsp melted butter and 1 tsp salt. Now using the dough hook, add the next 5 cups of flour 1 cup at a time letting it blend into the dough before adding more.
You know you’ve added enough flour when the dough is no longer sticking to the walls of the bowl – flour measurements could vary depending on the flour you use. Mix/knead on low speed with the dough hook for 15 minutes
4. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm 100˚F oven for 1 hour (2 hours at room temp). The dough will triple in volume. Be patient. It’s all worth it in the end.
5. Transfer your dough to a good very lightly floured non-stick surface and cut into 2 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll dough into a large circle a little less than 1/4″ thick. Cut out circles 2 1/2 to 3″ in diameter using a wide drinking glass or small bowl.
6. Mix raisins into poppyseed filling. Place 1 heaping tsp (or a flat mini-ice cream scoop) of popyseed filling into the center of each round. Pinch two ends together over the filing and pinch down the sides to seal in the filling. Fold the two corners up and place the filled bun onto the 9×13 rimmed baking sheet, sealed-side-down.
7. Let the piroshki rise in a warm 100˚F oven for 20 minutes until they look puffy (or 30-45 minutes in a warm room. Beat 1 egg and brush the tops of the puffy piroshki with the egg wash then sprinkle on the poppy seeds. Bake at 360˚F for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Sweet Poppy Seed Buns (Pirohi)
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm milk, I used 2%
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast, I used Red Star Brand
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
- 6 cups all-purpose flour, (divided into 1 cup and 5 cups)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 and 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg, beaten for egg wash
- 1 Tbsp dry poppy seeds to sprinkle over the top
- 1 Recipe for Poppy Seed Filling, click here for tutorial
- 3/4 cup raisins, white or brown raisins work
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 360°F at step 13.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add 2 cups warm milk and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp yeast. Let sit 5-7 min.
- Add 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar. Whisk together until blended and let it rise at room temp 30-45 min or 20 minutes in a 100˚ oven.
- Whisk in the 3 eggs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1.5 Tbsp melted butter and 1 tsp salt. Now using the dough hook, add the next 5 cups of flour 1 cup at a time letting it blend into the dough before adding more. You know you’ve added enough flour when the dough is no longer sticking to the walls of the bowl - flour measurements could vary depending on the flour you use. Mix/knead on low speed with the dough hook for 15 minutes.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm 100˚ oven for 1 hour (2 hours at room temp). The dough will triple in volume. Be patient. It’s all worth it in the end.
- Transfer your dough to a good very lightly floured non-stick surface and cut into 2 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll dough into a large circle a little less than 1/4" thick. Cut out circles 2 1/2 to 3" in diameter using a wide drinking glass or small bowl.
- Mix raisins into poppyseed filling. Place 1 heaping tsp (or a flat mini-ice cream scoop) of popy seed filling into the center of each round. Pinch two ends together over the filing and pinch down the sides to seal in the filling. Fold the two corners up and place the filled bun onto the 9x13 rimmed baking sheet, sealed-side-down.
- Let the piroshki rise in a warm 100˚F oven for 20 minutes until they look puffy (or 30-45 minutes in a warm room. Beat 1 egg and brush the tops of the puffy piroshki with the egg wash then sprinkle on the poppy seeds. Bake at 360˚F for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- Pour yourself a tall glass of cold milk and enjoy!
Notes
A yeast dough will rise much faster in a warm oven and can cut your prep work in half. When letting a yeast dough rise in the oven, it should never be hotter than 100˚F. If you have a proofing option on your oven, use it. My old oven didn’t have such a luxury and the low setting was at 150˚F which will start cooking your bread, deactivate the yeast and ruin your buns. I used to get creative by preheating to low, turning the oven off, propping the door with a wooden spoon and placing my dough over a towel in the oven. I’ve ruined yeast dough before by letting it get to hot and I’d love to spare you the same disappointment
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hello,
Do you grease the pan? Or line it with greased/ungreased parchment paper?
Thanks!
Hi Inna! The parchment paper is not greased. 🙂
Hi Natasha! These buns turned out super soft and very delicious! I used 34 grams of fresh yeast Instead of dry active yeast and replaced 2 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for increased tenderness and softness of the end product. Thank you for sharing the recipe with us, you are appreciated!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Ania! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes!
Please tell me I can make this dough in the bread maker! I read your response that the dough might spill out of the bread maker due to the size of the dough. To avoid this, could I just half the dough recipe then make 2 batches of dough? Pls help!
Hi Sofiya, it may be safer that way. If you do the full batch I’d suggest putting the ingredients into the bread maker at step 3 and setting it on the dough setting.
Hello Natasha, im excited to try this recipe. Have you ever replaced the yeast with sourdough starter? I’m curious to try this with myself starter and am wondering if one cup of starter would be enough for this recipe.
Hi Arianna, I have not tested that to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes!
My grandmother was Czech from the Bohemian region. Our last name is Caska. She would make these for the holidays but called them Bouktie all I can remember is the sound not the spelling. She would made both poppyseed and cherry and served it as a dessert.
Sounds good, thanks for sharing. Is it exactly the same recipe?
Thank you for this fail proof piroshki recipe. Literally so excited they came out right the first time around!!
Great job, Irene! That’s awesome news, thank you for sharing that with us.
Hi Natasha,
I don’t have a question but I just wanted to say that it’s so cool that you have replied to all the questions posted here. It’s nice to see you’re really “there” which is not the experience I have gotten when sending questions to some other bloggers/video creators. So thank you for being “there” 🥰🥰. I love all your videos and recipients , you’re THE BEST! 🥰🥰
Norma
I do my best to reply and address all the questions here, Norma. Thanks for appreciating what we do and thank you for your support!
Recipe says ‘click here for filling link’ but doesn’t show link to poppyseed filling or did I miss it?
Thanks.
Ck
Hi Ck, I’m showing the link okay on my end, 1 Recipe for Poppy Seed Filling (click here for tutorial). I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha,
I love the Poppyseed Bun recipe! Made some today.
Do you have a recipe for meat-filled buns? I have one that is called Nebraska Buns but was looking for a recipe for the dough that is light a fluffy.
Thank you! Stay safe!
Hello Kelly, great to hear that you loved this recipe. I don’t have a recipe for a meat-filled bun yet but thanks for your suggestion. I think it’s a good idea for a future video.
Hi Natasha. I love your recipes. I was wondering if you have any recipes with farmers cheese (Russian tvorog)? I think it’s called farmers cheese in English.
Thank you!
Hi Feruza, we sure do, you can find those recipes HERE.
Hi Natasha :),
I was wondering if you have a shredded apple cinnamon type of filling recepie?
Thank you!
Hi Luba, the closest thing I have is the filling I used for Apple turnovers.
Hi Natasha, I was wondering if you have a sweet cheese filling recipe? Like a farmers cheese sort of thing, I’m guessing this dough would work for that too.. looking forward to trying it 🙂
Hello Julia, that’s a nice one however I don’t have a recipe for that yet. Thanks for your suggestion!
Omg .. so yummmmmy
Please please please can you make a prune filling recipe. I can’t find prune buns anywhere ..
My mom used to make them but sadly passed away before i learned how .
Hi Savannah! Thank you so much for that suggestion!
Thank you for this recipe! I have made this dough recipe three times and it has not failed me!!!love it, super fluffy and great with the poppy seed filling or jam filling or just on its own!!!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing that with me, Anna!
I remember eating bulochki with raisins fresh from bakeries in Moscow. How can I use this recipe to recreate that?
That sounds delicious! You can definitely add raisins to this recipe, we have done it in the past. Add your desired amount to the filling.
I made them with cherries inside. These are the best bulochki I ever made. The dough is so soft and delicious. I just ate 4 and I want more. Thank you.
That’s so great, Mariya! Thank you for sharing your review with me!
I love baking with yeast dough. This is my way of keeping the dough warm: I heat water in a kettle and pour it into a large ceramic mixing bowl. I let the hot water sit in the bowl for a few minutes and then pour it out. the ceramic bowl absorbs a lot of heat. Then I lightly oil the bowl before transferring the dough into it. With a wooden spoon, I fluff up the dough to add more air into it. When the dough is covered with air blisters, I cover it with a clear plastic sprayed with cooling oil to ensure that the dough does not stick to it. Then I place a towel over it. I have never ruined my yeast dough yet. By the time I am done preparing the filling and the sweet crumbs that I sprinkle on top, the dough is risen and ready. Your poppy seed buns are quite similar to my Moravian Kolacky.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Jane! This sounds like a great method!
The dough was so tasty and fun to work with! I also filled some with cajeta and made a cinnamon braid with some of the dough, all also tasty. Great recipe thanks!
You’re welcome Hanna! That sounds delicious, I’m glad you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!
Super tasty! My family loved them soo much!
I’m glad to hear the whole family enjoys the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Natasha, how much of the poppy seed filling do you use for these buns? Didn’t see if you mentioned how much does it come out after you blend it with the condenced milk. thank you 🙂
Hi Galina, I used the full poppy seed recipe for these buns and add a heaping teaspoon to each one. The recipe makes about 2 cups.
Thanks a lot. My husband does not have time to eat breakfast. I tried this recipe and liked it. Every week I bake and freeze for the whole week. Is there any recipe like this for lunch or breakfast to save time? Thanks
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe!! Have you tried these rolls? They are similar. 🙂
Great recipe!! The pirozhki turned out super soft! They kind of burned a little on the bottom, not sure why? I did it based on the time you suggested. Maybe next time I should try a little less.
Do you think it could be from the pan? ( if it’s low quality/ or old pan)
Thank you for the recipe! 🙂
Hi Lana, Are you possibly using a convection oven where they would bake faster with the air circulating or maybe they are too close to the bottom burner. I would suggest lining the pan and see if that helps also.
Yes, I have a convection oven. So, probably was because of that. Thanks for replying!
You’re welcome! I’m glad we figured it out. You would just pull them out of the oven sooner in a convection oven.
Just made these and they came out AMAZING!! The bread is so soft and scrumptious. I know my Ukrainian husband will love these.
I used the oven method for the yeast bread even though the lowest setting my oven went to was 170*F. The yeast was not ruined. However, I did leave the oven a crack open so the temperature was not too hot.
This recipe also took me a lot longer than stated on the webpage. It took me about 4 hours to make the bread dough alone and another hour to make the poppyseed filling. Granted I don’t have an electric mixer. I only had a whisk and wooden spoon to do the job. So, for those of you who don’t have an electric mixer, you can still make this (it will just take longer)!!.
Overall, I am pleased with this recipe and the amount of time put into it was worth it.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review with me, Elena!
My family is Bohemian and my Mom makes this. She learned this from my dad’s mom who was 100 % Bohemian. ( spelling?) I love the ones with prunes and cloves, but you can put so many things inside. We call them kolaches.
Yum! That does sound good! Thanks for sharing Suzi!
Natasha, does the flour need to be sifted? I assume no as you didn’t mention anything, just I saw my mom always doing that before making any kind of dough.
Natalie, it’s not necessary in this recipe 😀.
Hi Natasha. These turned out amazing ! What is the best way to store the left overs ?
Hi Katie, you can put them in an airtight container (or large ziploc bag) at room temperature if you think you will eat them fairly quickly. If you want to preserve them longer, put them in an airtight ziploc bag (preferably a foodsaver bag) and freeze up to 3 months. If you freeze them the same day they are made, when you defrost, they taste just as good when you thaw them 🙂
Hey! My dough, compared to my grandmas, is rough. How do i make it soft?
Hi Christy, this is normally a very soft dough – did you follow this recipe or are you referring to your own recipe that you’re making? I can’t really give recommendations on a recipe I haven’t tried…
Hi Natasha!
Would I be able to save the other half of my dough by freezing it and using it in a few weeks (2-3)? If so, how should I go about defrosting, waiting until the dough rises again for 2 hours or do I need to do anything with it once it’s thawed?
Hi Alina, I honestly have not tried freezing the dough except for after it was baked so I’m not sure how that would work. Your plan for thawing and rising at room temperature sounds good. Let me know if you experiment! 🙂
First time making piroshki, and I nailed it!! Well thanks to you, Natasha of course!!! They are so so good. Husband approved ♡ My kitchen right now smells AHHmazing.
Alla, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
I was wondering if I could use blueberries as a filling instead of poppy seed filling. My sister and I went blueberry picking this weekend and now I have two whole tubs of blueberries to use!
Yes, absolutely! You might sprinkle in some sugar as well since baking blueberries really brings out their tartness. I would put 1/2 tsp sugar down first then put the blueberries and make sure not to get the sugar on the edges or it won’t seal properly. Seal tightly so the blueberry juice doesn’t run out.
Hey Natasha,
Thank you for sharing this recipe! My husband is prob one of the most obsessed person with piroshki.. I tried baking them before.. But honestly they didn’t turn out as good as the ones I baked this weekend going by your recipe.. Yummy!! They actually turned out pretty good! My husband Really enjoyed them!! 🙂
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that – it’s quite a compliment! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
hi natasha! can i make this dough in a bread machine? how would i do that?
I haven’t tried this in a bread maker just because the dough rises a lot and I think it might overflow a bread maker but if you want to try, I’d suggest putting the ingredients into the bread maker at step 3 and setting it on the dough setting.
would this dough work if i fried the buns?? instead of baking them??
I don’t think that would work. This dough is intended to be baked. The one I use to fry is this one: https://natashaskitchen.com/2010/11/12/russian-potato-piroshki-with-garlic-dip/ and I have both savory and sweet fried piroshki recipes on my blog.
thanks giving this a whirl tomorrow !!
Hi Natasha! Just made these & they turned out amazing!! Thank you for the recipe. But I have a question after a day and now two days the bread seemed to get dried out a bit making them less soft and a bit harder than when I first made them.. Should I have put them in the refrigerator? I wanted to bring some to someone can I nuke them a little bit to soften them up?
Hi Julia, fresh is always best but even by day two they should still be fairly soft. I always suggest keeping them covered with plastic wrap or in a plastic bag. I keep them at room temperature if it’s just a day or two but if it’s longer, I’d freeze or refrigerate. You can microwave them for 7-10 seconds to soften them up.
Have you ever tried doubling the recipe? Would I need to increase the amount of rising time or kneading time in the mixer?
If your mixer is large enough to hold it, you can double the recipe. You will probably want it to rise in two separate bowls because my mixer is a 6qt and by the time it rose, it filled the entire bowl for just 1 portion of the recipe. Rising varies by temperature of where you store it. You can probably keep the same kneading time in the mixer.
What size is the pan you baked them in?
Hi Galina, sorry I missed that! It’s a 9×13 rimmed baking sheet.
Natasha, I really like your recipes.
I tried many others for the yeast dough and I think, I am overdo with the flour. After completing 15min of kneeling dough sticking back to the side of the bowl and it feels like I need to add more flour. Shortly, I do not know the exact parameters when to stop. Could you help me, please
Have you tried this recipe yet? Also, what kind of flower are you using? If you are using Canadian flour, the measurements will always be different than American flour for most recipes. For this recipe, you stop adding flour when the dough is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl.
Hi nathashas! I have a question. Can u use this dough for the poppy seed roll? The other one seems like too much work! Lol
Yes, it would work. I agree, this one is a little easier. 🙂
Hi Natasha I’m not sure what happened, I tried your recipe for some reason my dough didn’t rise I followed the recipe thoroughly twice and it didn’t rise do you know why that would be ??
Hi Grace, is it possible that the dough is being overheated while it is rising? If for example, it is heated in an oven that is more than 100˚F, it can start to cook the yeast and inactivate it which would stop the rise. Also, double check the yeast and maybe purchase a fresh package to ensure that it is still active yeast and not expired. I hope that helps!
Natasha thanks for the recipe it was amazing and the buns turned out just right !
You are welcome Roxie, thank you for the great review 🙂
Hello, Natasha, its so difficult for me to write in English…, But I love your recipes and way how you explain them. This dough is the best which I tried. God will bless Your family forever!!!!!!!! My husband, Serhiy, and I have Derek 8, Salem 6, Shulamith 3 and expecting on June- Hadassah. I love to cook for my “big” family. God be with you always! Thanks again.
Nina, thank you for such a great review, God bless your family also and congratulation on the new baby :).
so if the dough isn’t rising to the size yours did, does that mean I overheated the dough while it was rising?
It is possible – does your oven have a higher than 100°F low setting? How long has it been rising? You might just give it a little more time to see if it rises more.
I have old oven that doesn’t have a lower setting than 150°.Also, it was rising for 2 hours in a warm oven, not hot. I heated it to 150, Turned it off, gave it some air and then Put dough in there and let it rise. I think I figured out my problem. I think my yeast was expried. I was researching and found that yeast can stop working. I tried activating some more in a cup and it hardly foamed. So I will buy new yeast tomorrow. You are awesome, I appreciate the fast response.
No problem :). I’m glad you figured it out :). Also, when my previous oven had a warm setting of 170, I would put a wooden spoon in the door and set the mixing bowl over a towel when rising so it wasn’t directly on a hot rack. Hope that helps 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I am from Vancouver, Canada. I am of Ukrainian descent and try to keep all the
Ukrainian traditions for my children and grandchildren. My children have kept on asking me to bake some prune buns like Baba used to make. I love your website and when I saw your bun recipe I thought it was time to try. I baked them yesterday using plum butter from a Polish deli. DELICIOUS, They were a hit and everyone especially my 5 year old grandsons loved them. Thank-You.
Hi Gloria! I’m so happy to hear that you all loved the buns :). Did you add prunes to them in baking or just use plum butter? Plum butter sure sounds delicious too! Thanks for the great review 🙂
I just used the plum butter, i will use prunes next time. Do you ever try to reroll the scraps?
Yes, I just add them to the remaining dough and keep working on the rest :).
Natasha, Going to make the buns again tomorrow. If I wanted to add prunes to the plum butter should I plump them first or just cut and add to plum butter? Thanks for your help.
To be honest, I haven’t tried using prunes or plum butter, but I think it would be fine even without plumping them first (I assume you mean in hot water). We usually add raisins to the filling and don’t plump them first.
i proof my dough in the oven also, however I just turn the light on for heat. It seems to work fine. Thanks for this recipe. It brings back lots of childhood memories & I just love poppyseed anything.
You must have a good light :-). It’s nice to find something that works well for you. My husband and I love all the poppyseed baked goods also!
hello,
I like your blog,delicious recipes….
I have just one question, when you say cups,
What is the exact measurement??? please
Thanks a lot
Jujud
We use standard measuring cups and it depends on whether you are talking about liquid or dry ingredients.
For liquid ingredients, it’s 8 oz or 240 mL.
For dry ingredients, it varies by weight, but I use a standard US measuring cup similar to these:
OXO Good Grips Plastic Measuring Cups, 6-Piece, Black
It’s 5:22 right now. husband will be home at 9, we have lots of apples….. i think you know where I’m going with this… 😉
p.s. your site is the reason he says to me: “honey, i think my pants shrunk after the wash.” (no, no they didn’t) 😉 lol
Lol. That’s pretty funny. Apple buns sound so so good!
Once you start brushing the buns with an egg, they do fall. Should I wait for them to rise again before putting them in the oven?
They shouldn’t fall; I haven’t had that experience before. How much are yours falling? I usually wait to brush the tops until just before I put them into the oven.
Thank you for the recipe, turned out great! You were right, the dough is so easy to work with. I made the dough in a breadmaker although I altered the recipe a little: used a total of 6 cups of flour, 3/4 cup sugar as I prefer my yeast dough a little sweeter, and increased yeast to 1.5 Tbsp. I used half the dough to make piroshki and with the other half I made a Nutella Pecan Braid. I’ve maid the braid before using a different recipe but this one came out superb!
Anya tell me more about your nutella pecan braid! That sounds delicious! Do you have a recipe you could share?
Natasha, I got the idea for the Braid from two sources. First is the braid itself from Inspired by Charm, here is the link http://www.inspiredbycharm.com/2013/09/braided-nutella-bread.html and the second was from A Spicy Perspective, where it is actually shaped into a wreath. http://www.aspicyperspective.com/2013/12/chocolate-cinnamon-bread-wreath.html
Thank you so much for sharing that! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
your sweet poppy seed buns looks so delicious. I am wondering about two things. What size of baking pan did you use? Did you have any trouble having one of them tearing the other bun when you were taking out the buns?
It was a standard 9×13 baking pan and no, I didn’t have any problems with them tearing when you take them out. They separated quite nicely and you get 3 or 4 sides (depending on their position in the pan) that are super soft and airy. I hope you love them! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
thank you for answering my questions. God Bless you and your household.
Hi Natasha.
Do these stay soft even a couple days after baking? I’m afraid that this batch is too much for my tiny family…how can i cut the recipe in half? Or can it be frozen for later?
thanks!
You could cut the recipe in half. If you want to see the dough portion cut in half; it is the same dough that I used for these cinnamon rolls: https://natashaskitchen.com/2014/04/22/cinnamon-rolls-with-salted-maple-glaze/.
Just gorgeous, love the poppy seed topping!
Thanks so much Laura 🙂
First batch just came out of the oven. I am eating one and it is heavenly good! cant wait until my bf comes home to eat these. Thanks a lot for the recipe Natasha! You are such an inspiration!
You are very welcome 🙂 and thank you for the great feedback, your comment is music to my ears.
My Hungarian husband is going to LOVE these! I can’t wait to try out these buns and the filling! Mmmmm. There is just something about stuffed rolls that is irresistible!
I hope you and your husband enjoy these! I think they’d probably be familiar to him 🙂
I hope that you are keeping well. When are you due for this little baby girl? ( that’s the Russian in me)
Everyone is convinced it’s a girl. I’ll find out in another month or so what we’re having. I am due March 7th 🙂
These take me right back to my childhood! I can almost smell them. I would really love to make them myself but sadly I don’t have any suitable machinery for grinding those darn poppies. Food processor is really useless, eh?
You must be feeling better, Natasha, judging by all the incredible goodies you’ve been producing! 🙂
I’ve been satisfying cravings all week long. 🙂 I guess pregnancy is good for blogging after all! 😉 I tried to do it in my new food processor and it didn’t work. I have not however tried a professional grade blender like Blendtec. Might be worth a shot. A mortar and pestle would work but it would be a little tedious.
I’ve had great success with my Nutribullet, which comes with a milling blade. Also, it’s a bit tedious as it is small, but you can use a spice grinder as well, with a little sugar added in to help.
I like the tip about the sugar and it’s great to know that the nutribullet works. Thanks so much for sharing!
I should add that the poppy seeds must be ground in the nutribullet fitted w/milling blade BEFORE cooking. Then the ground seeds can be simmered with whole milk and honey until the milk is absorbed. When finished, add in golden raisins and a little grated lemon zest. That’s how my mother always prepared the poppy filling.
That’s a great idea to cook it in whole milk and honey. That sounds so yummy! How long do you cook it and do you recall what proportions of poppy seeds to milk to honey you use? Can you tell I want to try your method? 😉
Oh, you know how it is with Mama’s recipes – handful of this, pinch of that! 😉 I usually start with a pound of ground poppy seeds, add milk to the top plus 1″ (like cooking rice), then add honey to taste, starting with about 1/3 cup. Bring to a simmer and let it cook about 20 minutes or until the milk is absorbed. Taste and add more honey if needed. Add the raisins and zest of 1 lemon, then simmer for an additional 5-10 mins. This can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days,but I’ve never tried to freeze it so I don’t know if that would work.
Thank you so much for sharing! I sure appreciate it! I’m definitely going to try this 🙂
Oh! Almost forgot – before using, Mom would add an egg white as a binder, especially with something that takes lots of filling like poppyseed roll. Then the yolk could be used as an egg wash on top.
Thank you so much for sharing!! 🙂
I don’t know if you might have heard of canned poppyseeds. I have been baking with it a lot and it works great, tastes amazing and no hassle of grinding!
What brand do you use/like and where do you buy it?
Looks delicious. Could I substitute poppy seed filling for anything else? Like jam or fresh fruit i.e. apples or plum?
Yes! You can use thick jam, fresh or frozen pittted cherries (add a little sugar on the center of the dough round before adding the cherries). You can also peel, core and mince apples in a food processor and put 1/4 tsp sugar into the middle of the dough round then top with a heaping Tbsp of minced apple. Enjoy! I think plum would work too, just make sure to use enough plum or it won’t seem substantial enough; a heaping Tbsp with 1/4 tsp sugar should do fine.
Thank you Natasha for sharing this recipe! Lately I’ve been craving a poppy seed filled dessert and this just further propelled my desire to have a warm, out of the oven pirozhok with some milk, yumm!
Mmm you sure paint a good picture! 🙂
Yumm!! Can’t wait to give these a try.. Would the amount of flour still be the same if I use Canadian flour?
From my experience, you usually use less Canadian flour than American all-purpose. Add flour until the dough is just barely sticking to the bowl.
Running to Safeway for that milk right now! I was drooling while reading your post. Thanks!!
Haha sounds like a serious craving! 😉 just be sure to wipe your keyboard. Lol