Go Back
–+ servings
drizzling poppy seed roll with icing
Print

Poppy Seed Rolls

These poppy seed yeast rolls are a European bakery classic, filled with a flavorful poppy seed filling and rolled up and baked to perfection. Best of all, these rolls can be prepared gluten-free or with AP flour and are dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan!
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine Czech, German, Polish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 12
Author Michaela Vais

Ingredients

Gluten-Free Dough

  • 1 cup (240 g) dairy-free milk lukewarm
  • 3 heaped tbsp (40 g) cane sugar or coconut sugar
  • 1 tbsp (10 g) fresh yeast or 1 tsp (3 g) dry yeast
  • 1 cup (160 g) brown rice flour (see notes for a version with regular flour)
  • 5/8 cup (75 g) buckwheat flour
  • 3 tbsp (25 g) tapioca flour
  • 2 1/2 tbsp (25 g) psyllium husk powder
  • 3 tbsp (40 g) vegan butter softened
  • 3/4 tbsp (10 g) apple cider vinegar
  • 1 pinch of salt

Poppy Seed Filling

Instructions

Dough

  • You can watch the short video for visual instructions.
    Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar to a small saucepan and pour in the lukewarm milk (approx. 35-40° C / 100° F). Set aside for a few minutes.
  • Combine the flours, psyllium husk powder, salt, and the remaining sugar in a bowl and mix with a whisk.
  • Stir in the yeast mixture, apple cider vinegar, and softened vegan butter, then knead the dough for a few minutes with your hands or use a stand mixer with the dough hook. If the dough is too dry, add a little more milk.
  • Add the dough back to the bowl, cover it with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 60 minutes.

Filling

  • Grind the poppy seeds in an electric spice grinder or blender, then transfer all filling ingredients to a saucepan or skillet, heat and let simmer for one minute. Set aside.

Assemble

  • Preheat the oven to 356 °F / 180 °C and grease a baking pan with vegan butter.
  • Place the dough on a floured piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a rectangle about 1 cm thick.
  • Spread the poppy seed filling on the dough, but leave out the top 5-8 cm.
  • Roll up the dough with your fingers. Since the dough is gluten-free and egg-free, and therefore somewhat brittle, it should be rolled up carefully.
  • Cut the dough roll into 12 equal pieces and place them in the baking pan. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes (the baking time may vary depending on the oven).

Icing (optional)

  • To make icing, simply mix 70 g of powdered sugar (or powdered Erythritol) with a few teaspoons of dairy-free milk and a few drops of lemon juice in a small bowl until it has the right consistency.
  • Let the poppy seed rolls cool a bit, then drizzle the icing on top and enjoy!

Notes

Dough with regular flour (NOT GF)
  • 1/2 cup dairy-free milk (120 g) + a little more if needed
  • 3 heaped tbsp cane sugar, or coconut sugar (40 g)
  • 1 tbsp (10 g) fresh yeast or 1 tsp (3 g) dry yeast
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 g)
  • 2 tbsp vegan butter (30 g), softened
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 pinch of salt
 
  • If you're not gluten-free, you can use the above recipe. The directions are similar, except you will have to knead the dough for about 8 minutes.
  • They taste the best fresh out of the oven when they are still warm and soft. You can store the remaining rolls in the fridge, but they will dry out a bit after a while. I recommend reheating them in the oven for a few minutes (preferably sprinkled with water beforehand) if you want to eat them the next day.
  • Please do not omit the psyllium husk powder in the gluten-free version. It is very useful in gluten-free baking. Psyllium husks are fibrous and absorb a lot of liquid. Xanthan gum might work as an alternative.
  • I had the best GF result with the flour blend specified in this recipe. If you use a different flour blend, the result will be different because other gluten-free flours absorb different amounts of liquid. You can probably get a similarly good result with a different flour blend (such as Bob's Red Mill), but since I haven't tried it myself, I can't say how much the result will differ from my flour blend.
Nutrition Facts
Poppy Seed Rolls
Serving Size
 
1 roll
Amount per Serving
Calories
189
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
6
g
9
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
5
%
Carbohydrates
 
30
g
10
%
Fiber
 
5
g
20
%
Sugar
 
6
g
7
%
Protein
 
4
g
8
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.