This tender yeast bread is filled with generous swirls of sweet poppy seed filling. These roulettes are a popular Russian dessert.
My favorite recipes are the ones that are passed down through the generations. I have so many memories of my Mom making this Poppy Seed Roll/Roulette, both for holidays and just regular weeknights. Since I grew up in a family of 8, we would demolish an entire Poppy Seed Roll in one sitting while it was still warm with tall glasses of milk or tea. The memories of the whole family sitting around our round kitchen table eating this Roulette gives me all the feels:). I can almost hear the laughter and loud conversations. Too bad we didn't have cell phones with cameras so we could capture random life moments like we do now. That would have been totally Instagram worthy.
The sweet, creamy poppy seed filling goes so well with the fluffy and tender yeast bread. This is a vastly popular Slavic dessert for sure. It's no wonder that it's often made for special holidays like Christmas and Easter.
I have a recipe posted on my blog how you can make homemade poppy seed filling yourself. It's actually not hard at all and I use it for Rugelach cookies too. Of course, you can use store-bought poppy seed filling too. You can also use other fillings, such as jams/preserves, cream cheese, farmer's cheese, etc. The dough is incredible - it's perfectly light and fluffy, and it's very easy to work with too. I use a pastry mat when I am rolling it out and I don't even have to sprinkle any flour on the work surface, and it rolls out beautifully. I use the same dough to make Baked Bulochki too.
Ingredients:
⅔ cup warm milk (105-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup Poppy Seed Filling
egg wash (1 egg plus 1 Tablespoon water or milk, lightly beaten)
Instructions:
Preparing the Yeast Dough:
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and add about a teaspoon of the sugar that you'll be adding to the whole dough. Mix it a little and let it stand for about 5 minutes until it foams.
Combine the yeast mixture, the remaining sugar, melted butter and 2 beaten eggs together in a large bowl.
Add the flour and mix the dough in a standing mixer, the bread machine using the dough setting or by hand until the dough comes together.
Cover and let it stand in a warm place to rise until it doubles, for about 1 -1½ hours.
How to Roll Out, Fill and Shape the Poppy Seed Rolls:
Divide the dough in half and roll out each portion into a rectangle about 14 inches x 9 inches.
Spread out about ½ cup of the poppy seed filling over the surface of the rolled out dough, leaving a border around the edges free of the filling so that you will be able to close the seams together.
Beginning with long edge nearest you, roll dough into a taut cylinder. Pinch the ends together and lay the roulette seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
Baking the Poppy Seed Rolls:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Brush with the egg wash and let them rise for another 30 minutes to an hour, until they double in size.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20-30 minutes. 
Poppy Seed Roulette/Roll
This tender yeast bread is filled with generous swirls of sweet poppy seed filling. These roulettes are a popular Russian dessert.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 mins
- Yield: 2 9-inch rolls
- Category: Sweets
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup warm milk (105-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Poppy Seed Filling
- egg wash (1 egg plus 1 Tablespoon water or milk, lightly beaten)
Instructions
- Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and add about a teaspoon of the sugar that you'll be adding to the whole dough. Mix it a little and let it stand for about 5 minutes until it foams.
- Combine the yeast mixture, the remaining sugar, melted butter and 2 beaten eggs together in a large bowl.
- Add the flour and mix the dough in a standing mixer, the bread machine using the dough setting or by hand until the dough comes together.
- Cover and let it stand in a warm place to rise until it doubles, for about 1 -1½ hours.
- Divide the dough in half and roll out each portion into a rectangle about 14 inches x 9 inches.
- Spread out about ½ cup of the poppy seed filling over the surface of the rolled out dough, leaving a border around the edges free of the filling so that you will be able to close the seams together.
- Beginning with long edge nearest you, roll dough into a taut cylinder. Pinch the ends together and lay the roulette seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Brush with the egg wash and let them rise for another 30 minutes to an hour, until they double in size. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
I have been making this roll using fresh ground poppy seed but the rolls have a bitter after taste. What is your recipe for the poppy seed filling? Mine calls for milk, sugar, margarine, egg and ground poppy seed. Heat till thickens. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Joe,
Thanks for reaching out! The bitter taste you're noticing is probably because the poppy seeds aren't as fresh as they could be. I’ve run into the same issue before, and it can definitely affect the flavor. Poppy seeds can go rancid fairly quickly if they’re not stored properly.
My best advice is to keep them in the fridge or freezer—just like you would with nuts. If they sit at room temperature for too long, they’ll lose their freshness. I personally buy mine in bulk from nuts.com, and they’ve always been really fresh. That’s made a huge difference for me.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you give it a try and how it turns out. I’d love to hear how it works for you.
Hi Olga, what do you mean roll into a taut cliynder the pictures don’t show that it’s rolled fully
There's a picture of it halfway rolled up. Continue rolling it up tightly, until all the filling is inside. Place it seam side down to rise and bake.
Hello Olga!! Did you keep on rolling the poppy seed roll or did you just roll it once?
I just found your website and what a game changer it is!! It's absolutely delicious. I have been making my Hungarian Grandma's poppy seed strudel recipe for 20 years for Xmas gifts for my family (carrying on her tradition). I have always had issues with it cracking on top or being dry and for the first time, no cracks except the side slightly, which is fine and it is so moist. Interestingly your dough recipe is very similar with only a little less butter and yours is melted, hers was not. Whatever it is, it really has made a difference and I only plan to make your dough recipe in the future. I did use my grandma's filling and overall the taste is the same as she always made it, wonderful memories. Thanks so much!!
Olga,
Could I use a cherry pie filling instead of poppy seed or would it be too runny? Thanks!
You can use the cherry filling or jam, it will just be a little messier and harder to roll up but will taste delicious.
I made this recipe twice and I loved it! The combination of the dough and the poppy seed filling is just perfect.
I did change one thing in the recipe: halved the amount of yeast - for most yeast doughs I find that working half to a quarter of the yeast works just as well (perhaps it's because I live in a hot country).
I ground the poppy seeds using my spice grinder (Moulinex) and I had no troubles with it.
I'll be making this recipe often 🙂