Poppy seed is one of our favorite ingredients, a symbol of wealth and fertility. In Hungary, we fill everything (or almost everything surely) with poppy seeds at Christmas time; we use them in bread, pasta (if you remember my poppy seed pasta recipe from earlier here on PD) and baked goods like pies, strudels, and cakes.
Mákos guba are a traditional holiday dish, and the poppy seeds are believed to bring good luck and lots of money in the new year. It is easy and quick to make and the recipe below is very simple to follow. In Hungary we use day-old, dry "kifli," a crescent-shaped bread roll, but you can use any type of roll or bread that you have handy. Best way to use your leftover breads that you'd normally throw away.
YIELDS
8 srvings
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
- 5-6 pieces 1-2 day old bread rolls – cut into ½ inch slices
- 3-4 cups (depending on the dryness of your bread) lukewarm rice milk
- 8 tbsp ground poppy seeds
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar (to mix with the poppy seeds)
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar (to mix with the rice milk)
- 2 tbsp vanilla sugar (to mix with the rice milk)
- vegan butter or margarine
Directions
1. Heat up the rice milk until lukewarm with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar. (You can use regular sugar and vanilla extract as well.)
2. Mix the ground poppy seeds with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar.
3. Grease a baking pan with vegan butter or margarine, lay out half of your bread slices and pour half of the milk over it.
4. Sprinkle with half of the poppy seed-sugar mixture.
5. Place the remaining bread pieces in the pan—this is the second layer—pour the remaining milk over it and sprinkle with the rest of the poppy seed and sugar mixture and some more powdered sugar.
6. Bake in preheated oven (180°C/355°F) for 10 minutes.
You can serve this plain, or topped with jam or a custard (like pictured here). To prepare the vegan custard, follow the instructions here.
Enjoy!
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Photo: Imola Toth
