Mohnstrudel, or “poppyseed strudel” is a traditional german strudel that bakes a rich pastry around a poppy seed filling.  In the US, it’s known as a Poppyseed roll, which pretty much sums up how it looks on a plate…but doesn’t really capture how delicious it tastes with a cup of coffee or tea.

My grandmother’s Mohnstrudel was always the star of our Christmas breakfast table, and she’d make several rolls so everyone could go back for seconds (and thirds) over the course of a relaxed holiday morning.

It sat alongside nussstrudel, which is a similar pastry with a ground walnut filling. 

There was always a heated debate about which was better, and half the family would argue Mohnstrudel, while the other half was firmly in the Nussstrudel camp.  Personally, I’d take a piece of either any day.

My Oma has been gone for many years now, and we live far from my mother and the rest of the family, so my littles had never seen this particular Christmas tradition.  When my 7-year-old came across a picture of Mohnstrudel, she announced that “We Have to Make This!”

No prompting, no prodding from me.  She saw it and decided that it looked like the most delicious thing in the world, and skipped off to the pantry to collect our jar of poppy seeds.

This past year, we grew poppy seeds in our garden, and I’d planted them specifically to make oma’s mohnstrudel…but my daughter didn’t know that.  Amazing how a plan comes together sometimes.

(If you’re hoping to grow your own poppy seeds, you can find seeds for bread seed poppies here.)

My little one has been practicing her baking for some time now, and she has cupcakes and basic cookies down already.  She’s a meticulous child, who loves recipes that include grams, as most European recipes do. 

She likes sprinkling the flour into the bowl, carefully creating up to the exact gram measurement.  It’s like a game, not a gram over, not a gram less.

In truth, this recipe for mohnstrudel is quite forgiving, and things don’t have to be that exact.  Don’t tell that to my overzealous 7-year-old, though.

Yeasted breads and poppy seed rolls may look intimidating for the beginning cook, but don’t let that fool you.  If you can read at a 2nd-grade level, you can follow this mohnstrudel recipe.  This beautiful roll was baked by my daughter, with a proud mama watching, but not interfering.

Ingredients for Mohnstrudel

The ingredients for making mohnstrudel are pretty simple. 

My grandmother would always use canned poppyseed filling, as that was all that was readily available in the US in the 80s and 90s.  It’s convenient and makes a delicious filling.

I’ve included a recipe that uses fresh poppy seeds, but you can also use prepared poppyseed filling.  If using pre-ground canned poppyseed, you’ll still need to add the other filling ingredients.  The canned stuff only takes the place of the poppyseed (and doesn’t include eggs, etc).

To make two 16 to 18” long rolls, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Mohnstrudel Dough

• 4 cups (480 g) all-purpose flour (plus more for kneading)
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk, lukewarm
• 2 Tbsp (30 g) unsalted butter, ideally high-fat European-style butter, like Kerry Gold
• 2 egg yolks
• For Brushing ~ 1 to 2 Tbsp Melted butter

Mohnstrudel Filling

• 1 1/2 cups (220 g) Poppy Seeds
• 1/2 cup (75 g) raisins (or german plum butter (Pflaumenmus), which is more traditional)
• 1/4 cup (35 g) almonds, finely chopped or ground
• 1 cup (240 ml) milk
• 3 tbsp (40 g) unsalted butter, ideally high-fat European-style butter, like Kerry Gold
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 1/4 cup (30 g) unseasoned bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Mohnstrudel Recipe

To make a classic german poppyseed roll, start by making the dough.  While that’s rising, you’ll mix the filling.

Making Mohnstrudel Dough

To make Monhstrudel, start by mixing the dough.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, including flour, sugar, lemon zest, salt, and instant yeast. 

(If using European-style fresh yeast, use about 1 1/2 ounces fresh yeast and mix it with the wet ingredients instead of the dry.)

Warm the milk to just lukewarm, around 90 to 100 degrees.  Add in the butter to soften/melt.  Stir to combine.

Add the milk/butter in with the dry ingredients, and also add the egg yolk.  Stir to combine, and when it becomes too thick, start kneading.

Knead until a dough comes together and forms a smooth ball, around 1 to 2 minutes.

Cover with a cloth and set aside to rise for about 1 hour.

Making Mohnstrudel Filling

To make the filling, start by bringing the milk to a boil, then remove from heat and add the butter to melt.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Grind the poppy seeds until they’re very fine. 

Ideally, you’d use a hand-crank poppy seed mill, like they do in Europe.  A good second choice for grinding is a clean coffee grinder or spice grinder.  A high-powered blender, like a Vitamix, will also work.

In a pinch, you can use a food processor…but know that it’s going to have to run for about 8 to 10 minutes straight to get them even to start to grind.  If that’s all you have, be patient and do it in 2-minute intervals, so the motor doesn’t overheat.

Once the poppyseeds are about ground, toss the almonds and raisins in to grind as well, until it’s all a uniform fine groundmass.  (If you’re using plum butter instead of raisins, just mix that in with the wet ingredients.)

Pour in the slightly cooled, boiled milk.  Stir to combine.

Add the sugar and breadcrumbs.  At this point, it’s cool enough that the egg won’t cook. 

Add in the beaten egg, cinnamon, and almond extract.

Stir, and set aside. 

The breadcrumbs will absorb more milk as it sits, and the mixture will slowly thicken as it cools.

Making Mohnstrudel

To assemble the mohnstrudel, divide the dough in half.  Flour a work surface and roll out one piece of dough it’s a 14 x 18 inch rectangle (35 x 43 cm).

Spread the cooled filling all over the dough, making an even thick layer, but leaving about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) as a border with no filling on all sides.

Starting on the long side, gently roll the dough into a log.  Tuck the ends under on both sides.

Repeat with the 2nd piece of dough.

Transfer to a prepared baking sheet, seam side down, and cover with a cloth to raise for about 20 to 30 minutes. 

While the roll rises again, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

Brush the roll with melted butter, and then place it into the oven to bake for about 40 to 50 minutes.  Rotate the pan about halfway through the baking to encourage it to cook evenly. 

If the loaves are browning too much early in cooking, tent with aluminum foil.

When done, the loaf should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

Allow it to cool fully on a rack before slicing.

This recipe is adapted from the book Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss.

Yield: Makes two 18'' Rolls

Mohnstrudel (German Poppy Seed Strudel Roll)

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Mohnstrudel is a traditional german strudel made with poppyseeds.

Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

Mohnstrudel Dough

• 4 cups (480 g) all-purpose flour (plus more for kneading)
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk, lukewarm
• 2 Tbsp (30 g) unsalted butter, ideally high-fat European-style butter, like Kerry Gold
• 2 egg yolks
• For Brushing ~ 1 to 2 Tbsp Melted butter

Mohnstrudel Filling

• 1 1/2 cups (220 g) Poppy Seeds
• 1/2 cup (75 g) raisins (or german plum butter (Pflaumenmus), which is more traditional)
• 1/4 cup (35 g) almonds, finely chopped or ground
• 1 cup (240 ml) milk
• 3 tbsp (40 g) unsalted butter, ideally high-fat European-style butter, like Kerry Gold
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 1/4 cup (30 g) unseasoned bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

Making Mohnstrudel Dough

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, including flour, sugar, lemon zest, salt, and instant yeast. (If using European-style fresh yeast, use about 1 1/2 ounces fresh yeast and mix it with the wet ingredients instead of the dry.)
2. Warm the milk to just lukewarm, around 90 to 100 degrees.  Add in the butter to soften/melt.  Stir to combine.
3. Add the milk/butter in with the dry ingredients, and also add the egg yolk.  Stir to combine, and when it becomes too thick, start kneading.
4. Knead until a dough comes together and forms a smooth ball, around 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Cover with a cloth and set aside to rise for about 1 hour.

Making Mohnstrudel Filling

1. To make the filling, start by bringing the milk to a boil, then remove from heat and add the butter to melt.  Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Grind the poppy seeds until they're very fine. A hand crank mill or high powered blender (vitamix) work best, and will grind in just a few minutes. If using a standard food processor, it takes much longer and won't grind as fine. 
3. Once the poppyseeds are about ground, toss the almonds and raisins in to grind as well, until it's all a uniform fine groundmass.  (If you're using plum butter instead of raisins, just mix that in with the wet ingredients.)
4. Pour in the slightly cooled, boiled milk.  Stir to combine.
5. Add the sugar and breadcrumbs.  At this point, it's cool enough that the egg won't cook. 
6. Add in the beaten egg, cinnamon, and almond extract.
7. Stir, and set aside. 
8. The breadcrumbs will absorb more milk as it sits, and the mixture will slowly thicken as it cools.

Assembling Mohnstrudel

1. To assemble the mohnstrudel, divide the dough in half.  Flour a work surface and roll out one piece of dough it's a 14 x 18 inch rectangle (35 x 43 cm).
2. Spread the cooled filling all over the dough, making an even thick layer, but leaving about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) as a border with no filling on all sides.
3. Starting on the long side, gently roll the dough into a log.  Tuck the ends under on both sides.
4. Repeat with the 2nd piece of dough.
5. Transfer to a prepared baking sheet, seam side down, and cover with a cloth to raise for about 20 to 30 minutes. 
6. While the roll rises again, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
7. Brush the roll with melted butter, and then place it into the oven to bake for about 40 to 50 minutes.  Rotate the pan about halfway through the baking to encourage it to cook evenly. 
8. If the loaves are browning too much early in cooking, tent with aluminum foil.
9. When done, the loaf should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
10. Allow it to cool fully on a rack before slicing.

Notes

The dough for this mohnstrudel is just barely sweet. Some recipes include a glaze that's poured over the top when it's completely cool. My grandmother never did this, but it is lovely that way too.

To me a glaze, mix 1 1/4 cups (150 g) of confectioners sugar (powdered) with 1 to 2 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

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