Makivnyk (poppy seed roll)

What it is

Makivnyk is a twisted roll made from yeast dough, filled with grated poppy seeds. The cross-section reveals a dark poppy spiral.

In Bukovina, makivnyk is one of the favorite festive pastries: it is prepared for Christmas and Easter, and sometimes nuts are added to the poppy filling; similarly, rolls are made with jam or with apples and cinnamon. Petro Lehoida mentions makivnyky and twisted rolls among the pastries of the Galician table, while roll-twists are included among the festive cookies of the Boykos. Makivnyky are also listed in the catalog of Boyko pastries in the book 'Boyko Cuisine.'

This is not solely a Carpathian dish: poppy seed rolls are baked throughout Central and Eastern Europe, and in Ukraine, they are made far beyond the mountains.

History and name

Poppy is a common ingredient on the Carpathian festive table: grated poppy seeds are used to season kutia, sprinkled on bobalky, and used to fill pies. Makivnyk is the most famous pastry made with it.

Close relatives include the Polish makowiec, Slovak makovník, and Hungarian mákos bejgli, which is baked at Christmas alongside a nut roll.

Ingredients and allergens

Wheat flour—For the dough of varenyky, palačinky, bobalyok, and pasky.Contains allergens: gluten

Poppy seeds—Ground poppy seeds with honey are a festive topping for bobalyky.

Milk—Cow's milk for the dough of palachyntsi, machanka, and porridge.Contains allergens: milk

Butter—Butter is placed on slices of kulesha, used to grease riplianka, and to fry breadcrumbs for hombovtsi.Contains allergens: milk

EggsyolksChicken eggs — for the dough of hombovtsi, palačint, pasky, and deruny.Contains allergens: eggs

Walnutsfor the filling, optionalTopping for bobalyok and palačinky.Contains allergens: tree nuts

Also: yeast (—), sugar (—), salt (a pinch)

Contains allergens: gluten, milk, eggs
Depending on how it is served, may contain: tree nuts
Diet: vegetarian

Ingredients of the traditional recipe; every cook and every place may do it differently — please ask when ordering. We cannot guarantee the absence of allergens or traces.

How it is made

Makivnyk is baked from yeast dough made with milk or sour cream, egg yolks, sugar, and butter. The dough is rolled out, spread with a filling of grated sweetened poppy seeds — in Bukovina, nuts are sometimes added — and then rolled up.

The same method is used to make rolls with other fillings: with jam or with apples and cinnamon.

Where it is eaten

Bukovina, Boykivshchyna, and Halychyna; poppy seed rolls are baked throughout Ukraine and Central Europe, so the area is not limited to the mountains.

When it is eaten

Occasions: Christmas · Easter

In tradition

Makivnyk is baked for Christmas and Easter. In Galician festive pastries, Petro Lehoida mentions it alongside medivnyky, babas, and pampushky.

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