How to Make Bobalki

Bobalki are a special Christmas treat for those of the Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic religions. Bobalki are traditionally made for Holy Supper, a Christmas Eve dinner. They are sweet little breads, made with honey and poppy seed, a wonderful sweet treat you will not soon forget.

Things You'll Need

• Dough:
• 1 Package of active dry yeast
• ¼ Cup warm water
• ½ Cup whole milk
• ¼ Cup butter
• ½ Cup of granulated sugar
• ½ Teaspoon salt
• 3-4 Cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 2 Cups boiling hot water
• Coating:
• 1 Cup finely ground poppy seed
• ½ Cup granulated sugar
• ½ Cup pure honey
• ¾ Cup hot whole milk

Instructions

Make the Sweet Dough

1. Combine yeast and warm water in a large bowl; stir until yeast is dissolved. Set aside for ten minutes until bubbly.

2. Heat the milk until almost boiling, remove from heat. Add the butter, sugar and salt. Let the mixture cool for ten minutes until lukewarm.

3. Add the cooled milk mixture and 2 cups of flour to the yeast mixture; stir until the mixture is smooth.

4. Stir in the beaten egg and add another cup of flour; mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

5. Knead for ten minutes on a well-floured surface, until smooth and elastic. Add the remaining flour as needed to handle.

6. Place sweet dough in a greased bowl and cover; let rise until double in bulk, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Make the Bobalki

1. Roll the sweet dough out on a floured surface and cut dough into long strips. Roll the strips as though making bread sticks.

2. Cut the dough strips into small pieces, approximately ½ inch in size.

3. Place the cut bobalki on a greased cookie sheet, and let rise for about 20 to 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 for 5 to 7 minutes, until light brown.

5. Remove the bobalki from the oven and place in a colander; pour the boiling hot water over the bobalki and drain well.

Make the Coating and Toss

1. Grind enough poppy seed to make one cup, finely ground. Place the ground poppy seed in a large serving dish.

2. Add the sugar and honey to the ground poppy seed. Add only enough hot milk to make the coating a caramel like consistency.

3. Mix the poppy seed, sugar, honey and milk thoroughly; add the bobalki to this mixture.

4. Carefully mix the bobalki with the poppy seed mixture, using a wooden spoon. Make sure all bobalki are well coated.

Tips & Warnings

• Use extra bread dough from making poplonik, cabbage rolls or nut roll.

• Use one loaf of frozen bread dough for this recipe but add more sweetener to the poppy seed mix.

• Poppy seed filling is available in some stores, already mixed.

• Serve bobalki at room temperature or cold from the fridge.

Resources

• Myerchin.org has great traditional Slovak Christmas recipes.