St. Martin's Day Croissants - rogale swietomarcinki or simply marcinki - are eaten in Poland on Nov. 11, St. Martin's Day, which also happens to be Polish Independence Day. Unlike French croissants, they are crescent-shaped sweetrolls with poppyseed-almond filling. White poppyseeds are traditional, but they're hard to come by, so regular ones work fine. Read more about how St. Martin's Day is celebrated throughout Europe.
SHORTCUT: Use 1 pound sweet roll dough, thawed, instead of making your own dough.
View this larger image of St. Martin's Day Croissants.
Makes 16 St. Martin's Day Croissants
SHORTCUT: Use 1 pound sweet roll dough, thawed, instead of making your own dough.
View this larger image of St. Martin's Day Croissants.
Makes 16 St. Martin's Day Croissants
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- Dough:
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (not rapid rise)
- 1 cup lukewarm milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 large egg yolks, beaten
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 4 ounces (1 stick) melted lukewarm butter
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- .
- Filling:
- 1 (12-ounce) can poppyseed filling
- 1 (12-ounce) can almond filling
- .
- Glaze:
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons water, more or less
- 2 ounces toasted sliced almonds
Preparation:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine yeast, milk, and 1 tablespoon sugar until yeast has dissolved.
- Add egg yolks, confectioners' sugar and butter to bowl and mix. Add flour and knead thoroughly until dough is smooth and starts to blister, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide in half. Working with one dough half at a time, roll each into a 1/4-inch thick circle. Using a pizza wheel or nonserrated pastry cutter, cut into 8 pie-shaped wedges.
Note: Instead of 16 individual crescents, you can make two large crescents.
- In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine poppyseed and almond filings. Place 1 tablespoon filling at the wide edge of the triangle and roll away from you. Place, point side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet forming into a crescent shape. Repeat with the remaining triangles. Repeat wth remaining half of dough. Cover with plastic and let crescents rise until doubled.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake croissants about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Combine confectioners' sugar and enough water to make a runny glaze. Frost crescents and sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds. Great with hot tea or coffee.
