Bobalky (Opekance)
Ingredients: leavened dough or few days old bread rolls, ground poppy seeds, sugar, milk, butter
Prep Time: 5 minutes if you use old bread, about 2 hours otherwise
Integral part of the Christmas table in many Slovak families are little pieces of sweet bread known as bobaľky, opekance or pupáčky. They are typically topped with poppies (s makom), but some people eat them with farmer’s cheese (tvaroh) or even cabbage (kapusta). In this recipe I show you how to prepare this delicious desert.
Opekance are typically eaten as the third “course”. First, there is the prípitok, a shot of liquor. Then, the lady of the house (gazdina) passes around Christmas wafers (oblátky) with garlic (cesnak) and honey (med). Then come opekance followed by soup and the main meal. While garlic and honey are supposed to bring the person good health, poppies symbolize wealth. There is supposedly even a tradition which involves tossing them on the ceiling, but this is not something I am familiar with.
Although opekance are very traditional, they were not prepared in my family. I don’t remember ever having them while growing up. This is a shame, because they are delicious! So when I first decided to make them, I was not quite sure how they ought to taste. I found several recipes online, with some of them saying bobaľky should be baked few days ahead of time, and then allowed to completely dry up. They are then soaked in hot water until soft. This is the method I tried, and my first attempt ended up in a disaster. I left them in the water way too long, and they ended up soggy.
The good news is, none of this is necessary if you just want to prepare a tasty treat, and not stockpile them for winter. You prepare opekance from the same sweet leavened dough that is used for buchty or makovník. However (I have not tried this yet), I think you could get by just using few days old white bread, or bread rolls. Finally, you will need ground poppy seeds. You can find poppy seeds in most grocery stores, but finding a grinder is bit more complicated. However, most grocery stores sell poppy seed pie filling in the baking isle. You can use this instead, but the taste will be little different. The filling (at least the Solo brand I buy) tastes more like corn syrup than poppies.
Cutout a piece of dough (cesto) about the size of your palm and roll it into a cylinder about 3/4 inch thick. Using a knife or a similar circular dough cutting tool, cut slices about 1/4 inch thick. Place them onto a baking sheet (with the cut face down) and let rise for about 10 minutes. Preheat your oven.
Bake for about 15 minutes until they get golden brown. They’ll be just like freshly-baked sweet bread: crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Then combine, in a pot, ground poppy seeds (mletý mak), powdered sugar (práškový cukor), butter (masľo) and a bit milk (mlieko). Bring to boil and pour over the bread.
Mix together and enjoy. They were delicious!
My mom always put a lemon peel in there. It gives a very good flavor.
My Russian grandmother baked these cookies. They were simple and so delicious.
I was taught to dry them out a bit. Make the dough balls in the morning and leave them out for the day. To soften them up, simply pour boiling water over the bobalky in a collander. It softens them up without making them soggy.
I make Opekance I make the bread balls and bake them a few days before Christmas eve. I put the bread balls in a collander and pour hot water over them. I then mix butter and shredded brick cheese and let melt in the oven. This is what my grandmother served.
A slight variation in preparation of opekance: heat milk with some sugar & soak the opekance in milk, taking them out when they get softer into a bowl. Cover them with poppy seed paste (cooked milk & sugar with loads of ground poppy seeds). This is really delicious; opekance are super soft and moist and poppy seeds paste is plentiful – exactly as I love them
Thanks for all your comments, M. I have actually tried what you suggested, but the result was awful. I think I either let them soak too long, or they were not hard enough to begin with, but they got totally mushy and disgusting.
Lubos, you probably soaked them for too long
The length of soak depends on the consistency of the opekance – for the harder, drier ones you need to soak them for longer (a couple of minutes); for very fresh soft dough a quick soak is all they need (generally 20-30 seconds). Also, when taking them out use a sieve to remove any excess milk.
It takes a little practice, but the sure way of ensuring they don’t end up too soggy is basically prick opekance whilst they’re in the sugary milk & the moment they’re soft, take them out with a sieve.
Yummy !