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St. Martin’s Croissant Workshop

October 16, 2011 by Lois Britton 11 Comments

Check out my first attempt at St. Martin’s Croissants on my food blog!

Some say the Internet is robbing us of a sense of community.  I would say that it opens up a new community.  To illustrate, let me tell you about a recent experience.  Because a reader (of this blog) is involved is public relations for the City of Poznan, I was invited to workshop for Polish food bloggers and the media at Cukiernia Koperski, a bakery famous for their St. Martin’s croissants.  (Thanks, Damian!)

I’ll tell you more about St. Martin’s day in Poznan in November.  It will be my first time to experience it firsthand.  The traditional food in Poznan on St. Martin’s day is a filled croissant; other than the ones sold in the old square to tourists, it’s only available this time of year, but residents of Poznan will consume 600 tons of the pastry next month!

Trying my hand at rolling

I wanted to prepare this local pastry for my food blog, so I have been searching online studying recipes.  I will still have to use an internet recipe, the bakery told us what they put in their croissants, but the exact proportions are secret.  There are certain ingredients that are  required because “Rogale świętomarcińskie” is registered with and protected by the European Union.  In order to use this name bakeries must also be certified by the City of Poznan and local bakers’ guild.  The filling, which is nut based, must also include white poppy seeds.  All of the ingredients must also be certified for this product,.  That means they can’t look for the best buy on eggs, butter, or flour; they must use certified eggs, butter, and flour, and the weight of the roll must be at least 250g (over half a pound).  You can see how this becomes a pricey pastry.  They sell for 9 PLN or about $3.

Because of the restrictions, this pastry is only produced in and around Poznan, however, this year, they’re being sold on allegro, an eBay-like website, and they’ll be available to all of Poland.  The shops selling the certified pastries display a certificate to assure shoppers that they’re buying the real deal.

Now a few words about the bakery and the final product.  Piotr Koperski opened the bakery in 1984, and it has won numerous awards.  His son, who also works in the bakery,  recently placed second in a international competition for pastry chefs.   Piotr told us that he sampled white poppy seeds from six different sources before choosing the freshest to use in this pastry.  It’s no wonder then, that my husband, who is about to celebrate his third St. Martin’s day in Poznan, said that the sample I brought home was the best he’s ever tasted.

I also want to thank Paulina, my interpreter for the day.  Paulina tells me that she is a Poznan tour guide, and I’m looking forward to seeing the city with her.

PS – As the only American, I was asked to do two TV interviews.  I told them that I was happy to be there and learn more about this Poznan culinary tradition, and that I did intended to bake some of my  own.

I wish I could be as funny as my husband, who was interviewed a few weeks after he arrived in the country  It was on St. Martin’s day 2009.  He was asked what he liked about Poland and answered with a long list of things.  The interviewer then said, “There must be something about Poland you don’t like.”  Without missing a beat, Ed replied, “I hate Wisła Krakow!”  (our football rival)  Now that’s thinking on your feet!

Lois Britton

An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com,  she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.

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Filed Under: Dining Out, Events, Holidays

Previous Post: « Second Attempt at Macarons
Next Post: Golden Lemon Almond Cake »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kasia

    October 16, 2011 at 9:21 pm

    Lois – what are you doing on the internet in the middle of the night:)?
    I don't know why, but this post brought some tears to my eyes. I will be thinking about my hometown on St. Martin's day.
    Hope to see your interview on youtube.
    I know Lech won the other day. My dad was not impressed with how they played, but he said that the stadium was very impressive.
    Greetings

    Reply
  2. Lois B

    October 16, 2011 at 11:14 pm

    Kasia – haha – I wrote this post on Thursday, the day of the workshop, but since I had just done the name's day post, I set it to post on Monday morning. I guess I didn't give any thought to the hour. 🙂

    I think many in town share your dad's feeling about Lech Poznan's performance. Attendance has not been as good as last year.

    Reply
  3. Chris

    October 17, 2011 at 6:29 am

    So jealous!

    Reply
  4. Melinda

    October 17, 2011 at 3:40 pm

    Great story, Lois! What fun you're having there in Poland! I wonder if you'll ever want to come back to Tucson… 🙂

    Reply
  5. Ola

    October 19, 2011 at 3:41 am

    nice experience! I heard so much about this croissants but, to be honest, never ever tried them!:)

    Reply
  6. Lois B

    October 19, 2011 at 4:17 am

    Chris – We've got it all in Poznan!

    Melinda – Just another reason that you need to dust off your passport!

    Ola – They were wonderful fresh out of the oven, but they average 900 -1000 Kcal, so it's probably best that I limit myself to once a year!

    Reply
  7. Polish Mama on the Prairie

    October 21, 2011 at 11:27 am

    Lovely! I've never had one from there so will have to next time I visit Poland 😉 And I will have to try my own hand at baking these.

    Your husband's response was very funny.

    Reply
  8. Caroline..

    November 3, 2011 at 10:53 am

    I bought a couple of the official 'The Baker' ones today, and thought of you. They were most delicious 🙂

    Reply
  9. Lois B

    November 3, 2011 at 11:28 am

    Polish Mama – I'm going to try making my own soon!

    Caroline – Scrumdelicious, I would say!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. St. Martin’s Day | PILC says:
    November 7, 2014 at 3:27 am

    […] I know save the indulgence for this special day. As a food blogger, I was lucky to be invited to a media event about Rogale Swietomarcinskie when I arrived in Poznan. That’s where I learned the legend behind the baked […]

    Reply
  2. Polish Open Face Sandwiches - Kanapki - Polish Housewife says:
    June 29, 2020 at 5:01 am

    […] table at the bakery was decked out with colorful kanapki. You’ll see them pictured in the post I wrote about the […]

    Reply

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