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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Poznań
Croissant in a crescent shape, made from yeast-leavened puff pastry, filled with white poppy seed paste with fruit and nuts, and topped with icing and chopped nuts. It is Poznań’s Saint Martin’s pastry, eaten on November 11, and has protected geographical indication.
Traditional sweet from Poznań, Grande Polônia
Also known as: rogale świętomarcińskie, rogal marciński, rogal św. Marcina
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Rogal świętomarciński — Poznań, Poland
The rogal świętomarciński is a large crescent-shaped croissant. The dough is yeast-leavened, laminated with fat until it becomes a semi-flaky pastry that bakes into thin layers. The filling is based on white poppy seed paste mixed with sugar, sponge cake crumbs, eggs, raisins, walnuts and preserved or candied fruits. After baking, the rogal is coated with a layer of icing and sprinkled with chopped walnuts. Each one weighs between 150 and 250 g.
The pastry is associated with November 11, Saint Martin’s Day, the patron saint of Święty Marcin Street, one of Poznań’s main streets. On that day the street celebrates its saint with a parade and fair, and residents buy rogale in large quantities. The date coincides with Poland’s National Independence Day, but the rogal tradition is older and specific to Poznań.
The earliest known mention of rogale for Saint Martin’s Day appeared in 1852 in a Poznań newspaper. The name rogal świętomarciński is found in an advertisement dated November 11, 1860. A local story attributes the custom to confectioner Józef Melzer, who in 1891, inspired by a sermon from Saint Martin’s priest, reportedly persuaded his employer to bake rogale for the poor; this is a traditional, not documented, version.
Since 2008 the name has been a protected geographical indication of the European Union. Only bakeries in Poznań and in districts of Greater Poland that follow the specification book and undergo certification may make rogal świętomarciński. The pastry is sold year-round, but demand concentrates on the days around November 11. The city has a museum dedicated to the rogal, with demonstrations of its preparation.
Poznań , Grande Polônia
Poznań is the city of the rogal świętomarciński: the pastry celebrates the patron saint of one of the main streets and may be called by that name only when made in the city and in districts of Greater Poland.
Yeast-based semi-flaky dough made with wheat flour and fat. Filling of white poppy seed paste, sugar, sponge cake crumbs, eggs, raisins, walnuts, preserved or candied fruits and almond flavoring. Icing and chopped walnuts on top.
Sliced or whole, with coffee or tea. It is a large, heavy pastry that is often shared.
Saint Martin’s Day, November 11, in Poznań. Also sold at other times of the year.
Your questions
A large semi-flaky croissant filled with white poppy seed paste with fruit and nuts, topped with icing and chopped walnuts. It is Poznań’s Saint Martin’s pastry and has protected geographical indication.
That day is Saint Martin’s Day, the patron saint of Święty Marcin Street, one of the city’s main streets, which celebrates the saint with a parade and fair. The custom of buying rogale on that date appears in Poznań’s press from the 19th century.
No. Certified bakeries sell it year-round, but demand concentrates on the days around November 11.
Flavors of Poland
Stew of sauerkraut and cabbage with various meats, smoked sausage and dried mushrooms, slowly cooked and reheated over days until the flavors meld. It is one of the dishes most connected to Polish identity and appears in the national poem Pan Tadeusz.
Round yeast dough pastry, fried, without a hole, filled with jam—traditionally rose petal or plum—and dusted with sugar or covered in icing. It’s the sweet of Tłusty Czwartek, the fatty Thursday before Lent, celebrated across the country.
Dumplings made from unleavened dough, boiled in water and sometimes browned in butter, with savory or sweet fillings. The ruskie, filled with potato and fresh cheese, are the most common, and the cabbage with mushrooms variety is served on Christmas Eve.
Vodka made entirely in Poland from rye, wheat, barley, oats, triticale or potatoes grown in the country. The name is a national geographical indication that applies to both neutral vodka and flavored vodkas that follow the rules.
A sour soup made with zakwas, a fermented rye-flour starter, served with white sausage, a boiled egg and horseradish. It is one of the most important dishes of the Polish Easter and is sometimes served inside a loaf of bread.
Smoked pork cooked with dried plums, pears and other fruits, served with a sweet-and-sour fruit sauce and dumplings. The name means Silesian heaven, and the dish is on the Lower Silesia Traditional Products List.
Braided bread ring first boiled in very hot water and then baked, topped with salt, poppy seeds, or sesame. It’s sold from street carts in Kraków and has a European Union protected geographical indication.
A round wheat dough disk topped with raw chopped onion and poppy seed, baked until the edge is golden. It originated in the Jewish bakeries of Lublin’s old town and has a European Union protected geographical indication.
Yeast-based cake covered with a buttery streusel, made plain or filled with white cheese, poppy seed or apple. It is the wedding cake of Opole Silesia and has a European Union protected geographical indication.
Grated raw potato cake with fried bacon, onion, eggs and a little flour, baked in a pan until the crust is golden. It’s one of the most popular dishes of Podlaskie, the northeastern region of Poland, and is on the List of Traditional Products.
Flavored vodka with bison grass that grows in the clearings of the Białowieża and Knyszyn forests in Podlaskie. It has a light green-golden color and the smell of dry hay, and the official name is a protected geographical indication of the European Union.
Beef roulade stuffed with bacon, pickled cucumber and onion, cooked in sauce and served with kluski śląskie — potato dumplings with a little indentation in the middle — and red cabbage. It’s the Sunday lunch of Upper Silesia.
Long pastry made from leavened dough, fried and usually filled with seasoned ground meat with pepper. It originated in Szczecin in the early 1970s, made on a Soviet machine from 1969, and is on Poland’s List of Traditional Products.
Honey cake with pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and other spices, molded in wooden molds or cut into shapes. It has been made in Toruń without interruption since the Middle Ages and is on Poland’s national list of intangible cultural heritage.
Two-layer chocolate sponge cake with whipped cream in the middle, covered in chocolate and often topped with a cherry. It originated in Warsaw in the late 1940s, and the name is linked to the W-Z avenue, opened during the city’s reconstruction.
A very sour sauerkraut soup with smoked pork ribs or other smoked pork, served with boiled potato on the side or with bread. It’s the dish of the highlanders of Podhale, the Zakopane region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains.
