St Martin’s Croissants – a sweet and caloric symbol of Poznań. |

The croissant tradition dates back to pagan times, when the dough wrapped in animal horns was offered to the gods. Then the Latin Church was to take over this custom, linking it with the figure of St. Martin. However, we can talk about baking, resembling today’s one, only from the second half of the 1860th century, even the first known advertisement for croissants on the pages of “Dziennik Poznański” from XNUMX has survived.

According to one of the city’s legends, the present tradition, unambiguously binding baking on November 11, was born in 1891 thanks to the Poznań confectioner, Józef Melzer. As St. Martin, one of the priests appealed to the faithful to do something for the poor, following the example of the patron. The confectioner decided to persuade his boss to distribute croissants considered to be luxury goods to poorer Poznań residents. 

It was the confectioners who, in the following turbulent decades, cultivated the croissant tradition, saving it from oblivion. Over time, their taste has changed a bit, because, due to the shortages in supply after World War II, the almond filling was replaced by white poppy seeds. Today, in Poznań, we can buy certified St. Martin’s croissants in dozens of confectioneries, where they are usually available all year round.

The croissant is uneven

Here it gets quite interesting, because not every croissant with a poppy seed filling can be called St. Martin’s. Moreover, the real St. Martin’s croissant can only be baked in Poznań and designated poviats of Greater Poland, and outside this region, no one can use this name. This is due to the certificate of the “Product with a Protected Designation of Origin in the European Union” granted to the baking, thanks to which it found its way to the prestigious list of regional specialties. They are made from local raw materials, based on an original recipe and in accordance with the ecology.

This is not the end of the winding road that these delicious cakes have to overcome before they reach our bellies, and not the only requirements that the original croissant must meet. In order for a confectionery in Wielkopolska to use the name “Świętomarciński Croissant”, it must obtain a certificate from the Poznań Chapter of Traditional Świętomarciński Croissant, which quite clearly specifies the composition of the product itself:

• semi-French pastry based on margarine,
• Filling made of white poppy seeds with sugar, biscuit dough crumbs, egg mass, margarine, nuts, raisins, fruit in syrup or candied fruit (cherries, pears, orange peel) and almond aroma,
• the way of wrapping the dough (in the shape of a horseshoe) and applying poppy seeds (between the layers of the dough) and decorating with pomade and crushed nuts,
• weight from 150 to 250 g.

Some confectioneries use butter to bake, arguing that it improves the quality and taste of baking and the tradition,

Nutritional values ​​and caloric content of croissants

Looking at the composition of the croissant, you can easily guess that it would rather not be included in the Tasty Matched diet menu, which is a pity 🙂 What’s more, a large copy, weighing 250 grams, may even have… 1200 calories!

We can, of course, try to enchant reality by mentioning the nutritional value of individual ingredients. White poppy seeds are a source of vitamins A, C, E, D, B vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, potassium and iron. Almonds are a great source of unsaturated fatty acids, raisins have a lot of dietary fiber, and walnuts are one of the best sources of antioxidants.

At this point, it should also be mentioned that.pl comes from Poznań, therefore, as native Poznań residents, we will not discourage anyone from trying our local specialty. When visiting the capital of Wielkopolska, it is really worth visiting the confectionery and asking for a certified croissant. After consumption, however, please follow the instructions below (we recommend combining 5 hours of fast walking with sightseeing in the city, ordering it once or twice):

Poznań croissants are conquering the world

An obligatory point on the map of Poznań attractions, since 2014, is the Croissant Museum located in Poznań’s old town. A place where we will take an active part in the show of the production of the legendary croissants, but also learn a bit about the Poznań dialect, culture and tradition. This is a real treat for gourmands and more, take a look for yourself:

This year, due to numerous restrictions, unfortunately, the traditional parade accompanying the celebration of the name day of Święty Marcin Street, one of the main arteries of the city, will not take place. In previous years, it was accompanied by many attractions, both for older and younger ones – among others, every Marcin who showed his ID card could pick up a free croissant (I was, I picked up: D).

However, the fame of St. Martin’s croissants has long gone beyond the city limits, it is no coincidence that in Poznań you can meet more and more culinary tourists attracted by the local delicacy. The stewards of the Lech Poznań football club are also responsible for the promotion of croissants, who in recent years have donated pastries to, among others, the inhabitants of Białystok. This year, Lech’s football field rivals from Scotland had the opportunity to try St. Martin’s Croissants:

Recipe for St. Martin’s Croissant

At the end, we have a recipe for traditional Poznań jams for you, but so that it is not too easy to write with the Poznań dialect, by Juliusz Kubla 😉

What you need to do now when you have everything properly

1. Sift the flour through small holes, add the margarine to it, but in the liquid after melting, and again to this youth, pharin, milk and egg. All you need to do is connect, remove and size, and finally roll it out into pieces and have them lying around.
2. Drag one such margarine and cover the other with a lid. Now make it flat again with the roller, then fold it three times and run the roller again, fold it again and again with this roller. And now let it cool for half an hour.
3. Now turn to stuffing. So yes: Sprinkle the nuts and pears into pieces, scald the poppy seeds and brush them through a chopper. And the rest of the poppy seeds, together with the butter, paraffin and dip, add the whipped proteins.
4. Now that cold cake again. Divide everything into 4 pieces separately. Now again, with a roller on a flat, but so that it turns out to be flowing at right angles. And from it make as many triangles as possible. And finally, at the end of each Wednesday squeeze a pinch of the filling.
5. Now roll up these triangular liquids one by one, bend the corners on the sides to the middle, and when it’s ready, place these croissants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. All this is done to bratkasa at 200 degrees and baked until golden brown. After taking it out, pour the frosting of fine pharin and freshly boiled water, and finally squeeze the flavors on top of these nuts. And let it all down with taste !!!

The list of ingredients and the source of our recipe can be found here: https://www.poznan.pl/przepis-na-rogala-swietomarcinskiego-pisany-gwara-poznanska.

Be sure to let us know if you had the opportunity to try our local specialty and, above all, if you liked it! 🙂