How to Make Breads Bakery Hamantaschen at Home

Image by Courtesy of Breads Bakery

By Liza Schoenfein March 22, 2016

An assortment of Breads Bakery hamantaschen, with the poppy-seed version at the top. And we have the recipe.

New York’s is known for its beautiful babka and stunning seed-studded challahs, which are available year round. Its equally exceptional hamantaschen, however, are only available at Purim.

Happily, the bakery just shared its coveted recipe with us, and we, in turn, are passing it along to you. If you’d like to take a peek at how the pros at Breads do it, watch the video below.

Breads Bakery Hamantaschen

Makes 24 hamantaschen

185 grams butter (13 tablespoons)
40 grams granulated sugar (¼ cup)
75 grams powdered sugar (½ cup)
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs (1 used for egg wash)
300 grams pastry flour (3 cups)
40 grams almond flour (1/3 cup)
Desired filling (see poppy filling below, or substitute jam, fruit preserves or other spreads)

1) Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, granulated sugar and salt very well.

2) Sift the powdered sugar into the mixing bowl and mix until combined

3) Slowly add one egg and the almond flour and mix until fully combined.

4) Add pastry flour and mix until just combined (don’t over mix).

5) Form the dough into a flat rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

6) On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/16” and using a cookie cutter, cut out 3” circles.

7) Brush off any excess flour and brush the circles with egg wash.

8) Spoon your desired filling into the center (1 teaspoon each).

9) Fold three points of the circle up and into the center to form a triangle. Pinch the corners to make it tight.

10) Bake at 350˚ F for 10–15 minutes, until golden brown.

Poppy Filling

100 whole milk (1/3 cup)
50 grams butter (3 tablespoons)
50 grams granulated sugar (¼ cup)
50 grams honey (2.5 tablespoons)
100 grams ground poppy seeds (3/4 cup)
Lemon/orange zest (to taste)
50 grams cake/cookie crumbs (½ cup)

1) In saucepan, bring milk, butter, sugar and honey to a simmer.

2) Add ground poppy, lower the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring often, until filling thickens (5–10 minutes).

3) Remove from heat and add zest and cake/cookie crumbs.

4) Transfer to plastic container and let cool at room temperature with plastic film covering the surface before refrigerating.

Recipe courtesy of Breads Bakery.

Liza Schoenfein is a former food editor of the Forward and author of the blog Life, Death & Dinner. Follow her on Instagram @LifeDeathDinner.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO