Poppy Seed Roll – Czech Makový závin

Poppyseed filling:
2 1/2 C ground poppy seeds
1 C milk
1 C powdered sugar
1/3 C raisins
2 T jam

Yeast dough:
3 3/4 C all-purpose flour (plus some for dusting the worktop)
3/4 C milk (warm)
1/3 C granulated sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3/4 T dry yeast
1 egg
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Poppyseed filling:  Put the ground poppy seeds in a saucepan, pour in the milk. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat to a minimum and cook for 10 minutes while stirring.  Remove from the stove, stir in the sugar, jam, and raisins. Transfer to a bowl, let it cool completely. Pour in the rum and stir. 

Yeast dough:  Heat the milk to warm but not hot. Add the butter, let it melt in the milk. Add the egg and beat in the mixture with a fork.  Sift the flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Add the vanilla. Pour in the prepared mixture of milk, butter, and egg.  Stir in the dried yeast.  Work everything into a smooth dough. I use only my hands, not a kitchen mixer. I start with a fork to incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Then I dump everything on the countertop and knead the dough with my hands. Please do not underestimate the kneading itself; it takes about 5 minutes.  Cover the dough in the bowl with a clean tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume. This takes about an hour.  Divide the dough into two equal parts. Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll out one piece of the dough roughly into a rectangle so that the longer part is no longer than the baking sheet. I baked the poppyseed roll on a 16x14 inch baking sheet and rolled out the dough to about 14x12 inches.  Spread the rolled-out dough with the cooled poppy seed filling, leaving an uncovered strip about 1 inch wide around the perimeter.  Beat one egg in a bowl and brush the edges of the dough. This step will help prevent the poppy seed filling from oozing out of the roll when baking.  Carefully roll up the poppyseed roll. Squeeze both ends lightly and fold them down.  Transfer the strudel to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Prepare the second roll in the same way.  Bake the roll in a preheated oven at 340 degrees for about 40 minutes until the surface is golden brown. 

Notes:  Makes two poppyseed loaves.  Serving: Let the roll cool, dust with icing sugar, and slice it into pieces about 1 and ½ inches wide.  First, prepare the poppyseed filling so that it has time to cool. The yeast dough should always be filled with room temperature warmed stuffing; that is, not hot or too cold, e.g., taken out of the fridge.