Ingredients
For the dough
4 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups milk
1 stick of butter, melted and cooled slightly
For the filling
1 cup poppy seed
1/2 cup water or milk
1/2 cup honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 egg, slightly beaten
for the topping
pearl or hail sugar (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 425F. Line two cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper.
Mix the flour, cinnamon, sugar and yeast together. Melt the butter and heat the milk until it is just warm to the touch. Mix the butter and the milk into the dry ingredients. Kneed by hand until the dough forms a ball. Cover the dough and allow it to rise for about 1 hour.
In the meantime, make the filling. Combine poppy seeds, milk, honey and salt in a saucepan. Cook over moderate heat until thick, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice. Temper the mixture by adding a little of the hot mixture to the beaten egg and then stir it into the remaining poppy seed mixture. Cool thoroughly before using.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Spread the filling mixture evenly over the dough and roll it up jellyroll style. Using a serrated knife, cut the dough into slices and space the slices out on the cookie sheets, approximately 2 inches apart. Sprinkle on pearl sugar, if using. Bake for 15-18 minutes.
Remove the rolls from the cookie sheets and transfer to a rack to cool. These typically don’t have additional glaze on them (a pat of butter will do!), but you can always make a simple milk-confectioners sugar icing if you like.
