Baking sheet
Parchment paper
For the yeast dough:
200 ml water
125 g (1 stick) butter or margarine
500 g all-purpose wheat flour
1 package active dry yeast
75 g sugar
1 package vanilla sugar or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the filling:
200 g poppy seeds
400 ml milk
1 package vanilla pudding or cook&serve JELL-O vanilla
100 ml milk
2 eggs (optional, I didn't use any)
75 g sugar (don't add when using JELL-O)
75 g Zwieback (I used unseasoned bread crumbs)
For the topping:
100 g all-purpose wheat flour
100 g sliced almonds
75 g sugar
100 g (1 stick) soft butter
4 tablespoons apricot jam
1 tablespoon water
100 g powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons water
Preparation:
1. Prepare the yeast dough: Heat water in a stove-top pot. Melt butter or margarine in hot water.
2. Mix flour and yeast in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and the water-butter mix. Using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer mix the batter for about 5 minutes until a smooth dough has formed. Cover the bowl and let stand until the dough has visibly increased in size.
3. Prepare the filling: Heat poppy seeds in 400 ml milk until boiling, then remove pot from stove and let stand for 10 minutes. Mix vanilla pudding or JELL-O in 100 ml milk, add with eggs, and sugar to poppy seed and bring to a boil. Let mixture cool down, then add in the Zwieback or bread crumbs.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).
5. Sprinkle yeast dough with flour, then knead on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough out to a rectangle of 16x12 inches (40x30cm).
6. Spread poppy seed filling onto flattened yeast dough, leave 1/2 inch (1 cm) room to the edge of the yeast dough. Roll dough up starting from one long edge, put roll with the seam facing up on parchment paper.
7. Prepare topping: Whisk flour, sugar, almonds and softened butter until crumbles of desired size have formed.
8. Brush some water over the yeast bread, then coat with crumbles. Make sure to press crumbles on.
9. Let yeast bread sit until it has again increased in size, the bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 60 minutes.
10. Mix apricot jam with water, reduce on low heat until a little syrupy. Remove yeast bread from oven, and coat immediately with the apricot syrup. Let yeast bread cool down.
11. Mix powdered sugar and water. Only use as much water as needed to make a thick syrup. Drizzle mixture over yeast bread before serving.
Comments:
1. I prepared the yeast dough in the evening the night before, and left it at room temperature overnight, which worked great.
2. I didn't use any eggs in the mixture for the filling, and because I used JELL-O I didn't add any sugar because JELL-O is already sweetened.
3. I put a bowl with water in the oven, which increases the moisture and temperature in the oven. This cut the baking time to about 45 minutes.
