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Russian Poppy Seed Roulette

Published May 5, 2009 Breakfast Pastry , Cakes , Yeasted Breads 3 Comments

Last weekend, Sasha and I made this delicious Russian poppy seed-filled bread. We have been planning to do this for months, since Purim, when we each made Hamantaschen and had tons of poppy seed filling left over. Luckily, that sickly-sweet paste lasts forever so it was fine to save in the refrigerator and use again. This is a treat that Sasha remembers from her childhood, and it was really really good! The bread is just a tad bit sweet, and the poppy seed filling is spiked with cinnamon, cloves, and lemon, which lends a sophisticated flavor to the sticky sweet poppy seed filling.

Ingredients for Dough:
3/4 cup rice milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tblsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup Earth Balance
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour (approx.)
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp salt
2 flax-eggs (combine 1 Tblsp. of ground flax seed with 3 Tblsp. warm water for each “egg”–mix well until you have a gummy consistency)

Ingredients for Poppy Seed Filling:
1 cup store-bought poppy seed filling
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tblsp. chopped lemon rind
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped pecan pieces

Topping:
1/4 cup rice milk

Step one: In small microwaveable bowl or saucepan, warm milk. In separate bowl, dissolve 1 tsp (5 mL) of the sugar in 2 tbsp (25 mL) of the warm milk. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand for a few minutes until frothy.

Meanwhile, stir Earth Balance and remaining sugar into remaining milk; heat until Earth Balance is melted. Let cool to lukewarm.

In large bowl, whisk 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) of the flour, lemon zest and salt. Make a well in in the center, and add flax-eggs, milk mixture and yeast mixture. With wooden spoon, stir to form soft, slightly sticky dough that comes away from side of bowl.

Step two: Turn out onto floured surface; knead for 2 minutes or until smooth, adding enough of the remaining flour as necessary. Place in a greased ceramic bowl, turning to grease dough all over. Cover and let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Step 3: While your dough is rising, combine your poppy seed filling with the cinnamon, cloves, lemon juice, chopped lemon rind, and chopped pecans to taste.

Step 4: When your dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Turn out onto floured surface. Roll out into a 14- x 12-inch rectangle.

Step 5: Leaving 1/2-inch border uncovered around all edges, spread flattened dough with filling. Starting at long side, roll up, pinching seam to seal.

Place roll diagonally and seam side down on greased baking sheet. Cut slits in the top using scissors to make a pretty design. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place for 1 hour.

Topping: Brush rice milk over dough. Bake in center of 350°F oven until golden and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 30 minutes.

Step 6: Transfer baking sheet to rack; drape dry towel over loaf (for softer crust) and let cool for 20 minutes. Uncover and remove sheet; let loaf cool on rack completely before slicing.

We decided that this bread could be eaten for dessert, breakfast, with tea, or just as a snack. The recipe is versatile, and could also be made with a chocolate filling, or even with a cinnamon-butter filling and it would be a cinnamon roll!

Cinnamon Rolls

Published April 26, 2009 Breakfast Pastry , Yeasted Breads 3 Comments

Sari and I wanted to make cinnamon rolls for brunch with our parents, but yeasted pastry breads often take so long to rise it can be frustrating to make them for breakfast. But I’ve discovered that you can do most of the rising the night before, stick the rolls in the fridge overnight, and voilà! You stick them in the oven first thing in the morning, and out come piping hot cinnamon rolls! The cinnamon-sugar filling will still be gooey and the bread tender and fluffy. And slathered with cream cheese icing, what could be better?

I’ve used a similar recipe before, for my Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, and the original recipe that I was inspired by can be found here.

Dough:
1 package Active Dry Yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk), heated to lukewarm
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup mashed ripe banana
1/4 Cup Earth Balance, melted
1 Tblsp. white sugar

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. allspice

Frosting:
1/4 cup Earth Balance, softened
4 ounces Tofutti cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast and the warm milk alternative, and let it sit for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in the banana with the yeast, as well as the melted Earth Balance, and sugar. Add half of the flour mixture to your mixing bowl and stir to combine. Slowly mix in the rest of the flour until a nice dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead it for 10 minutes, adding more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to keep it from sticking to your hands. You should end up with a fairly soft dough that is just slightly sticky. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and allow it to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.

Punch the dough down; cover and let rest for 5 minutes. While that is resting, combine the filling ingredients to make a sugar cream – but leave chopped walnuts out of this mixture at this point.

Roll the dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Spread filling on liberally, and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Roll up the rectangle tightly, from the long side, pinch the seam to seal, dabbing it with a bit of water if needed. Cut the roll into 12 even slices. Place the slices in a greased pan. Give them a little bit of space, as they will rise (but it’s okay if they touch during baking, then you will get soft fluffy pull-apart outsides). Cover with plastic wrap, and put them in the fridge to rise overnight.

In the morning, pull the cinnamon rolls from the fridge and place them on top of the stove while you preheat the oven to 375ºF. Bake them for 20-25 minutes, or until they are a light golden brown (I like them on the less browned side).

While the cinnamon rolls are baking, you can mix together your cream cheese frosting. Cream together all the ingredients and make sure it’s light and fluffy. Spread thick on top of your warm rolls, and eat immediately!