Turkish cuisine · Breakfast & Eggs

Poppy Seed Buns

Yeast pastry from Afyon with a paste of ground poppy seed, sugar and butter between the layers of dough.

Ingredients · for 8 servings

• 500 g flour
• 230 ml milk
• 80 g butter
• 2 eggs
• 70 g sugar
• 7 g yeast (dry yeast)
• 1 tsp salt
• 150 g poppy seed (ground)
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Warm the milk until lukewarm, dissolve the yeast with 1 tsp of the sugar in it and let stand for 10 min. until foamy; toast the ground poppy seed in a dry pan for 2 min. until nutty and fragrant.
2. Add the flour, salt, 1 egg and 40 g melted butter to the yeast milk and knead for 8–10 min. into a smooth dough; cover and let rise for 60 min. until doubled in size.
3. Melt the remaining butter and stir together with the poppy seed and the rest of the sugar into a spreadable, dark paste.
4. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, roll each into a 20 × 30 cm rectangle, spread evenly with the poppy seed paste and roll up tightly from the long side.
5. Place the rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment, brush with the second beaten egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and let rise for 30 min.
6. Bake at 180 °C (350 °F) for 28–30 min. until the surface is a glossy brown; let cool for 15 min., cut into finger-thick slices and serve with tea.