Poppy Filled Ring Roll

Adapted from Beard on Bread

Filling:

• 3 tbsp poppy seeds, ground¹
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup raisins, chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp butter, melted

Dough:

• 2 cups ap flour
• 4 tsp gluten flour (optional)
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 3/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp applesauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Eggwash:

• 1 egg
• milk

Mix warm water, sugar and yeast together. Add flours, salt and applesauce to the yeast mixture and stir together into a stiff dough. Knead until satiny smooth and elastic. Let rise until doubled in bulk.

While the dough rises, beat together all of the filling ingredients until smooth, except for the melted butter.

Roll out into a rectangle about 14" long and 7" wide. Spread the poppy mixture evenly over the surface, leaving about 1" all around the edges. Brush butter lightly over the mixture. Roll up from the long side to make a long sausage. Pinch the seam and ends well to seal. Lay into a 4 cup ring mold², with the ends overlapping, and let rise until doubled in bulk again.

While the roll rises, preheat the oven to 400F. Beat together the eggwash by whisking together one egg and a splash of milk. When the roll is ready to go into the oven, brush with eggwash and bake for 15 minutes. Turn down the oven to 350F and continue to bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

Test for doneness by removing the roll from the oven and turning it out of the mold onto a towel. Tap the bottom - it should sound hollow. If not, return it to the mold and continue to bake. Otherwise, remove it to a wire rack and let cool.

Serve with a tall glass of milk.

Notes:

1. Use a coffee grinder for this, a food processor is not able to effectively pulverize the seeds. If you'd rather not grind the seeds, that's fine. Just soak them in enough milk to cover for a few hours, then drain them and continue with the recipe.
2. If you don't have a 4-cup mold, try an 8" cast iron skillet with a 1/2 cup ceramic/ovensafe ramekin in the middle. Alternatively, double the recipe and use an angel food cake pan or bundt pan.