1 1/2 ts Dry baker's yeast
1/4 c Water; warm
1/4 c Milk; warm
1/2 ts Salt
1/4 c Honey
1 Egg
1/4 c Butter; room temperature
1 1/2 c Unbleached white flour;
-mixed with:
1 1/2 c Whole wheat flour
MMMMM--------------------------FILLING-------------------------------
3/4 c Poppy seeds
3/4 c Almonds; chopped
1/2 c Honey
1/3 c Milk
1 ts Lemon peel; grated
1 tb Lemon juice
3 tb Butter
1 tb Butter; melted
2 tb Sliced almonds
In a medium-sized bowl mix yeast and water. Blend milk, salt, honey,
egg, and butter. Add to yeast mixture, then add 2-1/2 cups flour.
Turn onto floured board, adding the remaining 1/2 cup flour as
needed. Knead dough until smooth (approximately 10 minutes). Place in
buttered bowl, cover with damp cloth, and let rise 1 to 1-1/2 hours
until doubled.
While the dough rises, make the filling. Grind the poppy seeds in a
blender. Combine the poppy seeds, almonds, honey, milk, lemon peel,
lemon juice, and 3 tb of butter in a small pan. Cook over low heat
for 10 minutes. Let cool.
When the dough has doubled, punch down and roll out on a floured
board to a 10x15" rectangle. Lift onto a buttered cookie sheet.
Spread filling down the center of dough vertically. With a knife, cut
9 diagonal slashes on each side section to make 9 strips of dough.
Lift the strips and close over filling, overlapping the strips until
all are folded (similar to a braid). Let rise again for 20 minutes on
top of stove while preheating oven to 350 F. Brush with melted
butter. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until
browned.
Recipe by Horn of the Moon Cookbook by Ginny Callan
