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
