Poppy Seed Rolls - Unikonsiemenpuustit

I just have to start this post by saying what a week it has been! (If you are only interested in the recipe, scroll down...). I just need to share everything that's happened. Phew... Where to start... First, a couple weeks ago we got a letter telling an apartment was sold in our house. Looking at the price it was sold it seemed fishy... It was so cheap! One couldn't buy an apartment at that price in Helsinki, let alone in our district. We thought then if we should use our right to claim it. (We are living in an old house and it's stated in our house rules that the owners have a right to claim sold properties.) I was a bit hesitant since I thought where the catch is as it was so cheap. Then just a day before the claiming deadline was, we got another letter which was from the buyer. Someone had already announced their claim. Then we decided to join the game which involved negotiations with the bank, pawning our apartment and lots of calls.

While we were at the middle of this process the following things happened: Maybe we were a bit tired or just so excited that Toddy ended up eating his rubber toy: first he was just playing with it, maybe a bit more aggressively than usually. Toddy is always very relaxed and careful and usually doesn't handle his toys aggressively at all. I should have taken the toy then away from him since I took a notice of his unusual behaviour. But I didn't and came expensive... When I next looked at him, there was no toy anymore to be seen. This happened before the last weekend. During the weekend there was no sight of the toy. Toddy made some whining noises during the second night he had ingested the toy, but otherwise he (and his bowel) seemed OK. After three days we decided to take him to the vet. Some nervous waiting hours later he had been examined with X-ray, ultrasound and multiple X-rays with contrast medium. The vet suspected there might be foreign objects in the pylorus area of the stomach but luckile the intestines were free from blockage. It was agreed to give Toddy some food followed with an emetic. They told of the possible risks (choking etc.) So I was left yet again to wait in anxious state. I channeled my anxiety to some ankle exercises and rolling my tense muscles. They called me an hour later to tell that three pieces of the toy were obtained and that Toddy was alright. Hoorah! I was so happy to hear that. When I went to fetch him I saw the pieces and immediately saw that a 2 cm piece was still maybe missing. The stomach was empty at that point so if it was still inside him, it was in the intestines already. No sight of further foreign objects still. Let's keep fingers crossed that he doesn't need an operation!

While this toy episode was still going on, I managed to crash my car in the parking space. The side mirror came off almost totally (it was hanging by the cord only), the front door and fender were scratched and badly indented. Great... I just saw euros flowing out of my bank account to every possible direction. I checked my insurance and was quite sure it wouldn't cover this accident. Some day ago I went to show the car to various repair shops and they told it would cost at least 1000 euros to repair the car. I felt devastated as Toddy's visit to the vet had already cost a great deal of money and what if he would need surgery later. By the evening I had already accepted the inevitable loss of money, but I decided to check once again the insurance terms and got lightly assured that maybe it would cover the accident anyway... I couldn't almost sleep the following night, waiting for the insurance hotline to open. When the clock hit 8 o'clock I dialled the number and the insurance person told me almost immediately that my insurance would cover the costs. I couldn't have been happier. Now I can save that money to Toddy's operation if needed.

I generally don't believe in bad luck nor am superstitious, after all this bad luck I felt strongly that something big is still going to happen. As a Finnish proverb says "Ei kahta ilman kolmatta" (no two without the third) meaning that if something (bad) happens twice, there will be a third event. On Wednesday Toddy was still ok, I got the good news from the insurance company and the money transfer for the apartment was made (for that apartment). As there were more that just us using our right to claim the apartment, a lottery would be held. More on that later. What a week...

Now back to the subject here which is food of course. Poppy seeds are not generally used in Finland. You can sometimes see them on top of breads, but that's all I think. I've seen some German recipes like Mohnkuchen and Mohnschnecken which seemed so delicious I was very curious to try poppy seed baking. I bought ready-made poppy seed filling and also large bags of poppy seeds to try making my own filling from our last visit to Germany by car. In Finland poppy seeds are usually sold in very small bags so it would take quite many of them to make a filling. The first recipe I tried was my very own cinnamon bun recipe since I adore sweets buns. I substituted poppy seed filling for cinnamon sugar butter used in cinnamon buns to create these delicious Poppy Seed Rolls. I have posted many yeasted sweet bun recipes over the years but I think it's time to rewrite the recipe here. If you want to try forming your rolls as the Finnish do it, I'm sharing also a helpful diagram on how to form them (it's quite complicated to explain it in words).

Poppy Seed Rolls
Author: Tuulia / Kitchenfoxtales     Preparation Time: 30 min (and 45+25 minutes for risings)
Cooking time: 15 min      Servings: 12 buns     Calories per serving*: 280 kcal

The Finnish pulla meets German Mohnschnecken in this poppy seed bun recipe.

Ingredients:

• 25 g fresh yeast / 11 g dry yeast
• 250 ml milk
• 75-90 g sugar
• 1/2-3/4 Tsp salt
• 1/2-1 Tbsp ground cardamom (optional, but highly recommended)
• 1 egg, whisked (can be left out, but it gives a colour to the buns)
• 75 g butter, at room-temperature
• appr. 400-450 g wheat flour (appr. 700-750 ml)
Filling:
• 1 bag (250 g) poppy seed filling (I used store-bought Mohnfix, but you could do it yourself too)
• Poppy seeds and sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions:

1. Crumble the fresh yeast to a bowl (if using). Warm up the milk until 32 C (about the temperature of your hands) or slightly warmer if using dry yeast. Dissolve the yeast to a small smount of milk first and then add the rest.
2. Add the sugar, salt, cardamom and if using: dry yeast and half of the whisked egg (save the other half for brushing).
3. Add the wheat flour little by little. When the batter resembles a thick pancake batter beat it for some time in order to get some air into the dough and to gain elasticity. Add more flour by kneading the dough to obtain a smooth dough that starts to unstick from the bowl. Remember to not add too much flour, as it will make the buns hard. The stickier you leave the dough, the softer buns you get. It's always very tempting to add more flour as the dough is then easier to handle, but once you learn how to work with a stickier dough, you'll notice how much better the buns will be.
4. Knead the soft butter into the dough. Once the butter is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic, cover it with a cling-film or cloth and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size (appr. 45 minutes depending heavily on ambient temperature).
5. After the first rise, put the dough on a floured surface and softly push the air out of the dough. Knead and roll it to appr. 30x40 cm rectangle (the long edge facing you). The thickness should be around 3-4 mm: enough to roll it easily but not too thick as to make the buns too big (they would bake into odd shapes in that case.)
6. Spread the poppy seed filling o n the dough so that it covers the whole rectangle. By starting from the long edge facing you, roll the dough into a tight roll. Place the roll so that the open seam of the long edge is under the roll, facing the surface. Cut into individual buns in diagonal cuts at 45 degree angle, alternating the direction (see picture below). If the cut is too perpendicular, the buns will collapse to their sides in the oven.
7. Place them on a baking paper covered tray with the broad edge facing the tray. Press firmly down on the short edge to get the right look and so that they don't collapse in the oven. Cover loosely with a cling film or cloth and leave to rise for about 25-30 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 225-250 C while the buns are rising. Once risen, brush the buns with eggwash or milk and sprinkle with pearl sugar and/or poppy seeds. Bake until golden brown (appr. 10-13 min.

*Nutritional information is based on average values and is a rough estimate.

Unikonsiemenpuustit
Tekijä: Tuulia / Kitchenfoxtales     Valmisteluaika: 30 min (ja 45+25 kohotuksiin)
Kypsennysaika: 15 min      Annokset: 12 pullaa    Energiasisältö per annos*: 280 kcal

Korvapuustit hieman erilaisella täytteellä: saksalainen unikonsiementäyte jota käytetään mm. Mohnschnecken-reseptissä sopii hyvin myös suomalaisiin pulliin.

Ainekset:

• 25 g tuorehiivaa / 11 g kuivahiivaa
• 2,5 dl maitoa
• 75-90 g sokeria (reilu 3/4-1 dl)
• 1/2-3/4 tl suolaa
• 1/2-1 rkl jauhettua kardemummaa (halutessasi, mutta suosittelen vahvasti :)
• 1 kananmuna, kevyesti vatkattuna (voi jättää pois, mutta antaa kauniin värin)
• 75 g voita, huoneenlämmössä
• noin 400-450 g vehnäjauhoja (n. 7-7,5 dl)
Täyte:
• 1 pussillinen (250 g) unikonsiementäytettä (tätä myydään ainakin Mohnfix-nimellä Saksassa, mutta sitä voi tehdä itsekin. Unikonsiemeniä pitää tosin jauhaa tätä varten , mikä voi olla hieman työlästä.)
• Päälle: unikonsiemeniä ja raesokeria

Valmistusohjeet:

1. Murenna tuorehiiva kulhoon. Lämmitä maito kädenlämpöiseksi (n.32 C). Liuota hiiva ensin pieneen määrään maitoa ja lisää sitten loput maidosta.
2. Lisää sokeri, suola, kardemumma, (kuivahiiva) ja puolet vatkatusta munasta (säästä loput voitelua varten).
3. Lisää hieman alle puolet vehnäjauhoista ja vatkaa taikinaa hetki, niin että siihen tulee ilmaan. Taikinan vatkaaminen "märkänä" lisää siihen myös gluteeniverkkoa, jolloin siitä tulee helpommin elastista.
4. Jatka jauhojen lisäämistä ja vaivaa taikina sileäksi ja niin, että se alkaa irrota kulhon reunoista. Lisää pehmeä voi taikinaan ja jatka vaivaamista. Älä lisää liikaa jauhoja, koska silloin pullista tulee kovia. Mitä pehmämmäksi (ja tarttuvammaksi) pystyt taikinan jättämäänn, sitä pehmeämpiä pullistasi tulee. Taikinasta haluaisi tehdä ehkä helpommin käsiteltävää, mutta kunhan pehmeää taikinaa on vaivannut tarpeeksi ja kun se on saanut levähtää, sitä pystyy kyllä käsittelemään tarttuvampanakin. Huomaat kyllä eron, kun uskallat jättää taikinan pehmeämmäksi.
5. Kun voi on sekoittunut taikinaan ja taikina on sileää ja elästista, peitä se kelmulla tai kankaalla ja anna nousta lämpimässä paikassa kaksinkertaiseksi (noin 45 minuuttia riippuen lämpötilasta).
6. Kohotuksen jälkeen siirrä taikina jauhotetulle tasolle ja painele ilma pehmeästi pois. Muotoile taikinasta pallo ja kauli se noin 40x50 cm suorakaiteeksi (pitkä sivu kohti sinua). Taikinan paksuuden tuli olla noin 3-4 mm: riittävän paksu sen rullaamiseen muttei liian paksu, jotta pulliin tulee tarpeeksi kierrettä.
7. Levitä koko taikinan päälle unikonsiementäyte. Rullaa taikina pötköksi aloittaen rullaaminen sinua lähimpänä olevasta pitkästä reunasta. Aseta pötkön saumakohta pohjaan tasoa vasten. Leikkaa korvapuusteiksi viistosti noin 45 asteen kulmassa vuorotellen suuntaa (ks. ao. kuva). Jos leikkaus on liian pystysuora, pullat kaatuvat uunissa.
8. Nosta palat leivinpaperilla vuoratulle pellille niin, että levein kohta tulee pohjaksi. Paina pulla kasaan sen ohuesta kohdasta saadaksesi oikean "korvapuusti" -ulkonäön ja jotta ne eivät kaadu kyljelleen uunissa. Peitä keittiöpyyhkeellä tai kevyesti öljytyllä kelmunpalalla ja jätä kohoamaan noin 25-30 minuutiksi.
9. Esilämmitä uuni 225-250 asteeseen sillä välin, kun pullat nousevat. Voitele pullat lopulla kananmunalla (tai maidolla) ja ripottele päälle raesokeria ja unikonsiemeniä. Paista kullanruskeiksi, noin 10-13 minuuttia.

*Energiasisältö perustuu keskimääräisiin arvoihin.

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