Makowiec: Polish Poppy Seed Roll

Instructions

For Yeast Dough

1. Place one stick of butter, 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of sugar in a saucepan. Warm it up (on a low heat) until butter melts.
2. Set the saucepan aside to cool down, roughly to 104°F/40°C - you can check with your finger, it should be slightly warm.
3. Separate egg whites from yolks, leave egg whites aside. 
4. Move two yolks into a large bowl, add yeast (fresh or dry). Combine together with a fork.
5. Sift four cups of flour into the bowl, add a pinch of salt and add warm sweet milk mixture. 
6. Knead together for about 5 minutes. I like to knead the dough by hand, but feel free to use a stand mixer with a dough hook.
7. Form a smooth dough ball, place it in a large bowl and cover with a cloth. Leave in a warm place for 2 hours to rise. Ideally, the dough should triple its size.

For the Filling

Option A: Using a store-bought Filling

1. If you are using a ready-made Poppy Seed filling from a can - check its taste first.  If it’s too wet and/or too loose, fry it on a low heat (without a lid) with one teaspoon of butter. The excess water will evaporate and the filling will thicken. You can also add more chopped nuts and dried fruit to the mass.
2. When the filling cools down, add the whipped whites of the two eggs. Gently fold in the egg foam into the mixture. Thanks to these egg whites, the filling won’t crumble when the roll is sliced.

Option B: Using a homemade Filling

Follow the instructions from this Homemade Poppy Seed Filling recipe. You can use up the remaining 2 egg whites for this.

For this recipe you’ll need 1.3 lb (600 g) of filling - so that’s half a portion. But you can make more (skipping the eggs) and freeze half for later.

Cake Assembly

NOTE: This Roll is very long (roughly 20 in / 50 cm) and may not fit in your oven. If it doesn't, cut the dough in half and make two smaller rolls.

1. Preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C with fan-assist, or to 375°F/190°C without.
2. Move the dough ball onto your work surface. It shouldn’t stick, but if it does, dust your worktop with some flour. 
3. Roll out the dough into a long rectangle, roughly 0.4-0.6 inch (1-1.5 cm) thick.
4. Spread the filling on top, leaving a small border around the edges. 
5. Starting at one of the long ends, roll the pastry up as gently and tightly as possible. 
6. Once the roll is assembled, place it on parchment paper. Then, fold the paper over the top of the roll, forming a tunnel with around 0.4 inch (1 cm) of loose space. That will prevent the roll from changing its shape uncontrollably in the oven. Place the wrapped roll onto a baking sheet.
7. Place the baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
8. Once the time is up, switch off the oven and leave its door open for 15 minutes. You can then take the cake out, remove the parchment paper and set aside to cool down completely.

Decoration

1. (tbh, I never measure the exact amounts of ingredients to make frosting...). Just fill a small cup with icing/powdered sugar and add a tablespoon of lemon juice. Blend it together with a fork. If the mass is still not smooth, add a few drops of water and mix it with a fork again. 
2. Observe as the frosting changes its texture and adjust the amount of water when necessary. If you add too much and it’s too runny, add more powdered sugar.
3. Pour the frosting over the Poppy Seed Roll (it should be already cooled!).
4. Sprinkle a tablespoon of dry poppy seeds - and optionally, chopped candied orange peel. Leave aside for the frosting to set.