Bohemian Poppyseed Strudel (German Striezel)

The Bohemian Poppy Seed Strudel, or also called "Striezel", is a German baking specialty that comes from the Polish and Silesian cuisine but also from the Austrian part when it used to be Germany. So what's the difference? If you want to make it as a "Striezel" the dough would be braided. As a "Strudel" the dough would be rolled. In both ways this delicious cake is made out of a sweet yeast dough with ground poppy seeds. If you cannot get ground poppy seeds you must grind them. You can use an herb or your coffee grinder. If you use an already made filling check the sugar content. If it is already sweetened you must adjust the sugar amount. Some recipes add Streusel on top but for this one we just used confectioners' sugar.

Dough:
all-purpose flour, unbleached (500 g)
fresh yeast or 1 pkg dry yeast (30 g)
milk (⅛ L)
1 dash sea salt
sugar (80 g)
1 egg
butter, grated (125 g)
1 Tbsp. lemon zest

Filling:
poppy seeds, ground, use a spice or coffee grinder (300 g)
sugar (200 g)
milk (300 mL)
1 (0.5 oz) pkg vanilla sugar
1 lemon, freshly zested
1 egg

Fir the Dough:
Place flour into a bowl, make a mold, fill in the yeast that had been mixed with some semi-warm milk.

Add some flour and sugar and mix it this is the starter dough (Vorteig).

At a warm location let it raise covered for 15 minutes, then add remaining milk, sugar, salt, egg, lemon zest and grated butter.

Knead until you get a smooth dough.

In a warm place let it raise again, covered with a kitchen cloth for 30 minutes.

For the Filling:
Bring milk to a brief boil. Add all ingredients. Let simmer until it thickens, then let cool off.

Divide dough in 2 parts, roll each part on a baking board that is sprinkled with flour.

Spread on each part the filling and roll it. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Beat an egg and brush it over each roll. With a fork poke each strudel several times.

Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Place an oven rack in the lower section of the oven.

Bake for about 45-60 minutes (depends on the oven).

When the Strudel is done dust the surface with confectioners' sugar right before serving.