Sweet Poppy Seed Filled Buns

How to prepare sweet poppy seed filled buns

1. The poppy seed filling is prepared ahead of time, it can be made 1-2 days in advance. In a small saucepan, heat the milk well and add the poppy seeds. Stir and put the lid on. Let the poppy seeds soften for 2 hours.
2. Reheat the milk and poppy seed mixture. Add the sugar and vanilla paste. Bring to a boil.
3. Mix the cornstarch well with the egg yolk until you have a paste. Gradually add a few tablespoons of the hot milk from the poppy seeds (it's ok if you get some poppy seeds too).
4. Remove the saucepan from heat and add the cornstarch with egg mixture. Whisk well and put the saucepan back on low heat. Continue to stir quickly until you feel the mixture becoming thick, like a pudding. Add the butter and stir until melted.
5. Move the saucepan off the heat with the bottom directly into cold water. Stir for a few minutes until the cream cools down. Let it cool completely, cover with plastic wrap, then refrigerate until firm.
6. In a cup, mix the warm milk with yeast and a pinch of sugar. Leave covered in a warm place until it forms a little foam on top (about 10 minutes).
8. In the stand mixer, put the yeast mixture from above, the egg, then the flour mixed with sugar and salt. Knead the dough for 3 minutes, until elastic.
9. With the mixer running, add the butter in small pieces, adding each piece after the previous one is completely incorporated into the dough. This step will take another 3 minutes.
10. Put the dough in a bowl greased with oil, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place (26-30°C) for 1 hour.
11. For the crumb topping, rub the cubed butter with the flour and sugar between your fingers until you get a breadcrumb-like texture. Refrigerate the mixture until needed. Before using, rub the chilled mixture again between fingers to make it as fine as possible.
12. When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces (first into 4 pieces, then each piece into 2).
14. Shape each piece into a ball. Place the balls in a baking tray lined with parchment paper, with space between them.
15. With the floured bottom of a glass, press firmly on each ball, in the center. The bottom of the glass should be smaller than the diameter of the ball. This will create a large crater in the center. If the craters are not well defined, you can press them with your finger on the edges after lifting the glass to widen the area for the filling as much as possible.
16. Fill the craters to the top with poppy seed cream (1 generous tablespoon). I used an ice cream scoop to put the filling in the craters.
17. Brush the edges of the buns (the rim around the cream) with warm milk. Sprinkle as much crumb topping as possible on the brushed edges. Any remaining can be sprinkled over the poppy seed area.
18. Put the tray in a bag and let the buns rise for 30 minutes in a warm place (next to a running radiator, for example).
20. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C, top and bottom heat.
21. Bake the buns at 180°C for 20-30 minutes. Check them after 20 minutes and take them out when they are nicely golden.
    They are very good and soft even the next day.

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