Need a use for poppy seed filling

[Scott]

Having made mohn-filled hamantaschen, I now have about 500 grams of poppy seed filling left over.

I'd like a few ways that use them that deemphasize their sweetness--5hus the posting to the bread forum. I'm thinking maybe a yeasted, mildly enriched bread or roll--something closer to a challah than to a brioche, with more of a chew. Maybe a kolace or a makowiec? The existing honey/sugar in the filling is more than enough for me, so I want the bread to be at most nominally sweet--I'm not big on desserts, which means not something rich.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Having made mohn-filled hamantaschen, I now have about 500 grams of poppy seed filling left over.

I'd like a few ways that use them that deemphasize their sweetness--5hus the posting to the bread forum. I'm thinking maybe a yeasted, mildly enriched bread or roll--something closer to a challah than to a brioche, with more of a chew. Maybe a kolace or a makowiec? The existing honey/sugar in the filling is more than enough for me, so I want the bread to be at most nominally sweet--I'm not big on desserts, which means not something rich.

A kolache is probably your best bet. Tori Avey a Jewish food blogger has a recipe.

Poppy Seed Filling for Cookies and Pastries

Scrumptious recipe for mohn - poppy seed filling. Can be used to fill hamantaschen, cookies, pastries, kolaches and more. Thick, rich filling. Kosher.

toriavey.com

 

[wesley]

Thank you Norcalbaker59, for posting Tori Avey's link. In all my research, I had not come across that one. Her telling of the Kolache history seems to be spot on.

Once again, my Polish grandmother made these to perfection (I don't remember what she called them), but we have no recipe. These are photos that come close to what I remember:

I recently saw a young Polish woman (Tina) on YouTube make them, and that set me off on an adventure to try and capture some early memories. Using Tina's recipe, I was not happy with the dough results. The finished dough was too dry and dense, and not soft and pillowy, the way I remember them. Her dough also lacked depth of flavor. My grandmother's dough was sweet and memorable, like I remember tasting a brioche for the first time. But it was not a brioche dough (I don't think). It was a simple, sweet Polish pastry dough.

I did more research and communicated with other Polish bakers. I altered Tina's recipe about three times, and I settled on buttermilk instead of milk, fresh yeast instead of dry, and I began with a pre-ferment. After the first 1-hour rise, I was told to form my dough balls into dough circles with indents for filling, and then cover those and place them in the fridge overnight for a slow, second rise. When I baked the final experiment batch, I thought they were close to perfection, except, my dough had a far too strong flavor of yeast. Other than that, the dough was tasty in a more complex way, soft, and beautifully textured.

Research is suggesting I must reduce the yeast amount to reduce the yeasty flavor. Since I'm not in a rush to make these, I don't mind letting the dough take its time to rise properly.

My final recipe calls for 250g flour + 125g buttermilk + 20g fresh yeast. How low can I go with the yeast amount to get a worthwhile experiment that won't be ruined? And I'm assuming the dough will tell me when it is ready by how much it has grown over time. Thank you.

(Edit) I just found out the ToriAvey link is actually a Gil Marks recipe for Kolaches. And Gil Marks is deceased.