There's a restaurant near here that serves the best poppy seed rolls. They bring them to your table in a little basket, piping hot from the oven with the most delicious cinnamon honey butter. I have been on the lookout for a good copy-cat recipe and I think I've come pretty close. While not exact, they're very good and very easy to make. This recipe is easily doubled if you're feeding a crowd. Served with the cinnamon honey butter, they make a great little evening snack!
Poppy Seed Rolls with
Cinnamon Honey Butter
(rolls adapted from King Arthur Flour)
1 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons instant dry milk
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast in and whisk until yeast is dissolved.
Stir in the brown sugar and ½ cup of all-purpose flour. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry milk, salt, poppy seeds and ½ cup of the all purpose flour. Add to the yeast/water mixture.
Add the remaining flours, ½ cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead it, adding more flour if necessary. Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm place for 1 ½ - 2 hours, until doubled in size.
Punch down dough and turn onto a floured surface. Shape dough into a rope about 24 inches long and cut into 24 pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spray rolls with water and allow to rise until swollen. Preheat oven during this time to 450 degrees. Bake the rolls for 15 – 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cinnamon Honey Butter
1 stick butter – room temperature
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons honey
In a small bowl, combine ingredients and stir until well blended.