Beigli with Mac

Dough: We start by preparing the delicious base of our recipe. In a container, add 50 ml of lukewarm milk, where we carefully dissolve 30 g of fresh yeast together with a pinch of salt. This step is essential to activate the yeast, ensuring that the dough will rise nicely. In a separate bowl, put 600g flour, 200g soft butter (or margarine if you prefer), 100g icing sugar, two egg yolks and the warm milk with the dissolved yeast. We also add 200 ml of cream, an ingredient that will give the dough a smooth and fluffy texture. Mix all these ingredients well until the dough is homogeneous and elastic. When the dough is ready, transfer it to a bag sprinkled with a little flour to prevent sticking. Leave it in the fridge for two hours to develop its flavor and firm up a little.

Filling: In the meantime, we're on to the delicious filling. We'll use 600g of poppy, which we'll finely grind, adding a few tablespoons of sugar to intensify the flavor. Put 270 g of sugar, 3 tablespoons of honey and 50 ml of water in a saucepan, stirring to obtain a smooth syrup. Once the syrup has come to the boil, add the ground poppy, the grated zest of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 ampoule of rum essence. If you like, you can also add 100 g of raisins, but in this case we will omit them. Allow the filling to simmer for 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool thoroughly so that the flavors blend perfectly.

After the two hours of rest, we start rolling out the dough on a floured board. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll out each side into a rectangle about 0.5 cm thick. Distribute the cooled filling evenly over each rectangle, leaving a 1-1,5 cm gap around the edges. Carefully roll the dough into a tight roll. Place the rolls in baking-paper-lined baking tins, brushing the top with beaten egg to obtain a golden crust. Using a fork, prick the rolls in several places to allow steam to escape during baking.

Place the baking tins in the preheated oven and leave on high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and continue baking until they are nicely browned and pass the tester with a toothpick. Once baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool in the tins, covered with a towel to retain their moisture. Once they've cooled, I slice them and serve them with gusto. Enjoy!