I have these Budapest Saturday flea market While wandering around antique and vintage stalls. I love them so much I want to recreate them at home. I do love anything poppy seed – just like legal drugs.
The word kifli and other variations mean “horned”. The shape is lunar, like a crescent moon, so it may have pagan origins, worshiping a goddess. The crescent is considered the oldest pastry shape. The moon shape may also be traces of Islamic and Turkish culture, as Hungary was occupied by the Ottoman Empire for centuries. You can still see traces of this in modern Hungary, for example in Turkish baths and with pickled radishes with meals.
Any stale pudding can be made into the Austrian recipe Kipfelkoch, which is a bit like bread and butter pudding but with croissants and apples.
Poppy Seed Kifli
I bought these pastries at a flea market in Budapest. I like anything with poppy seeds, but you can also buy a walnut butter-filled version.
Serve 15
raw material
For pastries:
- 250 gram plain flour
- 1 spoon fast acting yeast
- 35 gram powdered sugar
- 100 ml warm milk
- 1 Egg
- 125 gram Butter, cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon Salt
For padding:
- 225 gram poppy seed
- 125 ml milk
- 60 gram butter
- 75 gram fine sugar
- 4 spoon Honey
- 1 Lemon, zest
Brush on pastry:
instruct
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Place the flour, yeast, powdered sugar, warm milk (make sure not to be too hot or it will kill the yeast), eggs in a bowl or stand mixer and mix until well combined.
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Add salt and butter piece by piece until combined.
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Cover and leave in a cool place for an hour or overnight.
Make the filling:
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Grind the poppy seeds in a vitamin or similar substance.
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In a small saucepan over low heat, add milk, butter, sugar, honey, lemon zest. Heat gently until butter melts, then add poppy seeds. Stir well, then remove from heat and allow to cool.
Assembly:
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Place the pastry on a clean floured surface and divide into 15 balls (about 45g each).
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Roll each ball into a strip approximately 11cm (4in) wide x 18cm (7in) long. The ends should be slightly thinner.
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Pick up a ball of the ground poppy seed mixture (it’s firm enough to handle) with your hands or a spoon and roll it into a thin sausage about 15cm (6in) long. Place in the middle of the pastry strip.
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Fold the pastry over and seal with your fingers. Then push the ends up to form a crescent shape. Place on a silicone mat, silicone sheet, or parchment paper on a flat baking sheet.
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Preheat the oven to 180C (360F) and continue making crescents with the pastry and poppy seed mixture. If you bake all the baking sheets at once, you may need 2 baking sheets.
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When the crescent kiefli are all made, brush them with egg wash.
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Bake for 20 minutes until golden.
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Serve with coffee.
