DANISH POPPY SEED PASTRIES

/ Makes 8

Tebirkes are classic Danish pastries found in all the bakeries in Copenhagen. Traditional Danish pastry dough is folded around a marzipan filling called remonce and the pastries are then topped with a thick coating of poppy seeds.

PREP: 1hour

CHILL: 12 hours

PROVE: 2 hours

BAKE: 15–20 minutes

for the pastry dough:

450g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

75g caster sugar

7g salt

7g instant yeast

2 medium eggs

75ml cold water

75ml full-fat milk

225g cold unsalted butter

for the filling:

400g almond paste (at least 50% ground almond content)

1 beaten egg, to glaze

100g black poppy seeds

1. Place the flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Put the sugar and salt at one side and the yeast at the other. Add the eggs, water and milk. Begin mixing on a slow speed for a couple of minutes to bring the ingredients together. Once combined, increase the speed and mix for 5 minutes.
2. Tip the dough on to a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for an hour.
3. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 50cm x 20cm rectangle, 1cm thick. Bash the butter with a rolling pin and flatten into a 30cm x 19cm rectangle. Place the butter on the dough so it covers the bottom two thirds.
4. Fold the dough without the butter down so it covers one third of the butter. Cut off the exposed butter without cutting into the dough. Place this butter on top of the dough you have just folded down. Fold the bottom half of the dough up. Seal the butter in place by gently squeezing the edges. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least an hour or until the butter has hardened.
5. Place the chilled dough, short side facing you, on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 45cm x 20cm rectangle. Fold one third of the dough up and the top third down on top, creating a single turn. Wrap the dough again and place in the fridge for an hour. Repeat this turn two more times, chilling the dough between turns. After the final turn, chill the dough for 8 hours or overnight.
6. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the almond paste into a 70cm x 10cm strip. Roll the dough into a 70cm x 30cm rectangle, 7mm thick.
7. Place the almond paste strip down the middle third of the dough. Fold the sides of the dough over the almond paste, one on top of the other, so the almond paste is wrapped in the pastry. Cut the log into eight equal pieces and place on the baking trays seam-side down. Cover and leave to rise for 2 hours.
8. Preheat your oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Once they have risen, brush the pastries with egg wash and sprinkle each pastry heavily with poppy seeds. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the pastry is puffed, crispy and golden. Cool on a wire rack.