Pletzlach - Polish Flat Bread

Feeling lonely in the kitchen over the weekend as everyone was on their respective computers tucked away in bedrooms and an office, I too was on the interweb facing my own demons of my dinnertime/cooking rut. I was searching for ideas on what to make that everyone will like and bring them to the table with enthusiasm. My daughter has requested that I make a wider variety of things but the request came without specific suggestions or requests; and she is one of my two finicky eaters.  It takes a lot to branch out beyond my tried and true recipes with my picky eaters. I suppose this story and this bread don't really match because this bread is basically a dinner roll with the delicious addition of rolling a onion, oil and poppy seed mixture into the top. It was different enough and just the addition of that mixture filled the house with a delicious aroma that everyone floated into the kitchen on and asked what's for dinner and stayed in the kitchen where a lively conversation ensued.  I found this recipe in The Wednesday Chef's recipe archive and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to make it.  Poppy seeds and onions are such a wonderful combination though I did make a few without the poppy seeds as the other finicky eater in the house doesn't like poppy seeds. Try this recipe it is delicious.  Note:  The original published recipe uses 4 cups of flour and 2 tablespoons of yeast and you don't let the rolls rise once they are shaped.

Pletzlach  

Time: About 1 hour, plus 1 1/2 hours' rising
This recipe is sized for my 1 pound loaf bread machine
Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour

2  teaspoons yeast

4 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup milk or water

1 large egg
Topping

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

You can easily make this recipe in a bread machine using the dough setting. 

Place flour in bowl of an electric mixer with dough paddle attached. Make a well in center and pour in 1/2 cup lukewarm milk or water. Stir in yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and let bloom for 5 minutes.

Add egg,  1/4 cup vegetable oil, remaining sugar and the salt. Mix well until dough is soft but not sticky, adding flour if necessary. Turn into a greased bowl, and let rise again, covered, for one hour. Knead lightly, and let rise again for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place diced onion in a small bowl, and stir in poppy seeds and remaining 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Set aside.

Divide dough into 12 balls. On a floured board, roll each ball into a circle about 2 or 3 inches in diameter and about 1 inch thick. Sprinkle a tablespoon or so of onion-poppy seed mixture on each circle.

Roll circles again, to a thickness of about  1/8 of an inch.

At this point I did not prick but covered with a lint free cloth and let rise for 15 minutes or so as used them as a hamburger bun.

Prick each circle with a fork and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Transfer to 1 ungreased baking sheet. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

12-14 onion rolls.

adapted from Luisa Weiss and Rebecca PeltzI