Recipe(tried): Hungarian Makos Patko Christmas bread

POPPY SEED HORSESHOE----HUNGARIAN---MAKOS PATKO

This is the highlight of the Christmas sweet table in Hungary. The Polish Strucla z Makiem, The Ukrainian Makivnyk, The Yugoslavian Potica and the Putiza of the Veneto region of Italy are made exactly the same way.

BASIC COFFEECAKE DOUGH:

3 envelopes dry yeast (3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup (1/4 pound) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
Grated rind of 1 lemon
5 cups flour, approximately
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks

Sprinkle yeast into lukewarm water, add 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 cup flour, stir and set aside in a draft-free corner for 5 to 10 minutes or until mixture foams. Make sure your yeast is fresh or it won't foam.

Scald milk and to it add butter, remaining sugar and salt. Stir until butter melts. Cool until lukewarm and add lemon rind and flavoring of your choice, beat in the eggs, yolks and milk. Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, and beat thoroughly. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a smooth but pliable dough. Turn out on a floured board and knead for about 10 minutes, adding flour if needed, until dough is smooth and elastic and blisters form on the surface.

Gather dough into a ball, place in a floured bowl, dust top with flour and cover lightly with a towel. Set to rise in a draft-free corner until doubled in bulk--about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch dough down, knead for 2 or 3 minutes.

Prepare dough, and when it has risen, punch down and roll out to a rectangle a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Spread filling over dough and roll up jelly-roll fashion. Bend roll gently into a horseshoe shape and slide onto a buttered baking sheet. OR cut in half and place each half in a buttered 9-inch loaf pan or on a baking sheet. Let rise until almost doubled in bulk.

If you want to ice the roll, brush it with lukewarm water before baking. Otherwise, brush it with egg glaze. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F. oven for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool thoroughly before icing. Makes 1 large or 2 smaller coffeecakes.

POPPY SEED FILLING:

3/4 pound poppy seeds
1/2 cup (1/4 pound) unsalted butter
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons light sweet cream
1/2 cup chopped raisins
Grated rind of 1 lemon or 1/2 orange
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS: 1 grated sour apple or 2 tablespoons apple butter, or 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

The night before, cover poppy seeds with boiling water and let them soak until the following morning, or wash and parboil for 30 minutes just before grinding. Drain thoroughly and grind in a poppy-seed grinder, or put them through the finest blade of your meat chopper 3 or 4 times. I use a coffee grinder for this. (or buy ground poppy seeds if there is a store near you that prepares them, but be sure they are not rancid.)

Cream butter with honey. When well blended, combine with cream, poppy seeds and remaining filling ingredients. (Some people prefer to omit the butter and to cook the ground poppy seeds with 2 cups milk and the honey until the mixture is thick. The other ingredients are then stirred in.)

EGG GLAZE: 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water.

WHITE SUGAR GLAZE:

For cookies and cakes, and especially for Lebkuchen.

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
1 teaspoon rum or brandy (optional)
1/2 to 1 1/4 tablespoons hot water, or as needed

Combine sugar, cornstarch, flavorings and rum or brandy. Gradually stir in hot water, a tablespoonful at a time, until you have a smooth thick paste. Spread on warm cookies, or cooled poppy seed cake. If mixture cools and thickens as you work, thin with additional hot water. Sugar sprinkles can be scattered on the glaze before it hardens if you wish.

``````````````````````````````````````````

HUNGARIAN CHESTNUT BONBONS [GESZIENYEGOLYOK]

One of the more elegant holiday treats given out at smart Budapest restaurants were marvelous rum-flavored chestnut-shaped bonbons made of pureed chestnuts encased in a glassy sugar coating. To make these requires the skill of a professional patissier, but with this recipe you can approximate these confections.

1 1/2 pounds chestnuts, boiled, shelled and skinned
1 tablespoons rum or brandy
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Vanilla Sugar (confectioners')

Puree chestnuts in a food mill, processor or through a sieve, and mix in rum to taste. Combine sugar, the water and corn syrup in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil slowly, uncovered and without stirring, until mixture forms a hard ball when a little is dropped into cold water, or until it reaches 270 degrees F. on a candy thermometer. Stir syrup into chestnuts, and when mixture is cool enough to touch, roll it into chestnut shapes. Dredge with sugar, cool completely, dredge with a little more sugar and wrap each chestnut in bright foil.

Makes about 6 dozen bonbons.

VANILLA SUGAR:

Place 1 pound confectioners' or granulated sugar in a jar with 2 or 3 vanilla beans. Close jar tightly and let stand for 48 hours before using. Replenish sugar as it is used up. Use as called for in individual recipes. Beans need replacing only after 4 or 5 months.

````````````````````````````````````````````
MAKOSGUBO..HUNGARIAN CHRISTMAS BISCUITS WITH POPPY SEEDS.

1 envelope dry yeast
2 tablespoons lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 whole eggs, beaten
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 to 2 1/2 cups flour, as needed

1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar, approximately
1/2 cup washed, dried and ground poppy seeds Sprinkle yeast into lukewarm water, add 1 teaspoon sugar and set aside in a warm place for 5 to 10 minutes, or until mixture is foamy.

Scald milk, add salt, butter, 1/4 cup sugar and stir until butter melts. Cool to lukewarm. Add to yeast mixture along with beaten whole eggs and yolks. Stir in 1 cup flour. Mix thoroughly, cover loosely and set to rise in a draft-free corner for about 30 minutes, or until dough is light and puffy.

Beat in as much remaining flour as needed to make dough smooth but soft. Knead for 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place in floured bowl, dust top of dough with flour, cover loosely and set to rise in a draft-free corner until double in bulk--about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down, knead for 2 or 3 minutes, then cut off pieces slightly smaller than walnuts. Roll into balls, dredge lightly with flour, dusting off excess, and place 1 inch apart on a buttered baking sheet. Let rise for 30 minutes. Bake in preheated 300 degrees F. oven for 1 hour, or until pale golden brown around edges. Place biscuits in a bowl, blanch with boiling water and drain immediately. Heat 1/3 cup butter in a large skillet over low heat, add biscuits and stir gently with a wooden spoon to coat with butter. Sprinkle with sugar and ground poppy seeds and serve while hot.

Makes about 4 dozen biscuits.