Poppy Seed “Flesserl”

A “Flesserl“ is a typical Upper Austrian braided roll. After shaping it is coated with poppy seeds and coarse salt. Though the Viennese also make Flesserl, they are often only coated with poppy seeds and are much more commonly called “Mohnweckerl“ or “Mohnstritzerl“.

If the rolls are prepared with a long cold proof, then the pre-dough amount should be halved. The rest of the ingredients from the reduced pre-dough are simply added to the main dough. Once shaped and coated, cover and allow to proof in the refrigerator at 4°C and then bake them for breakfast.

Recipe

Poolish:

  • 145g Wheat flour Type 700
  • 145g Water cold
  •     1g yeast

Hydration(TA): 200   DT: 20°C  (then store in the refrigerator at 4°C) Maturity time: 15 hours

Main dough:

  • 291g Mature Poolish
  • 355g Wheat flour Type 700
  • 145g Water, cold
  •    11g Salt
  •    10g Butter
  •      8g Liquid malt or Honey
  •      5g Granulated sugar
  •      5g Yeast

DT: 24-26°C  Mixing time: 6 minutes slow/ 6 minutes fast   Hydration(TA): 158

Instructions:

  • Knead all the ingredients into a smooth dough- 6 minutes slowly and knead 6 minutes quickly. 
  • After kneading, cover the dough and allow it to relax for 20 minutes.
  • Then divide into 70g pieces and loosely roll into dough balls. (these don’t have to be in finished form!!!).
  • Let the dough balls relax for an additional 15-20 minutes. 
  • Then the dough balls are formed into Flesserl (unfortunately I messed up the video- but one is still coming!)
  • After shaping, brush the Flesserl with water and then coat with poppy seed or poppy seed and salt.
  • Place on a baking tray with plenty of space to proof. 
  • Once ⅔ proofed, slide into a preheated oven at 250°C with steam. Turn the oven down to 235°C and bake until golden brown. The baking time should take about 15-16 minutes.
  • To improve the crisp of the rolls, the steam can be released during the last 5 minutes of baking.