Fluffy lemon brioche dough studded with poppyseeds and filled with a brown butter lemon poppyseed filling, this lemon poppyseed bun is like one giant spring cinnamon roll!
Lemon Zest versus Lemon Juice?
While both lemon zest and lemon juice have a “lemony” flavor, lemon zest gives a more aromatic lemon flavor rather than the tart zingy flavor of lemon juice. Therefore I like to add lemon zest into the dough where it has time to infuse and develop and give a subtle lemon flavor to the dough without ruining the consistency. On the other hand lemon juice is perfect in the butter and glaze to give that bright zingy flavor and balance out the rich butter and sweet sugar.
What can I use instead of a cast iron pan?
If you don’t have a cast iron pan, you can also use a 9″ or 10″ springform or metal cake pan! I haven’t tried ceramic dishes but it should work, you may just need to bake it longer and cover it with foil to keep it from getting too dark.
Do you have to grind poppyseeds first?
Ok for the filling, definitely, for the dough it’s a little bit more up to you. I don’t grind the poppyseeds in the dough because I like the look of them whole but I do grind the ones for the filling because it releases their flavor and helps create more of a paste. I recommend using a spice grinder or coffee grinder to grind poppyseeds, a blender or food process tend to require a lot of poppyseeds to actually get them to grind and not just fly around the container.
How do I know when the dough is finished kneading?
This dough should pass the window pane test which means that when a golf ball sized piece is torn off, you should be able to stretch it gently until light passes through but without it tearing. I usually check it once all of the butter has been fully kneaded into the dough.
What is lemon glaze made of?
A simple lemon glaze, like the one on this lemon bun is made from just two ingredients: lemon juice and powdered sugar. You can go more complex and add melted butter, salt, vanilla, lemon zest, etc but I like to keep it simple!
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Tips for making a Lemon Poppyseed Bun
- It’s important to keep a close eye on your butter when browning it because you want to get those delicious bits but you don’t want it to burn. Once it starts to bubble, use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the bubbles around so that you can see the color underneath.
- Grinding a small amount of poppyseeds can be tricky so I recommend a spice grinder or coffee grinder but a mortar and pestle is great too. A blender or food processor will have a hard time grinding the seeds.
- I recommend buying poppyseeds from a bulk store or ordering them online because the spice jars tend to be on the pricey side but they will work as well!
- Make sure to keep stirring the lemon poppyseed butter as it cools so that the lemon juice stays mixed in with the butter.
- When making yeasted dough, ensure that you allow your mixer to fully knead the dough, until it forms a smooth ball and the sides of the bowl are cleaned. This will happen twice while kneading the poppyseed dough, once before the butter is added and once after. Sometimes I have to scraped down the sides of the bowl after the second butter addition.
- When rolling out the dough, try to make it as rectangular as possible. This will help when it comes shaping and cutting the twist. I use a bench scraper to keep reshaping into a rectangle as I roll it because it can be tricky to reshape at the end.
- Don’t underbake this one, it will get nice and brown; cover with foil if needed. If you notice it collapsing after baking that’s usually a sign that it is slightly underbaked (no big deal) or not enough gluten was developed during mixing.
Ingredients
Lemon Poppyseed Filling
- Butter: We are going to be browning the butter so it can be cold at this point.
- Poppyseeds: Technically called blue poppyseeds, these poppyseeds are the same ones you’ll find on a bagel or in any grocery store. They will be ground and then added to the browned butter.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds a bit of sweetness which balances the nutty poppyseed flavor.
- Lemon juice: the juice of one large lemon adds a yummy tartness to the brown butter and poppyseeds.
- Salt: Fine sea salt balances out the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
Poppyseed Brioche Dough
- All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for this! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
- Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar in the dough.
- Yeast: In this recipe, instant yeast is used. However, if you are using active dry, simply whisk it in with the warm milk and let it sit for 10 minutes first and then add in the remaining ingredients.
- Poppyseeds: Technically called blue poppyseeds, these poppyseeds are the same ones you’ll find on a bagel or in any grocery store.
- Lemon Zest: The zest of one lemon adds flavor to the dough. Be sure to wash the lemon first.
- Salt: fine sea salt is used to balance out the sweetness and enhance the flavors.
- Milk: The dough use milk as the liquid in the dough; however, it will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond milk.
- Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store. There are two whole eggs in the dough.
- Vanilla: Vanilla extract enhances the flavors of the twist.
- Butter: The butter adds moisture to the dough filling! I recommend Kerrygold unsalted butter for this.
- *Optional* Heavy Cream: A bit of heavy cream poured onto the bun just before baking will make it extra soft and fluffy.
Glaze
- Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar is the base of most glazes. If yours is very clumped together I recommend sifting if before making the icing.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice adds to the lemon flavor and keeps this from being to heavy and rich.
How to make a Lemon Poppyseed twist
Make the Yeasted Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, lemon zest, and poppyseeds.
- Sprinkle in the salt. Then add in the warm milk, two eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Use a dough hook to knead everything together on medium low speed for 15 minutes until the dough has smooth edges and the bowl is clean.
- Add half of the butter in and knead again until incorporated (about 5 minutes). Add in the second half of the butter and knead once more until smooth. The dough should pass the window pane test *see notes section for more info.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl that is at least twice the size of the dough.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and place somewhere warm to rise for 1 hour. The dough should double in size.
Lemon Poppyseed filling
- Grind the 50 grams of poppyseeds for the filling, I recommend a spice grinder or coffee grinder for this. Pour into a medium heat safe bowl.
- In a medium pan, add in the butter. Place over medium low heat (medium if using electric and your stove isn’t very hot).
- Cook until bubbling, then use a rubber spatula to stir it gently until brown bits form. Keep scraping and stirring the pan until the butter is heavily speckled with brown bits but not burnt.
- Turn the heat off and immediately pour into the bowl with the ground poppyseeds. Stir to combine.
- Then add in the sugar, lemon juice, and salt and stir again.
- Place the bowl in the fridge or in an ice bath to cool it down faster. Be sure to stir it every five minutes to keep the ingredients incorporated. Cool until spreadable and then leave at room temperature.
Shape the Lemon Bun
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
- Grease a seasoned cast iron pan with softened butter (what’s left on the butter wrapper is usually enough) or line with a sheet of parchment.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, briefly knead it to knock the air out. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 30 cm x 60 cm. Try to keep the dough as rectangular as possible while rolling it out and use flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.
- Spread the lemon poppyseed butter over the surface of the dough, but leave a 1″ border on one of the long sides.
- Roll the dough up, starting with the long side where no border was left. Be careful to keep the roll tight but don’t squeeze out the butter.
- Once fully rolled, place it seam side down, and use a long sharp knife to cut it in half lengthwise.
- Twist the two halves together with the filling face up. Start by crossing the two over each other in the middle to make an X shape, then twist together towards both ends. Pinch the ends together so that you have one long twist.
- Starting with one end, roll the twist up into a giant cinnamon roll/snail shape. Tuck the starting end and the final end under the roll (at the center and edge respectively).
- Carefully lift and place it in the greased cast iron pan.
- Cover the pan with plastic and set aside for at least 45 minutes to proof while the oven preheats. It should become twice the size and puffy!
Bake the Twist
- Once the oven is heated up and the bun has gotten nice and puffy, drizzle the top with heavy cream. This helps to make it nice and fluffy.
- Then, place the pan onto the center rack in the oven. Set a timer for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes have passed, rotate the pan and bake for another 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
- While it cools, make the glaze.
Lemon Glaze
- In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together. If it seems to thick slowly add more juice.
- If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Drizzle/pour the icing over the twist, then use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to spread it out.
Lemon Poppyseed Bun
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- 12" Cast Iron Pan or 10" springform pan
Ingredients
Lemon Poppyseed Butter
- 50 grams poppyseeds ground
- 115 grams unsalted butter
- 75 grams granulated sugar
- 1 lemon juice large
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Poppyseed dough
- 500 grams all purpose flour
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 15 grams instant yeast
- 1 lemon zested
- 35 grams poppyseeds *optionally ground
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 250 milliliters whole milk luke warm
- 2 eggs large, room temperature
- 60 grams butter soft
- 50 milliliters heavy cream
Lemon Glaze
- 250 grams powdered sugar
- 50 grams lemon juice more as needed
Instructions
Poppyseed Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, lemon zest, and poppyseeds.
- Sprinkle in the salt. Then add in the warm milk, two eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Use a dough hook to knead everything together on medium low speed for 15 minutes until the dough has smooth edges and the bowl is clean.
- Add half of the butter in and knead again until incorporated (about 5 minutes). Add in the second half of the butter and knead once more until smooth. The dough should pass the window pane test *see notes section for more info.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl that is at least twice the size of the dough.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and place somewhere warm to rise for 1 hour. The dough should double in size.
- Grind the 50 grams of poppyseeds for the filling, I recommend a spice grinder or coffee grinder for this. Pour into a medium heat safe bowl.
- In a medium pan, add in the butter. Place over medium low heat (medium if using electric and your stove isn't very hot).
- Cook until bubbling, then use a rubber spatula to stir it gently until brown bits form. Keep scraping and stirring the pan until the butter is heavily speckled with brown bits but not burnt.
- Turn the heat off and immediately pour into the bowl with the ground poppyseeds. Stir to combine.
- Then add in the sugar, lemon juice, and salt and stir again.
- Place the bowl in the fridge or in an ice bath to cool it down faster. Be sure to stir it every five minutes to keep the ingredients incorporated. Cool until spreadable and then leave at room temperature.
Shape
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
- Grease a seasoned cast iron pan with softened butter (what's left on the butter wrapper is usually enough) or line with a sheet of parchment.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, briefly knead it to knock the air out. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 30 cm x 60 cm. Try to keep the dough as rectangular as possible while rolling it out and use flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.
- Spread the lemon poppyseed butter over the surface of the dough, but leave a 1" border on one of the long sides.
- Roll the dough up, starting with the long side where no border was left. Be careful to keep the roll tight but don't squeeze out the butter.
- Once fully rolled, place it seam side down, and use a long sharp knife to cut it in half lengthwise.
- Twist the two halves together with the filling face up. Start by crossing the two over each other in the middle to make an X shape, then twist together towards both ends. Pinch the ends together so that you have one long twist.
- Starting with one end, roll the twist up into a giant cinnamon roll/snail shape. Tuck the starting end and the final end under the roll (at the center and edge respectively).
- Carefully lift and place it in the prepared cast iron pan.
- Cover the pan with plastic and set aside for at least 45 minutes to proof while the oven preheats. It should become twice the size and puffy!
Bake
- Once the oven is heated up and the bun has gotten nice and puffy, drizzle the top with heavy cream. This helps to make it nice and fluffy.
- Then, place the pan onto the center rack in the oven. Set a timer for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes have passed, rotate the pan and bake for another 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
- While it cools, make the glaze.
Lemon Glaze
- In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together. If it seems to thick slowly add more juice.
- If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Drizzle/pour the icing over the twist, then use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to spread it out.
Notes
Tips for making a Lemon Poppyseed Bun
- It’s important to keep a close eye on your butter when browning it because you want to get those delicious bits but you don’t want it to burn. Once it starts to bubble, use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the bubbles around so that you can see the color underneath.
- Grinding a small amount of poppyseeds can be tricky so I recommend a spice grinder or coffee grinder but a mortar and pestle is great too. A blender or food processor will have a hard time grinding the seeds.
- I recommend buying poppyseeds from a bulk store or ordering them online because the spice jars tend to be on the pricey side but they will work as well!
- Make sure to keep stirring the lemon poppyseed butter as it cools so that the lemon juice stays mixed in with the butter.
- When making yeasted dough, ensure that you allow your mixer to fully knead the dough, until it forms a smooth ball and the sides of the bowl are cleaned. This will happen twice while kneading the poppyseed dough, once before the butter is added and once after. Sometimes I have to scraped down the sides of the bowl after the second butter addition.
- When rolling out the dough, try to make it as rectangular as possible. This will help when it comes shaping and cutting the twist. I use a bench scraper to keep reshaping into a rectangle as I roll it because it can be tricky to reshape at the end.
- Don’t underbake this one, it will get nice and brown; cover with foil if needed. If you notice it collapsing after baking that’s usually a sign that it is slightly underbaked (no big deal) or not enough gluten was developed during mixing.
Nutrition
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Phenomenal recipe – not too sweet,simple enough and it would also be delicious without the glaze! I’ve used a mortar and my magic bullet by nutri bullet blender [blended with flat blade in the small cup] and both worked very well. The trick with the mortar is to blend in small amounts.
Aww yay! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Lรกra