Soft buchty (Slovak sweet buns): plum butter and poppy seeds make a firm filling

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. In a bowl, mix the sifted all-purpose flour, yeast, sugar, and a pinch of salt.

2. Add the lukewarm milk, egg, and melted butter. Knead until the dough is smooth, then let rise for 90 minutes.

3. In a bowl, thoroughly mix the thick plum butter with the ground poppy seeds until the filling is firm and holds together.

4. Turn the risen dough out onto a work surface, roll it out to a thickness of 1 cm, and cut into squares about 7 × 7 cm.

5. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each square, pinch the edges together firmly, and shape into round buns.

6. Arrange the buns side by side on a baking sheet and generously brush the sides and top of each bun with melted butter.

7. Let the buns rise on the baking sheet for another 20–30 minutes.

8. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C (350 °F) for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.

9. As soon as the hot buns come out of the oven, brush them again with melted butter.

Tip: Mix the plum butter and poppy seeds thoroughly until the filling is firm and holds together; runny plum butter would leak out of the buns.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Mäkké kysnuté buchty s lekvárom a makom: hustý slivkový lekvár zmiešaný s makom dá tuhú plnku