No smoked ham, I couldn’t buy any. The first Easter without traditional Hungarian Easter breakfast that means cooked smoked ham, egg and horseradish. What else can we do than find an alternative way to celebrate? A few weeks ago I made my first-milk loaf with my friends and I think that was pretty good. It was high time to repeat it.

Ingredients for dough:

• 140 ml milk
• 125 g double cream
• 1 egg
• 60 g sugar
• salt
• 450 g flour
• 20 g fresh yeast

and for stuffing:

• 150 g poppy seed (cracked)
• 150 g flour
• 150 g icing sugar
• 80 g melted butter
• 1 dl milk
• 0,5 dl double cream
• 1 lemon (zest and juice)
• 2 teaspoon baking powder  

• 1 egg to brush
• for a 25.75 x 12.75 x 6.75cm (10 1/8″ x 5″ x 2 5/8″) size bread tin 

• Put the yeast and the half of the sugar into warm milk and leave it to activate. Meanwhile put the all other ingredients into a bowl. 
• When the yeast is ready mix it with the others and make a round, sticky dough. Set it aside, cover with a tea towel an leave to rise in a warm place for 40-45 minutes or until doubled in volume.

• To prepare the stuffing sift poppy seed, flour, icing sugar and zest into a bowl, mix well with butter, milk, lemon juice and cream, finally add the baking powder into the mixture.
• Line the baking tin with a non-stick baking paper.
• When the dough rested enough divide it into 16 equal-size pieces and shape into round balls. Flatten them and fill with the poppy seed mixture. Wrap the filling in the dough and shape balls (bubbles), now containing the filling in the middle.
• Place the balls in two layers into the tin and cover them with a towel for 30-40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Brush the milk-loaf with the beaten egg and place in the oven for 40 minutes or until springy to the touch and skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. If you find that the top of the cake starts to burn cover with aluminium foil.
• Remove the loaf from the tin to cool.