Homemade laminated crescents with white poppy seeds and dried fruit

Put the poppy seeds in a saucepan and add 600 g of cooking water, separate from the water for the icing. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently, covered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, take out the 30 g of butter for the dough and the 20 g for the filling to soften. Keep the remaining 100 g of butter for layering in the refrigerator.

Drain the poppy seeds in a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth, keeping the seeds and discarding the water. Let them drain and cool for about 30 minutes, then squeeze them out thoroughly and grind two or three times through a fine grinding plate. Divide the beaten eggs into portions of 50 g, 35 g and 15 g; cover and refrigerate the two reserved portions. Mix the poppy seeds with 20 g of softened butter, 70 g of sugar, the almonds, chopped raisins and orange peel, and all the sponge cookie crumbs. Add 35 g of egg to the cold mixture. Cover the filling and refrigerate until shaping the crescents.

Reserve 10 g of flour for all the rolling. Gently warm the weighed milk until lukewarm. Stir the yeast and 40 g of sugar into it. Combine with the remaining 290 g of flour, the salt, the reserved 50 g of egg and 30 g of softened butter. Knead for about 5 minutes to make a smooth dough. Flatten into a rectangle, cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Using the reserved flour very sparingly for dusting, roll the cold dough into a rectangle about 30 × 20 cm. Coarsely grate 100 g of cold butter and spread it over two thirds of the surface, leaving a narrow clear border. Fold the section without butter into the center, then cover it with the other buttered section, like folding a letter. Gently press the edges, cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Give the dough a quarter turn, roll it into a similar rectangle again and fold in thirds. After this second fold, chill it covered for 30 minutes. Roll and fold a third time in the same way, then refrigerate the covered dough for at least 4 hours. Use only the reserved 10 g of flour for the successive rolls.

Roll the chilled dough into a rectangle about 45 × 30 cm and about 5 mm thick. If it is too firm, let it soften on the counter for a few minutes. Use the remaining measured flour, gathering it from the counter as you roll. Divide the rectangle into four smaller rectangles about 22.5 × 15 cm, then cut each diagonally to make eight triangles. Keep all the dough, without trimming or discarding the edges.

Take the filling out of the refrigerator and divide into eight portions. Spread one portion on each triangle, leaving a narrow clear border. Make the filling thicker near the side measuring about 15 cm and thinner toward the opposite point. Scrape all the filling out of the bowl and use it in the crescents.

Start rolling from the side measuring about 15 cm toward the opposite point. After the first turn, make a cut about 1–2 cm deep in the center of the rolled base. Gently spread the cut sections apart and continue rolling. Turn the ends inward to make a crescent shape. Arrange four crescents on each of two parchment lined baking sheets, leaving space between them.

Cover the crescents loosely and leave for about an hour, until noticeably larger and lighter. Toward the end, preheat the oven to 180°C with conventional top and bottom heat. Brush the tops of all the crescents with the reserved 15 g of beaten egg, dividing the entire amount among the eight pieces. Refrigerate the second baking sheet while the first batch bakes.

Bake the first sheet on the middle rack for about 25–30 minutes, until the crescents rise and are evenly golden brown. Bake the second batch in the same way. Carefully transfer the baked crescents to a wire rack. After the last batch has baked, let them cool for about 30 minutes before icing.

Sift all the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add the weighed 20 g of hot water and stir with a spoon until the icing is smooth. Spread it thinly over the cooled crescents, using the entire prepared amount.

Wait about 15 minutes for the icing to set. Serve the crescents as eight portions; they are best on the day they are baked. Keep any remaining, completely cooled crescents in a closed container in the refrigerator and use within two days.