Ashkenazi Yeast Dough Hamantaschen

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1. 1Step 1: If you’re using dry active yeast, skip to instruction number 4.
2. 2Step 2: If you’re using instant yeast, make the dough using a stand mixer with the dough hook. Put flour and yeast in the mixer’s bowl and mix with a fork. Add sugar, then turn mixer on medium-low speed and mix for a minute. Add egg and milk and continue to mix for about 2 minutes, until well incorporated. Stop the mixer as needed to scrape the flour from the sides using a spatula and continue to mix. With mixer on medium-low, add butter, a tablespoon at a time, then add lemon zest and salt. Mix for 8 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides as needed.
3. 3Step 3: Now skip to instruction number 6.
4. 4Step 4: If you’re using dry active yeast you need to proof it first. Put the milk, yeast and a teaspoon of sugar in a glass and stir briefly. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until it visibly foams.
5. 5Step 5: To make the dough use a stand mixer with the dough hook. Put flour in the bowl and make a well in the center. To the well add yeast mixture, the rest of the sugar and egg and mix for about 3 minutes on medium-low speed, until well incorporated. Stop the mixer as needed to scrape the flour from the sides using a spatula and continue to mix. Add butter, a tablespoon at a time, then add lemon zest and salt. Turn speed to medium-low and mix for 8 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides as needed. The dough is very soft, but don’t be tempted to add more flour into it.
6. 6Step 6: Remove bowl from stand mixer. Using a spatula, transfer dough into a lightly greased large bowl, cover in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature, preferably in a warm space (near the oven, for example) until dough rises a little (it will not rise much), about 1 hour.
7. 7Step 7: Make the filling: Put milk, sugar and poppy seed in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the milk is absorbed and the mixture has thickened. Stir in the ground almond, butter and vanilla until well incorporated, then remove from heat. Mix in raisins and let mixture cool completely.
8. 8Step 8: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Have a 3-inch cookie cutter at hand.
9. 9Step 9: Make the egg wash by mixing the egg with water. Set aside.
10. 10Step 10: Lightly flour a work surface and a rolling pin.
11. 11Step 11: Put dough on the dusted working surface, sprinkle it with a little flour and roll into a ⅛ inch thick square. Dip the cookie cutter into flour and cut out circles of dough. Reroll the dough as needed.
12. 12Step 12: Use your finger to brush a little of the egg wash around the edges of each circle.
13. 13Step 13: Use a tablespoon to mound the filling in the center of each circle, then press the filling to flatten it a little. Lift and pinch the edges of each circle in 3 places spaced evenly apart, to create a triangle; leave only very little of the filling exposed in the center. Arrange on the baking sheet, spacing them an inch apart.
14. 14Step 14: Cover hamantaschen with kitchen towels and set aside for 30 minutes.
15. 15Step 15: Oven to 325 F degrees.
16. 16Step 16: Brush hamantaschen with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
17. 17Step 17: Bake hamantaschen for 20 minutes, until the dough feels fully baked and the color is golden. Transfer to a cooling rack and serve warm or at room temperature. Yeast dough hamantaschen are best served right from the oven. Cover them or freeze them as soon as they cool down (just as you would with bread.)