Poppy Seed Roll

Place the margarine in a small saucepan over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes until the margarine is melted. Pour 1/4 cup of the margarine into a small dish and set aside to brush the rolls once they are formed.

Place a stainless steel bowl directly on the stove over very low heat, with the sugar and 1/4 cup of the milk. Once the sugar dissolves, set aside to cool slightly before adding the yeast, the milk temperature should be between 72 to 85 degrees F, so that the heat from milk mixture doesn't kill the yeast. Crumble or sprinkle in the yeast when the milk has cooled slightly, but is still warm. Set aside for 1 to 2 minutes until the yeast begins to grow, then add the remaining milk, egg, 1 cup of the margarine and vanilla to the mixture.

Over the milk mixture, sift 4 1/2 cups the flour and salt. Gradually stir with a wooden spoon until a soft and slightly sticky dough (you might not need all the flour). Knead until the dough no longer clings to the fingers. Add more flour if the mixture is too sticky (remember that this is a dessert dough and should be lighter in texture than a bread dough).

Cut dough into 4 equal parts and wrap loosely in wax paper. Let rise in the fridge overnight or on the counter for 3 to 4 hours, until it has doubled in size. Dust your work surface with powdered sugar and roll out each piece of dough into a rectangular shape, 1/2 inch thickness, about 12 inches in length and 6 inches in width. To help you along with the next few steps, check out this slide show on rolling up the dough.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and coat two large cookie sheets without sides with cooking spray.

Add about 1/2 heaping cup of the poppy seed filling into the center of each dough piece, and spread out with a spatula, leaving a 1/2 inch space towards the edges. Once the filling is even distributed, gently pull up the edge closest to you and begin to roll the dough away from you, over the filling to form a log.

After you have rolled the dough into a tight cylinder, smooth the seam with your fingers. Transfer the log to a cookie sheet, seam down and tuck the two shorter edges under to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and remaining filling, until you have a total of four rolls, two per cookie sheet. Brush the tops of the rolls with the remaining 1/4 cup of margarine.

Bake 25-30 minutes until the rolls are browned lightly on top, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 90 minutes. Wrap them tightly, so they don't dry out -- you can use a layer of wax paper followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Store on the counter top for up to 5 days tightly wrapped.