1. Make the preferment the night before baking (mix all the ingredients). 

MAKE THE DOUGH (next morning)

1. Make the wet mix and let rest for about 5 minutes or until it becomes a gel. 
2. Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients. 
3. When the wet ingredients have become a gel, add the preferment to the gel. Mix well, then add the wet mix to the dry ingredients.
4. Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon, then continue with your hands until you get a homogenous dough (it will be wetter and stickier than the bread dough). Fold a few times with a plastic or silicon spatula, and form a ball. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature. 
5. Prepare a full-size baking sheet and line it with parchment paper; prepare the cheese and the poppy seeds. 
6. Invert the dough in the middle of the parchment paper, and using wet fingers, gently spread the dough out until you get a rectangle of about 20cm x 25cm (8 inches x 9.8 inches).
7. Sprinkle the cheese and the poppy seeds evenly over the dough, and pat lightly, so the cheese and the poppy seeds adhere to the dough. 
8. Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the dough into strips about 1 cm wide (less than 1/2 inch). Separate the strips with the help of a knife or spatula, and gently stretch each strip to the length of the pan. Cover the baking tray with plastic foil, and let it rest at room temperature between 2 and 3 hours. 
9. Preheat the oven to 210C on fan or 230C bottom and top heat (410F / 450F).
10. Bake for about 15 minutes, keeping an eye on them, so they don’t burn, in case you have an oven that runs hot. The cheese on top will be golden brown, and the sticks will still have a soft texture. 
11. Take them out on a cooling rack. Serve after 10-15 minutes. What you don’t eat the same day, freeze and reheat in the oven before eating.