Slovenian Potica Recipes

POTICA (SLOVENIAN NUT ROLL)

Steps:

• We traditionally bake potica in a cake pan called Poticnik. It's similar to a bundt cake pan, so you can use that or use a loaf pan. Grease with butter or lard and set aside.
• In a small bowl knead together yeast, sugar, and lukewarm milk. Set aside for 10 minutes for the yeast to grow. In a large bowl combine all-purpose flour, yeast mixture, and egg yolks. Knead for a minute, then add melted butter and salt. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or use an electric mixer and knead until the dough is nice, soft and elastic, for about 5 minutes (using a mixer). Cover with cling film and set aside for about 50 - 60 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Put the walnuts in a bowl of a food processor and pulse for a few seconds at a time until the walnuts are fine. Transfer to a large bowl. In a saucepan combine heavy cream, floral honey, sugar, butter, rum (optionally), lemon zest and ground cinnamon. Place over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, then pour over the walnuts in a bowl. Stir to combine to get a nice walnut filling. Set aside for the mixture to cool to room temperature. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites with sugar to get stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the walnut mixture and stir to combine. The walnut filling mixture should be light, yet stirred well.
• Preheat your oven to 190 °C / 375 °F. Generously dust your working area with flour. Roll the dough into a 40 cm x 35 cm / 16-inches x 13.5-inches rectangle, thickness 0.5 cm or 0.2-inch. Using an offset spatula, spread the walnut filling in an even layer over the dough. Starting at the shorter edge nearest you, tightly roll up into a tight log. Brush off any excess flour. Transfer the potica roll to the prepared pan so that the seam is looking upward. Make sure that the ends of the log are tightly pressed together or the potica won't be as pretty and the filling will spread out while baking.
• Cover the potica with a towel or cling film and let stand at room temperature until doubled in size, about 45 - 55 minutes.
• If you want to proof the potica overnight, you first need to leave out the first bulk proofing. Once you knead the dough, leave it to rest at your working surface for about 15 minutes, then roll the dough into a rectangle and spread the walnut filling over the dough. Roll, transfer to your prepared pan. Cover with cling film or towel and place in the fridge to proof for about 8 - 12 hours. Then, place the cold potica into your preheated oven to bake.
• Using a brush, gently brush the potica with lukewarm milk. Use a skewer to poke holes all over the top of the potica all the way through to prevent air bubbles from forming and separating the filling from the dough. Transfer the potica to the preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes at 180 °C / 355 °F. Then lower the heat to 160 °C / 320 °F and continue to bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the nut roll is puffed and golden brown. Let cool slightly, for about 5 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and remove the pan. Leave the potica to cool, then sprinkle with icing sugar and serve. Enjoy.

POTICA

Steps:

• In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 3 tablespoons of the flour in warm milk. Mix well, and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• In a large mixing bowl cream the butter with the remaining sugar. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the yeast mixture, remaining milk, 4 cups of flour and the salt; mix well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Lightly grease one or two cookie sheets. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll Out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Spread each piece with melted butter, honey, raisins, walnuts and cinnamon. Roll each piece up like a jelly roll and pinch the ends. Place seam side down onto the prepared baking sheets. Let rise until double in volume. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 60 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

SLOVENIAN POTICA

Steps:

• Put flour in abowl, sifted if you like, add salt.
• In a cup dissolve the yeast in water or milk and in another cup mix the eggs, sugar, rum, vanilla essence, lemon or orange peel.
• Healt milk, melt fat.
• Add hot milk to the flour, stir and add the mixture of eggs, sugar, rum and aromas.
• Stir again, add dissolved yeast and fat and stir into a medium thick dough.
• Knead until it is elastic inside and smooth on the outside. Make sure the dough does not stick to the bowl and that it is not too hard.
• Cover the dough with a PVC sheet and leave to rise. Dough should always rise at room temperature. With rising the quantity of the dough should double.
• Knead it once and roll it out and spread it with the filling.
• Filling: Melt honey in tepid milk, and then add one half of walnuts, sugar, eggs, aromas, spices and rum.
• Spread the filling on the rolled-out dough and sprinkle with the other half of walnuts. The temperature of the filling should be equal to that of the dough.
• Roll tightly, put in a mould, prick and leave to rise.
• Before baking, coat with a thin layer of milk and egg mixture - make sure the holes are not stopped.
• Bake 50 minutes at 190°C.

POTICA

Steps:

• For the dough, dissolve the yeast in the water along with 1 teaspoon of the sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, vanilla, salt, egg and remaining sugar, and add the mixture to the yeast. Slowly add the flour and knead, working in the butter, until the mixture forms a smooth ball. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours. Do not punch down.
• For the filling, combine the walnuts, melted butter, both sugars, honey, 2 eggs and all but 1 tablespoon of the whipping cream, adding the cream gradually until the mixture is the consistency of honey.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.. On a table or other flat surface that is at least 3 feet by 5 feet, spread a clean sheet so that the edges hang slightly over the sides. Roll out the dough to form a rectangle and then stretch and pull it until it is about 3 feet by 5 feet. Smear the filling on top. Roll up the dough, starting at the narrower (3-foot) end. Cut into three equal-size rolls. Grease a rectangular baking dish, 9 inches by 13 inches, and cover with aluminum foil, shiny side up. Now grease the foil. Place the three potica on the foil, placing strips of foil between the pastries to keep them separated. Combine the egg yolk with the remaining tablespoon of cream, and brush the mixture over the potica. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden brown.