Traditional Croatian Povitica Recipes

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.

POVITICA

Steps:

• To activate yeast: In a small bowl, stir 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, and the yeast into warm water and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
• To make the dough: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk up to just below boiling (about 180 F or 82 C), stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top of the milk. It should be hot enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk, 3/4 cup sugar, and the salt until combined.
• Add the beaten eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 2 cups of flour.
• Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough just starts to clean the bowl. Don't add too much flour at this point - the dough should still be fairly wet and sticky.
• Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until it is smooth and does not stick. It may not be necessary to use all 8 cups of flour.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (they will each weight about 1 1/4 pounds).
• Place dough in 4 lightly oiled bowls, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel, and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size.
• While the dough rises, make the filling: In a large bowl mix together the ground walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa.
• Heat the milk and butter to boiling. Pour the liquid over the nut-sugar mixture.
• Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to be spread on the dough.
• To roll and assemble the dough: Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire workspace so that it is covered. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons to a handful of flour (use flour sparingly).
• Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling pin, starting in the middle and working your way out, until it measures roughly 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Spoon 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of melted butter on top.
• Using the tops of your hands, stretch dough out from the center until the dough is thin and uniformly opaque. You can also use your rolling pin, if you prefer.
• As you work, continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn't sticking. When you think it the dough is thin enough, try to get it a little thinner. It should be so think that you can see the color and perhaps the pattern of the sheet underneath.
• Spoon filling evenly over dough until covered. Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll. Once the dough is rolled up into a rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan in the shape of a "U," with the ends meeting in the middle. You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced. Repeat with remaining three loaves.
• Brush the top of each loaf with a mixture of 1/2 cup of cold, strong coffee and 2 tablespoons sugar. If you prefer, you can also use egg whites in place of this. Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for approximately 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated 350-degree F oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.
• Turn down the oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until done. Check the bread every 30 minutes to ensure that the bread is not getting too brown. Cover the loaves with aluminum foil if needed. Remove bread from oven and brush with melted butter.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20 to 30 minutes.

GRANDMA'S POVITISA (PO-VUH-TEET-ZUH) POVITICA CROATIAN NUT BREAD

Steps:

• Combine warm water and yeast together in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
• Stir 3/4 cup lukewarm milk, white sugar, shortening, 1 egg, and salt into yeast mixture. Mix flour into yeast mixture until a soft, easy to handle dough forms.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and let stand for 10 minutes. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.
• Place dough in a large, lightly-oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, or until a hole remains when your finger is pressed deeply into the dough, about 2 hours.
• Punch down dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into ball and let dough rest for 15 minutes.
• Beat brown sugar, butter, and 1 egg together in a bowl until creamy. Add 1/4 cup milk, vanilla extract, and lemon extract; stir until smooth. Stir walnuts into the filling mixture until walnuts are completely incorporated.
• Roll dough on a large, floured cloth into a 20x30-inch rectangle. Spread walnut filling evenly over the top of the dough, spreading to the edges. Roll the rectangle up along the long edge like a jelly roll and pinch edges to seal. Coil the roll into a snail-shape.
• Grease a 9x13x2-inch baking sheet. Place shaped dough on the prepared sheet and let rise until an impression remains when the dough is gently pressed, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes.

POVITICA RECIPE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir 1/2 tsp sugar, and yeast into warm water. Set aside until foamy (about 5 minutes)
• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to just below boiling (about 180°F), stirring occasionally. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F.
• Once cooled, whisk in the melted butter, 3 TBS sugar and salt to the milk until combined. Add egg, vanilla and yeast mixture and stir to combine.
• Add flour into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook.
• Pour wet ingredients into the flour and mix the dough with the dough hook until it forms a smooth, elastic ball of dough. (You can also mix and knead by hand).
• If necessary, add up to 2 TBS more flour until dough is smooth and no longer sticky.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball.
• Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a warm, damp tea towel and let the dough rise for 1.5 hours in a warm place, or until doubled in size.
• While the dough is rising, put the milk and butter into the container of a blender or food processor and blend/process until the mixture is warm.
• Add Walnuts, sugar, salt, and cinnamon and pulse a few times until the ingredients are combined and walnuts are crushed into smaller pieces.
• Add egg yolk and vanilla and pulse to combine.
• Allow mixture to stand at room temperature until dough is ready.
• Line a 9x5" loaf pan with parchment paper and grease with butter. Set aside.
• After the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and place on a well-floured surface.
• Roll the dough into a rectangle about 18" x 7" in size. Be sure dough is thin but not so thin that you can see through it (about ¼" thick).
• Spread the filling evenly on the dough, leaving about 1/2" at the edges bare. (If your filling has become too thick to spread, add warm milk ½ TBS at a time until it just reaches spreading consistency).
• Staring at the edge of your rectangle, roll the dough tightly together making a jelly roll (see picture). Be sure to apply pressure and keep rolling tightly until it resembles a rope.
• Gently stretch out the "rope" and lift it into your prepared loaf pan, making an "S" shape as you put it in. (To do this, fold the dough into thirds in your pan (see pictures)).
• Cover the pan with a damp towel and let it sit in a warm place for at least 15 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
• After 15 minutes turn down the oven to 300 degrees F and bake for an additional 45 minutes (about 1 hour total), or until done (will sound hollow when hit with a wooden spoon). Check your bread after about 30 minutes and cover with aluminum foil if it is getting too brown.
• Remove bread from the oven. Cool for 20-30 minutes on a wire rack before removing from pan.
• Cool completely before cutting and serving!

AMAZING TRADITIONAL CROATIAN POVITICA

Steps:

• Combine filling ingredients in a heavy saucepan.
• Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the mixture for about 30 minutes or until the mixture is fairly thick (remember this will be the filling inside the bread and it shouldn't be runny) Let cool.
• In a large heated bowl, combine yeast, warm water.
• and 1/2 tsp.
• sugar.
• Stir until yeast is dissolved.
• Set in a warm place for about 5 minutes, until foamy.
• Combine 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter and salt.
• Add boiling water, stir and cool until lukewarm.
• Add this mixture to yeast.
• Stir in beaten eggs and add flour gradually.
• Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 5 minutes.
• Do not over flour this it should be softer than regular bread dough.
• Place in a greased bowl, cover and set in a warm place to rise until double in bulk.
• Put dough in center of a lightly floured work table and roll out as thin as possible with a rolling pin, maintaining a square or rectangle shape.
• The thinner you are able to roll the dough the better this will turn out.
• Spread the pulled dough evenly with the prepared.
• filling.
• Roll up the povitica as for a jelly roll.
• Cut roll in half and place each half into a greased bread pan two inches deep and form it into an"S" shape.
• Tuck in the ends and flatten it a little.
• Cover and let raise for 2-1/2 hours in a warm place.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 375° for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350° for 50 minutes until nicely browned.
• Cool in pan for 30 minutes then remove from pan.
• and finish cooling on wire rack.
• alternate fillings could be your favorite fruit cooked down with sugar into almost a jam, cream cheese mixed with egg and powdered sugar or even your favorite pumpkin pie filling.