Potica!

Every year my wife gets together with her sisters and bakes a special bread known as Potica berad. it is a long, all day process. I lvoe the bread. We have a loaf on Christmas day and freeze one and eat it on Easter. Lookin' good, smellin' good. Mmm, Mmm!
A Potica Recipe:
2 teaspoons dry active yeast

½ Cup warm milk
1 Tablespoon sugar

Dissolve yeast and sugar in milk let set 5 minutes to activate the yeast.

Dough
1 ½ Cups Milk
¾ Cups Shortening
5 Egg Yolks
¾ Cups Sugar
2 teaspoons Salt
1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 teaspoon nutmeg
7-7 ½ Cups All purpose Flour

Combine Yeast mixture and the rest (except 2 Cups of flour) mix add the remaining flour until the dough can be handled without sticking takes 20 minutes kneading by hand, 9 minutes on a mixer with a bread hook.

Put dough in a large greased bowl and cover with plastic rap and let it relax and double in size in a warm environment.

Walnut Filling

1 stick margarine or butter (¼ pound)
1 ½ Cups milk
2 Cups sugar
½ Cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla
Grated peel of a lemon
5 egg whites
Cinnamon

Some variations you can add at this stage:

Instant coffee, Coco to taste and to add color.

Start with milk and Egg whites in 4 quart saucepan (or double boiler) and bring to 120 F, add margarine, zest and honey, then combine the dry ingredients then add it to the mixure, then bring to a simmer.

Take the mixture off of the heat and add 2 Pounds Walnuts, ground fine.

Roll out the dough pretty thin, spread the filling (should not be hot) on the dough and roll it up (Potica)

You want it to end up as a 4 inch diameter cylinder, cut into loaves that will fit in your bread pans. (Good Idea to have a little piece of dough to put over the ends) or you can also use a “bunt” pan

Cover with plastic wrap and let it relax and rise (not quite double in size)

Egg wash the top if you want a shinny top

Bake in preheated oven @ 325 F for 1 hour


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Verson 2

YEAST:

2 pkgs. dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup warm water Sprinkle sugar over yeast and add warm water. Let it stand until twice its original volume.


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DOUGH:

5 cups flour (4 cups to start, adding additional flour as needed)
1-1/4 cup warm milk
1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. dark rum (or vanilla)
1 grated peel of lemon
Pinch of salt

Mix softened butter, sugar and egg yolks until the sugar is well dissolved and mixture is frothy. Set aside. Warm up the milk, mix in salt, lemon peel, and rum, and add to the butter mixture. Form the dough out of the 4 cups of flour, yeast, and milk mixtures. The trick is not to pour in all the milk mixture immediately; use about 3/4 to start with, then add more as the dough forms.

Beat with electric mixer until smooth and elastic. Then keep adding flour as needed, and mixing with a wooden spoon until of consistency that dough can be handled without sticking. Place dough on floured board and knead for about 15 minutes, adding flour as needed to make a non-sticking dough. Place dough in a well-greased bowl; turn dough upside down to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours until double in bulk. While dough is rising, prepare filling.


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FILLING:

6 cups finely ground walnuts (approx. 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 lb.)
1 cup finely ground golden raisins
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup thick cream (or 1/2 and 1/2)
1/2 cup butter (or margarine)
3 egg whites, beaten stiff

Mix walnuts and raisins, and grind them together to keep raisins from clumping. Combine all dry ingredients. Warm the cream and honey, and melt the butter in this mixture. Add cream mixture to dry ingredients and mix completely. Fold in beaten egg whites last. Let filling cool as you roll out dough.


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Roll out dough on table covered with a tablecloth well sprinkled with flour. Roll out to 1/4" thick, 18" x 24" or bigger. Spread cooled filling over entire dough evenly. Start rolling up dough by hand, jelly roll fashion, stretching dough slightly with each roll. Start at an 18" edge and roll in the 24" direction. Keep side edges as even as possible. Continue to roll by raising the cloth edge slowly with both hands so the dough rolls itself. Dust away any excess flour on the outside of the dough with a pastry brush as you roll. Prick roll with a toothpick as needed to eliminate air pockets.

With the edge of a spatula (pancake flipper) cut off each end of roll to make it the length needed to fit around the inside of an angel food cake pan. Place in well-greased angel food cake pan or Bundt cake pan, being sure to arrange the seam where the roll ended against the center. If you have a two-piece angel food cake pan, it is easiest to roll the loaf onto and around the bottom plate of the pan, and then lower this into the body of the pan. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until double in volume. Bake about 1 hour at 325 degrees.

Put cut-off ends in greased loaf pans, cover with cloth and let rise in a warm place until double in volume, then bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 325 degrees.

For a shiny crust, brush top before baking with 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. milk, OR brush top with melted butter when taken from oven.

Let stand one hour before removing from pan. Loosen sides and bottom with knife. Turn onto wire rack to remove, then turn over again onto another wire rack to cool right-side up.

Once completely cool, turn upside-down on a cake plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.