Learn how to make this traditional Slovenian festive sweet yeasted roll stuffed with walnut and aromatic spices in the filling that is often served during Easter and Christmas. You can bake it in a loaf pan or in a Bundt pan.
The first time I tried potica (Poh-teet-sah) was at Costco when they offered sampling before Christmas. I fell in love with it after that. I love anything that is stuffed with nuts to begin with, so potica sits well with me 😉
What is potica?
Potica is a yeasted sweet bread stuffed with sweet walnut fillings and then roll up to form those beautiful layers when you cut the bread. The bread is usually is a ring shape baked in a special mold calls potičnik made with ceramic, which looks like a bundt pan. Of course nowadays you will see people bake potica in a regular bread loaf pan too.
Potica or povitica
From what I’ve read, potica is what the Slovenian calls it and povitica is the Croatian version. Some said that they are similar but not the same. They are slightly different in terms of the spices used in the filling? I’m not so sure myself. But all I know is whether you give me potica or povitica, I will welcome them with an open arms for sure!
How to make potica
Every household seems to have its own recipe from grandma. I have tried several different potica recipes and the family seems to like this version the best and so that’s what I’m sharing here.
1. Put the milk, sugar, and butter in a saucepan and cook until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Let the mixture cools down to lukewarm
2. Whisk in eggs and rum extract. Transfer to a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
3. Mix the all-purpose flour, potato flour, salt, and yeast and stir to combine
4. Add this into the wet ingredients
5. Start with the lowest speed for about 2-3 minutes to get a rough shaggy dough and then increase the speed to 2 (on KA) and knead for 8-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and shiny
6. Cover the dough and let it rise at a warm place for about one hour and then transfer to a fridge to let it sits for another hour or overnight. Do not skip this step as it helps the dough to develop flavor. It worth the wait!
7. Put the nuts in a food processor and grind into a fine pieces or close to powder
8. Mix with the rest of the ingredients. It should be thick but moist enough for you to spread on the dough later. Add a bit of milk to reach that consistency if necessary
9. Get the dough out from the fridge, about 1 hour before you plan to start working on it to let it comes to room temperature. Lightly grease you oil surface and your rolling pin. Transfer the dough to a work surface.
10. If you plan to bake in a loaf pan, grease the loaf pan and the line the pan with a parchment paper. You can crisscross with parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough out (while deflating some air bubbles at the same time) into about 18 x 24 inch rectangles, with the long side near you. The length will be about 3 times the length of you loaf pan. The dough will be quite thin
11. Very gently and carefully spread the filling on the surface of the dough leaving about 1/2 inch along the borders.
12. Carefully roll the dough up, starting from the side near you, moving along the length of the dough. Tuck it in as you roll so it will be a tight log and you won’t end up with “holes” when you cut the bread later after baking. The seam side should be facing down
13. Shape the log into a “Z” shape
14. Carefully lift the dough up and put it inside the pan. The dough shouldn’t be stacking on top of each other. It should be a “Z” shape inside the pan too
15. If you plan to bake in a bundt pan, this recipe will fit into 8 x 2 3/4-inch Bundt pan (6 cups/1.4 litre). Generously butter the pan, especially the nook and cranny parts and then dust with flour. Tapping out any excess flour. You can also use a non-stick spray with flour such as Baker’s Joy.
16. Use a clean kitchen towel and roll it into a log and place this inside your bundt pan, pretending that this is the dough you are going to bake. This helps to “measure” how long you need to roll the dough out so the dough fit nicely into the bundt pan without being too long
17. Same as the step above, use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough out (while deflating some air bubbles at the same time) into the length as long as the towel you use to measure the Bundt pan, you can roll it slightly longer than the towel, with the long side near you. Very gently and carefully spread the filling on the surface of the dough leaving about 1/2 inch along the borders.
18. Carefully roll the dough up, starting from the side near you, moving along the length of the dough. Tuck it in as you roll so it will be a tight log and you won’t end up with “holes” when you cut the bread later after baking. The seam side should be facing down
19. Lift the dough up and gently place this inside the Bundt pan, pinching the two ends to seal it together the best you can
20. Second proofing: Cover the shaped dough and put in a warm place to let the dough rise again until it doubles the size again, about an hour or so, depending on the temperature where you are
21. Brush the surface of the dough with an egg wash. If you bake in a Bundt pan, poke a few holes to help release some hot air
22. If you bake in a loaf pan, sprinkle with some turbinado sugar and some chopped walnuts and/or pecans
23. Place the pan at the middle rack and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 300 F (150 C) without opening the oven door, and bake for another 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the bread cools down in the pan on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes and then remove from the pan and let it cools down completely on a cooling rack
The bread tastes even better the next day when the flavor has fully developed. When I tested out several recipes, the fillings also differ slightly. You can see that the potica filling is darker in the loaf version compared to the Bundt pan version. It’s darker because it has honey and cocoa powder in it, which makes it much tastier compared to the other one that doesn’t IMO.
Tips for success
1. I highly recommend to rest the dough overnight after first proofing for one hour. It makes the dough softer with better flavor too
2. Ground the nuts as fine as possible, close to a powder consistency if you can and the consistency of the filling should be thick but moist (not soupy) after mixing with other ingredients
3. If you pan has dark color, very close to black, you want to watch out on the baking time. Check on the bread at about 10 minutes early to see if it is done. If you overbake the bread, it will be dry and crumbly
Did you make this potica recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
The potica dough is adapted from King Arthur’s Baking.
How To Make Potica (Slovenian Walnut Rolls)
Ingredients
For the dough: (prepare one day before)
- 30 gr butter unsalted
- 25 gr sugar
- 85 gr milk
- 1 large egg
- 180 gr all-purpose flour
- 25 gr potato flour or potato flakes
- 1 ¼ tsp instant yeast
- 3 gr salt
- 1 tsp rum extract or you can use vanilla extract
For the filling:
- 225 gr roasted walnuts or you can use pecans or mixture of both
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 85 gr honey
- 60 gr light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp butter unsalted, melted
- 2 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp rum extract or use vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp milk or more as needed
For brushing the loaf:
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp water
For topping (if baking in the loaf pan):
- 40 gr turbinado sugar
- Chopped walnuts
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- Put the milk, sugar, and butter in a saucepan and cook until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Let the mixture cools down to lukewarm. Whisk in eggs and rum extract. Transfer to a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix the all-purpose flour, potato flour, salt, and yeast and stir to combine. Add this into the wet ingredients
- Start with the lowest speed for about 2-3 minutes to get a rough shaggy dough and then increase the speed to 2 (on KA) and knead for 8-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and shiny
First proofing:
- Cover the dough and let it rise at a warm place for about one hour and then transfer to a fridge to let it sits for another hour or overnight. Do not skip this step as it helps the dough to develop flavor. It worth the wait!
One hour later or the next day, prepare the filling:
- Put the nuts in a food processor and grind into a fine pieces or close to powder. Mix with the rest of the ingredients. It should be thick but moist enough for you to spread on the dough later. Add a bit of milk to reach that consistency if necessary
To assemble:
- Get the dough out from the fridge, about 1 hour before you plan to start working on it to let it comes to room temperature. Lightly grease you oil surface and your rolling pin. Transfer the dough to a work surface.
To bake in loaf pan:
- Grease the loaf pan and the line the pan with a parchment paper. You can crisscross with parchment paper
- Use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough out (while deflating some air bubbles at the same time) into about 18 x 24 inch rectangles, with the long side near you. The length will be about 3 times the length of you loaf pan. The dough will be quite thin
- Very gently and carefully spread the filling on the surface of the dough leaving about 1/2 inch along the borders. Carefully roll the dough up, starting from the side near you, moving along the length of the dough. Tuck it in as you roll so it will be a tight log and you won't end up with "holes" when you cut the bread later after baking. The seam side should be facing down
- Shape the log into a "Z" shape and carefully lift the dough up and put it inside the pan. The dough shouldn't be stacking on top of each other. It should be a "Z" shape inside the pan too
If baking in a Bundt pan:
- This recipe will fit into 8 x 2 3/4-inch Bundt pan (6 cups/1.4 litre). Generously butter the pan, especially the nook and cranny parts and then dust with flour. Tapping out any excess flour. You can also use a non-stick spray with flour such as Baker's Joy.
- Helpful tips: Use a clean kitchen towel and roll it into a log and place this inside your bundt pan, pretending that this is the dough you are going to bake. This helps to "measure" how long you need to roll the dough out so the dough fit nicely into the bundt pan without being too long
- Use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough out (while deflating some air bubbles at the same time) into the length as long as the towel you use to measure the Bundt pan, you can roll it slightly longer than the towel, with the long side near you
- Very gently and carefully spread the filling on the surface of the dough leaving about 1/2 inch along the borders. Carefully roll the dough up, starting from the side near you, moving along the length of the dough. Tuck it in as you roll so it will be a tight log and you won't end up with "holes" when you cut the bread later after baking. The seam side should be facing down
- Lift the dough up and gently place this inside the Bundt pan, pinching the two ends to seal it together the best you can
Second proofing:
- Cover the shaped dough and put in a warm place to let the dough rise again until it doubles the size again, about an hour or so, depending on the temperature where you are
Baking:
- Beat the egg with water to make an egg wash
- 10 minutes before the end of second proofing, preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). This is for conventional oven with bottom heat only. If you use convection oven, you may want to lower temperature by 20 degrees. If you use a really dark color loaf pan or Bundt pan (close to black), you may want to start checking on the bread 10 minutes before the recommended baking time
- Brush the surface of the dough with egg wash. if you bake in a bundt pan, poke a few holes on top to help release some hot air. If you bake in a loaf pan, sprinkle with some turbinado sugar and some chopped walnuts and/or pecans
- Place the pan at the middle rack and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 300 F (150 C) without opening the oven door, and bake for another 45 minutes
- Remove from the oven and let the bread cools down in the pan on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes and then remove from the pan and let it cools down completely on a cooling rack
Serve the next day:
- The bread tastes even better the next day when the flavor has fully developed
How to store:
- Once the bread has cooled down completely, wrap it up with a cling wrap and keep inside an air-tight container and it can be kept at room temperature for about 3 days
- For longer storage, keep them in the freezer. Wrap it well with a cling wrap and then put inside a freezer bag, push all the air out and seal. Keep in the freezer for about one month. Simply thaw at room temperature before serving
