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.
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