Poviticia - Daring Baker's Challenge

 The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is an Eastern European Dessert Bread that is rolled paper thin, spread with an English walnut filling and rolled before baking in a loaf pan.  This was my very first time doing the Daring Baker's Challenge.  I was in need for some inspiration and to do something a bit different and fun.  I'm so busy being a mom that I sometimes don't have time left for some of the other things I love.  So I was determined to making some new and fun this week even if I had to do it with kids screaming at my legs!  This bread was pretty simply to make and turned out really pretty.  I would have preferred it a bit sweeter though.  I only made a quarter batch of the dough though, enough for one loaf so that is the recipe I posted was for one loaf.  

Quarter Batch Dough Ingredients (Makes one loaf)

To activate the Yeast:
½ Teaspoon Sugar
¼ Teaspoon All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
2 Tablespoons Warm Water
1½ Teaspoons Dry Yeast

Dough:
½ Cup Whole Milk
3 Tablespoons Sugar
¾ Teaspoon Salt
1 Large Egg
1 tablespoon (1/4 stick) Unsalted Butter, melted
2 cups All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Topping:
2 Tablespoons Cold STRONG Coffee
1½ Teaspoons Granulated Sugar
Melted Butter

 

Filling:

1¾ Cups Ground English Walnuts
¼ Cup Whole Milk
¼ Cup Unsalted Butter
1 Egg Yolk From A Large Egg, Beaten
¼ Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
½ Cup Sugar
¼ Teaspoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon

 
Dough:


In a small bowl, stir 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon flour, and the yeast into 2 tablespoons of warm water and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Set aside. 
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk up to just below boiling (about 180°F/82°C), stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top ofthe milk. You want it hot 
enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.
In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk, 3 tablespoons sugar, and the salt until combined.  Add the beaten egg, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 1 cup of flour.  Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough starts to clean the bowl.  Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until smooth and does not stick.  Place dough in lightly oiled bowl, 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.


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.  If the mixture thickens, add a small amount of warm milk.


Dough Assembly: 

Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table 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 10-12 inches (25½ cm by 30½ cm) in diameter.  Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons  (5ml to 7 ½ ml/4 gm to 7 gm) 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 thin 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. (See picture here The Daring Kitchen.  You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced.  Brush the top of each loaf with a mixture of the cold STRONG coffee and 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 moderate 350°F.  Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes. Turn down the oven temperature to slow 300°F and bake for an  additional 30 minutes, or until done. Remove bread from oven and brush with melted butter. Check the bread every 20 minutes to ensure that the bread is not getting too brown. You may cover the loaves with a sheet of aluminum foil if you need to. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes.  It is recommended that the best way to cut Povitica loaves into slices is by turning the loaf upside down and slicing with a serrated knife.

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