Hello!
Well, well, well, looks like I really took my time today. I have finally emerged from my stupor following a very large amount of meat for lunch, which I had given up for lent and thus feasted on like there is no tomorrow. I could only just about bring myself to pull this recipe together.
Every Easter (and every Christmas), I make a walnut Potica following my maternal grandmother’s recipe. It is a Slovenian bake of a yeasted, pillow soft dough, rolled around a honey walnut filling - traditionally eaten for Easter lunch, after mass, with hardboiled eggs and ham. Personally, I think it is a much better match for coffee, so soft and fragrant, and lovely for breakfast or dessert.
Slovenia being a traditionally Catholic country, the potica is baked a few days before so it can be blessed by a priest on Holy Saturday ahead of the festivities, however it is unbeatable when fresh (I also cannot confirm an English priest will know what to do with it). It keeps well for a few days and can also be frozen, so do not be daunted by how much this recipe makes. It will be gone in one sitting! I promise!
Walnut Potica
For the dough:
9g active dry yeast
25g butter, at room temp
150ml full fat milk, at room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks, at room temp
150g plain white flour
150g strong white flour
50g sugar
3g salt
1/2 lemon, zested
For the filling:
400g walnuts, finely chopped (I usually chop these while the dough rises, but if you are a slow chopper do them ahead of time)
70g sultanas
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp dark rum
1/2 lemon, zested
1 egg, to glaze
Mix the yeast with a teaspoon of the sugar and two teaspoons of the milk in a small bowl or cup, and set aside to reactivate the yeast.
Meanwhile, melt the butter and leave to cool to room temperature. Whisk together the egg yolks, milk, and vanilla, and finally whisk in the cooled butter.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, salt, lemon zest. Mix and make a well in the centre.
Add the yeast mixture, as well as the milk mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon into a rough dough - it should all clump around the spoon, leaving a clean bowl.
Generously flour your worktop, and tip out your dough. Knead well for 10min, until smooth. To check if it’s ready, ball up the dough and poke it - it should spring back.
Move the dough into a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp teatowel or showercap, and leave to rise somewhere warm. It should double in size, which will take approx. 1hr.
While your dough is rising, make the filling. Cover the sultanas with boiling water and leave to soak.
In a pot, combine sugar, honey and water. Dissolve the sugar over medium heat, then turn up to high and bring to the boil.
While the liquid heats, strain the sultanas and finely chop them - the idea is that you won’t get chunks of sultana running through the filling, just moisture and the fruity flavour.
As soon as the mixture starts to boil, turn off the heat and add the finaly chopped walnuts. Mix well so that everything is thoroughly coated. Add vanilla, lemon zest, rum and chopped sultanas, then mix again and leave to cool. Taste the filling! Add any more aromatics if you feel it needs it.
Generously butter two loaf tins (approx. 2lb in size).
Once your dough has risen, it is time to assemble. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/GM 4.
Tip your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to pat into a rough rectangle.
Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle approx. 40cmx30cm, which should be around 5mm thick. It might seem thin, but remember that the dough will expand as it proves.
Spoon the cooled mixture onto the dough and spread into an even layer, all the way to the edges.
Starting on the longer side closest to you, roll tightly away from you, finishing seam side down.
Trim a tiny bit off the edges on either side, just to ensure a clean cut, then cut in half. Transfer into the prepared loaf tins, cover and leave to prove somewhere warm. They will puff up by about half their size, and you can check if it’s ready by poking the dough with your finger - it should not spring back. This will take about 1hr.
Using a skewer, pierce 3 holes along the top to allow the steam to escape. Brush generously with egg and bake for 35-40min.
The potica will be a very deep golden colour. You can also check if it’s done by inserting a metal skewer into the centre (I go in via the cut side, rather than piercing another hole), holding it there for 10min, and then touching the skewer to your wrist. If you burn yourself, congrats, it’s done! Like with a cake, the skewer coming out clean also indicates it’s done, but that’s not as fun.
You could also bake these into rolls! Generously butter a dish, rather than a loaf tin, and cut the roll into 2in slices. Place into the dish, with lots of room for them to grow into each other as they prove. Do not glaze with egg before baking; instead, gently heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of honey with a splash of water and glaze the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven.
You could also bake it as one long roll in a bundt tin. Just butter generously and bake an additional 10min.
This feels like a good time to mention there’s quite a few different fillings for potica - why not give them a google? There’s a tarragon potica which I remember hating as a child, but now think would be rather refined.
Please do let me know if you bake this - I think I might get a little emotional even.
Mia