Category Archives: Desserts

Baklava Bread. That’s what it tastes like.

Povitica is a “traditional Eastern-European dessert bread that is traditionally served during the holiday season”. It is also delicious.

I found the recipe at http://www.swapnascuisine.com/2011/10/povitica-swirly-deliciousness-my-first.html (via Pinterest, of course). It looked beautiful and too good to be true.

After looking at all the text on the page, I felt overwhelmed. Soo many steps and ingredients. And I’m supposed to roll it out on a bed sheet? That sounded like a recipe for disaster. Ask me about the croissant debacle, I’ve seen disaster.

I was skeptical, but Swapna’s methods are spot on. The recipe turned out exactly as promised. The instructions are clear, and the result was tasty.

And this was the first try!

Make this on a lazy afternoon, or when you have time to come and go witout stress. Don’t make this in a hurry.

I made some minor changes. I changed the walnuts to almonds (walnuts give Kirby sores). Toss the almonds into a food processor with the sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa to avoid getting a nut butter (or having to buy expensive, pre-ground nuts ahead of time). Use whatever milk you want. Salted/unsalted butter does not really matter in this recipe. Skip the coffee topping.

Basic steps:

1. Activate yeast
2. Mix dough
3. Make filling while dough rises
4. Grease pan
5. Roll out dough
6. Spread filling
7. Roll it up like a jelly roll
8. Bake!

Here’s Swapna’s recipe with my adaptations:

Yields 1 (1.25 lb) loaf

To activate the yeast:

• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp all purpose flour
• 2 Tb warm water
• 1 1/2 tsp dry yeast

In a small bowl, combine the above ingredients and allow to rest for 5 min.

Dough:

• 1/2 c milk
• 3 Tb sugar
• 3/4 tsp table salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 Tb unsalted butter, melted
• 2 c all-purpose flour (measure first, sift, divide)

-In a medium saucepan, heat the milk until just below boiling, stirring constantly
-Allow to cool slightly (to about 110 degrees F)
-In a large bowl, mix the milk, sugar, and salt until combined
-Add the eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, and half of the flour
-Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough starts to leave the bowl
-Knead on a floured surface until smooth and does not stick
-Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap and a towel
-Let rise in a warm place for 1.5 hours, until doubled in size

Filling:

• 2 c almonds (or whatever nuts you have)
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cocoa powder
• 1/4 c milk
• 1/4 c unsalted butter
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

-Toss the nuts, sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder into a food processor. Blend until nuts are coarsly ground–about the size of a BB or a coriander seed
-In a saucepan, bring the milk and the butter to a boil
-Combine milk/butter mixture with nut mixture in a medium bowl
-Mix in beaten egg yolk and vanilla until combined and set aside

Roll and assemble the dough:

-Grease bread pan
-Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table/workspace so that it is covered (I used a floursack towel)
-Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of flour
-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 the dough is a 10×12 in rectangle
-As you work, continually pick up the dough from the cloth to ensure it is not sticking
-Spread 1.5 Tb melted butter across dough
-Roll dough out from the center until dough is thin and uniformly opaque (when you think the dough is thin enough, try to get it thinner) I rolled mine to 1/16-1/8 in thick
-Spoon filling over dough, use spatula (lightly!) to distribute filling [If the filling has gotten stiff, you can add a Tb of warm milk before spooning]
-Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough/filling like a jelly roll (roll it so the final rope is longest)
-Once the dough is rolled into a rope, gently lift it up (this was the hardest part, mine started breaking a little) and place it into the greased loaf pan in the shape of a “U”, with both ends meeting in the middle
-Brush top of dough with egg whites
-Cover with plastic wrap and rest 15 min
-Preheat oven to 350 F

Unbaked Povitica right before going into the oven

Bake:

-Bake for 15 min at 350 F
-Turn oven down to 300F
-Bake for 45 more min (check dough at 30 min, cover with aluminum foil if getting too dark)
-Insert knife along edge of pan to loosen
-Lightly brush with melted butter
-Allow Povitica to rest for 20-30 min in the pan before removing/cutting
-Invert onto a cutting board and cut (upside down to prevent breakage) with a serrated knife

Posted by bicyclebelly in Desserts, Recipe Reviews, Vegetarian Tags: baking, bread, cinnamon, dessert, sleepy afternoon, tea, vegetarian