Potica – European Nut Roll

This beautiful sweetened nut roll is known throughout the Europe by many different names. Know as potica or povitica to kolachi or gubana, many countries have their own version of this holiday specialty…

All of the recipes have certain elements in common. They are typically made with a buttery brioche style dough rolled out thin, covered in a sweetened ground nut mixture and rolled to create a beautiful pattern when sliced.

Some of these rolls are baked in a long loaf, like I am doing to day, while others are rolled and then shaped into spirals, circles or even folded in a Z shaped pattern creating a loaf that is fill with all sorts of swirls.

Potica rolls can be enjoyed with or without a sweet drizzle and they store very well, so they make wonderful Christmas gifts for friends, family and neighbors. Growing up, my father used to bring one home the week before Christmas and we could barely wait to slice into it. This nut roll is definitely one of my favorite childhood holiday memories, so I am very excited to introduce you to this delicious Eastern European delicacy.

Let’s get started…

The first step is to make the dough. These loaves don’t take quite as long to make as you may think and if your home is warm (or your oven has a “proof” setting), they only require about 90 minutes total to proof, which means you can start them in the afternoon and have them ready by the evening.

Begin by whisking a tablespoon of active dry yeast and a teaspoon of granulated sugar into 1/3 cup of warmed whole milk. Set it aside for a few minutes to let it bloom. If you are new to working with yeast, yeast has to be woken up before you use it. Yeast loves a nice warm temperature and a little snack (but, who doesn’t?) and in just a few minutes, it will get all foamy and frothy telling you that it has “bloomed” and is ready to go to work.

While the yeast is waking up, combine 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 large eggs, 2/3 cup of sour cream and 12 tablespoons of softened butter in a large bowl and whisk until creamy.

Add about 2 cups of bread flour and the bloomed yeast mixture into the bowl and mixture until everything is completely combined.

Continue adding more bread flour a little bit at a time until a soft, sticky dough forms.

This is what the dough should look like at this stage. We want these loaves to stay light, so we will be adding only the flour that is necessary to bring everything together. This is best done as you knead, so you can feel the dough with your hands to tell whether it still feels like it needs more flour or if it is starting to feel stiff or dry.

Transfer the dough onto a floured surface, such as your counter top or a smooth cutting board. Dip your hands in some of the excess flour and begin kneading the dough. If your dough is super sticky, you may need to add a little more flour to your surface to prevent a lot of sticking. Tacky dough is fine, but dough that is sticking to everything needs a little dusting of flour.

The total amount of flour that you will need depends on several different aspects. Anything from the size of your eggs to the weathers temperature and humidity can effect how much flour you will need to add to dough. Today I needed just under 4 cups of bread flour, but I have needed almost 4 1/2 cups, so don’t stress if you have flour left over and as long as your dough still feels soft and tender, don’t worry if you needed all of it.

Knead the dough until it is smooth, soft and just a little bit sticky and then transfer it into a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place until it has doubled in volume. In a nice warm place, this should take about an hour, but if your home is chilly, it may take a little longer.

My oven has a “proof” setting, which maintains a temperature of about 85 degrees and this is like a doughs ideal situation. If your oven does not have this setting, you can set the bowl on a table in direct sunlight or even toss a bath towel in the dryer and wrap the bowl in it to help keep things cozy.

While the dough is resting, we are going to make the filling.

Walnuts are most commonly used, but I happen to have a whole bunch of fresh pecans in my kitchen, so I am using them. I really don’t taste or feel much of a difference at all between the walnuts and pecans in these nut rolls, so feel free to use what you have or what you prefer.

To make the filling, combine 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 6 tablespoons of butter, 1 egg yolk (keep the white for an egg wash later on), 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract in a small saucepan and place over medium heat.

While the sugar mixture is coming to a simmer, very finely chop or grind 3 cups of nuts. The texture of the nuts is up to you. Some recipes call for all of them to ground down completely, while others suggest a rough chop. I prefer them just a notch about ground or what I would call very finely chopped. No big pieces that could potential poke through the dough, just a nice fine texture.

Allow the sugar mixture to simmer for a few minutes and stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Once it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, transfer it off of the heat. The mixture should be thick enough that when you drag your spoon or spatula across the bottom of the saucepan, you should be able to see the bottom of the pan for a second before it returns. At this point, you can pour the mixture over the nuts.

Mix the nuts and the thickened sugar mixture until everything is even distributed. Set this aside to cool until the dough is ready to go.

This is exactly what we are looking for. All of that foamy yeast did a wonderful job of creating a big, billowy dough that is ready to be transformed into our nut rolls.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and use a bench scraper or sharp knife to divide the dough. This recipe will make 2 large loaves or 4 smaller ones.

Set the other portion of dough off to the side and gently roll the dough out into a 14″x18″ rectangle (or a 8″x12″ rectangle if making 4 smaller loaves). Lightly dust your rolling pin with flour if anything is sticking and try to make the rectangle as evenly thin throughout, so it will bake evenly once rolled.

Divide the cooled filling evenly throughout the portions of dough and spread it out to within 1/2″ of one of the long sides. The filling should not be thickly covering the dough, as adding too much filling can cause the loaves to crack or split as they bake.

I like to very gently press the filling down into the soft dough just a bit to help it stay in place as I roll everything up.

Once your filling is all spread out, begin rolling up the long side in the same way that you would roll up cinnamon rolls. The roll should be firm, but not tight enough to pull tension on the dough. You just want to avoid any big gaps that could hold air inside the loaves.

Once your loaf is fully rolled up, pinch the seam closed all the way to the end and then tuck the ends under neatly.

Transfer the loaves onto parchment lined baking sheet and cover them with a thin kitchen towel (or drape a sheet of non-stick plastic wrap over them). Let them rest in a warm place for 30 minutes and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Once the loaves have puffed up a bit and your oven is preheated, whisk with your leftover egg white and a teaspoon of water in a small dish and brush the mixture over the loaves. This will help give them a beautiful, shiny and golden brown appearance.

Bake your nut rolls for about 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. If you are making smaller loaves, they will be done around 28-30 minutes. The nut rolls are ready to come out when they are golden brown top and bottom and sound hollow when you tap on the underside of the loaf.

Let them cool on a cooling rack before slicing.

Would you take a look at that beautiful swirl? If you do it just right, you should have a pretty even filling to bread ratio throughout the whole loaf. If you rolls came out a little uneven, don’t fret… it will still taste fantastic. Good rolling technique takes practice, so you should probably make some cinnamon rolls, a turkey roulade and some braciole… ya know, to practice…

This fabulous nut roll can be enjoyed with or without a sweet drizzle and although it does not need it flavor wise, I do love what it does for the look of the finished product….

The drizzle is very simple. Just whisk enough heavy cream or milk into a cup of confectioners sugar to create a thick, but drizzle-able consistency. You can add a little splash of vanilla or almond extract, if you want to add a little extra flavor to the drizzle, but to be honest, it really just is cosmetic.

Whether you and your family refers to them as potica or povitica or orechovník or kolachi, one thing is for sure, that you are going to love these perfectly sweet, chewy, nutty and totally classic nut rolls.