Crackling Potica

Did you know that crackling potica or špehovka is a much older Shrovetide dish than doughnuts? In the past, housewives would even compete on Shrove Tuesday to see who could make the better špehovka. Today, the competition is forgotten, but crackling potica still must not be missing from the festive table.

Details

  • Preparation Time: 160 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 60 minutes
  • Difficulty: 3
  • Spiciness: 0
  • Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

dough

  • 500 g Flour, Wheat, bread flour

  • 3.5 dl Milk, whole milk

  • 1 piece Egg, fresh

  • 0.5 teaspoons Sugar, white

  • 20 g Yeast, dry

  • 0.5 teaspoons Salt, table

filling

  • 75 g Meat, pork, smoked ham

  • 200 g Lard

  • 2 dl Sour cream

for coating

  • 1 piece Egg, fresh

for modeling

  • 15 g Butter, unsalted

  • 2 spoons Breadcrumbs, dried

Steps

  1. Prepare the leavened dough from the ingredients for the dough.

  2. Heat the cracklings in a pan until the fat liquefies, then remove from heat and let cool. Cut the ham into smaller cubes.

  3. Roll out the twice-risen dough on a floured cloth to half a centimeter thick. Spread it with sour cream, sprinkle with warm cracklings and ham. Grease the mold and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

  4. Roll up the filled dough tightly with the help of the cloth and place it in the mold. Cover with a cloth and let it rise for 20 minutes. Brush the risen dough with beaten egg. Place the mold in the preheated oven. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes. When the dough turns golden brown on top, reduce the oven temperature to 175 °C and bake the potica until done. First, cool the baked potica in the mold, then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely. Slice the cooled potica and serve.

Nutrition Information (Per 100g)

  • Calories: 448.84 kcal
  • Fat: 25.21 g
    • Saturated Fat: 9.62 g
  • Carbohydrates: 42.34 g
    • Sugars: 0.22 g
  • Protein: 9.51 g
  • Fiber: 1.66 g

Advice

The potica may crack or even bloom on top during baking if it has not risen enough. Sour cream can usually be replaced with thick yogurt, which contains significantly less fat. Before preparing the ingredients for the leavened dough, keep them at room temperature for at least a few hours. The room should be warm, and there should be no drafts. The liquid for the leavened dough should be slightly warmer than lukewarm. In cold liquid, yeast cells do not multiply, while too high a temperature destroys them.