Walnut Roll

Even today, Slovenians can hardly imagine Easter and other major holidays without a potica. Whether its honey, poppy seed, tarragon, walnut, or any other kind – the important thing is that it doesnt miss the holiday table!

Details

  • Preparation Time: 112 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 75 minutes
  • Difficulty: 3
  • Spiciness: 0
  • Number of Servings: 16

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1 kg Wheat flour, white, multi-purpose

  • 50 g Yeast, dry

  • 5 dl Milk, whole milk

  • 200 g Sugar, white

  • 8 pieces Egg, egg yolk, fresh

  • 1 bag Sugar, white

  • 1 teaspoon Lemon, fresh, without shell

  • 3 spoons Alcohol, Rum

Filling

  • 125 ml Sweet cream

  • 250 g Butter, unsalted

  • 1 kg Walnuts

  • 8 pieces Egg, egg white, fresh

  • 1 dl Alcohol, Rum

  • 20 g Butter, unsalted

  • 1 piece Egg, fresh

  • 3 spoons Powdered sugar

Steps

  1. First, prepare the yeast starter: crumble the yeast into a bowl, add three tablespoons of warm milk, a teaspoon of flour, and a teaspoon of sugar, mix well, and place in a warm spot to help the yeast rise.

  2. While the yeast starter is rising, mix the egg yolks, vanilla sugar, remaining sugar, lemon zest, rum, and the rest of the warm milk into the flour. Start kneading and add the risen yeast starter a bit later. Knead for about 10 minutes or until bubbles start forming in the dough. Properly kneaded dough is soft and pliable and doesn't stick to your hands or the bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and let it rest in a warm place until the dough doubles in size (about one hour).

  3. While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. In a bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Pour the cream into a pot and add the butter. Place the pot on medium heat and warm until the butter melts. Then add the ground walnuts and mix well. Remove the pot from the heat and fold in the beaten egg whites and rum. Let the filling cool to lukewarm.

  4. Once the dough has doubled in size, quickly knead it again, place it on a floured cloth, and roll it out to about a finger's thickness. Spread the filling evenly over the rolled-out dough, leaving about a finger's width of space around the edges.

  5. Roll the dough tightly and neatly using the cloth, gently pulling it as you go. This will prevent air bubbles from forming during baking. Grease the potica mold well with butter. Place the prepared potica in the mold and let it rise in a warm place for another 15 minutes.

  6. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Beat an egg in a small bowl. Brush the risen potica with the beaten egg and place the mold in the preheated oven. After 15 minutes of baking, reduce the temperature to 160 degrees Celsius and bake for about another hour. Before taking the potica out of the oven, test if it's done by inserting a skewer; if it comes out dry and almost clean, the potica is baked.

  7. Remove the baked potica from the mold onto a serving plate or platter and sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm. Slice it only after it has completely cooled.

Nutrition Information (Per 100g)

  • Calories: 410.02 kcal
  • Fat: 14.27 g
    • Saturated Fat: 8.27 g
  • Carbohydrates: 58.63 g
    • Sugars: 12.01 g
  • Protein: 8.33 g
  • Fiber: 1.96 g

Advice

The foundation of a truly good potica is the dough, which should be appropriately thick and well-risen. Work in a warm, draft-free environment. Its best to use organic lemons, whose peel is not treated with pesticides. If organic lemons are not available, immerse the lemon in boiling water for a few minutes and wipe it well to remove the wax containing toxins.