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Chocolate Walnut Povitica
[Photograph: Carrie Vasios]
This traditional Croatian and Slovenian bread is made from from a thinly rolled, buttery dough that's filled with walnuts and chocolate.
About the author: Carrie Vasios is the editor of Serious Eats: Sweets. She likes to peruse her large collection of cookbooks while eating jam from the jar. You can follow her on Twitter @carrievasios
adapted from passionate about baking
About This Recipe
| Yield: | makes one 1 1/4-pound loaf |
| Active time: | 30 minutes |
| Total time: | 3 hours 30 minutes |
| Special equipment: | stand mixer, rolling pin, 8 by 4-inch loaf pan |
| This recipe appears in: | Wake and Bake: Chocolate Walnut Povitica |
Ingredients
- For Dough
- 3 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar, divided
- 2 cups plus 1/4 teaspoon all purpose flour, divided
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- For Filling
- 1 1/2 cups walnuts
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For Topping
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- Sugar
Procedures
-
1
Make Dough: In a small bowl, combine yeast, warm water, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon flour and let sit until proofed (mixture will start to bubble), about 5 minutes.
-
2
In a small saucepan, scald milk by heating to just below boiling (about 180°F), then let cool to 110°F, about 2 minutes.
-
3
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine milk, remaining sugar, and salt. Add yeast mixture, eggs, vanilla extract, and melted butter, and mix to combine. Change to a dough hook, add remaining flour, and kneed until elastic and smooth and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
-
4
Make Filling: While dough is rising, combine walnuts, sugar, and cocoa powder in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the texture of sand, about 10 pulses. In a medium saucepan, heat milk and butter until just at a boil, then pour over the ground walnut mixture. Add egg yolk and vanilla and stir vigorously until combined. Set aside.
-
5
Assemble: Grease baking dish with butter. Place dough on a clean, floured surface. Roll out until it is a very thin 12-inch square. Cover with filling. Roll the dough carefully from the long end, jelly-roll style, then shape into a U, placing seam side down. Carefully transfer to prepared baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in volume, 30-40 minutes.
-
6
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Brush dough with egg white then sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 300°F and bake until golden on top and a thermometer inserted in the center of the dough reads 200-210°F, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
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