(Note: My mother had 12 children and streamlined the recipe from her mother back in the 30's to accomodate her busy holiday schedule, most especially deleting the cooking requirement for the nut mixture. Most of her 12 children continue to make this potica on Christmas Eve.) Enjoy
Ingredients
- Sweet Dough:
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1.25 teas. salt
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- 1/3 cup warm water (105-115F)
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 5.5 - 6 cups sifted flour
- shot of whiskey
- Filling:
- 1 stick margarine or butter, softened
- Two eggs, beaten
- 2.5 lbs. ground walnuts
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 medium jar honey
Directions
Sweet Dough:
Scald milk and stir in sugar, salt & margarine. Cool to lukewarm.
Pour warm water into warmed bowl. Sprinkle in yeast and stir until dissolved. Add lukewarm milk mixture, eggs and 2 cups flour. Mix well.
Continue to add flour and when hard to mix, begin to knead in bowl. Once firm, turn out onto counter top and continue to knead until pliant. (This can be accomplished if you have a dough hook for your mixer by adding 5 cups initially then gradually adding the remaining flour)
Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about one hour.
Punch dough down. Flour surface and roll dough out to about 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet.
Filling:
Soften margarine or butter and add the two beaten eggs. Spread mixture over the dough. Sprinkle with the nuts and then sprinkle the sugar. Drizzle honey. (In our house its a tradition to write the names of the family members with the honey.) Starting at one end, roll dough in jelly roll fashion. Using a salad plate dipped in flour, cut roll in half and put aluminum foil on each open end so that filling doesn't leak out of it while baking. Place both rolls in a greased 9 x 13 pan and let rise again, for not more than 1 hour. Brush milk on top of the two rolls. Bake at 350 for one hour or until golden brown.
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Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: My Slovenian Mother
Submitted By: Clare Arch Gillis
bcgillis@erols.com
Potica