If you’ve never heard of Potica, you’re not in the minority. Unless you have roots in Slovakia or Yugoslavia you may never have heard mention of it.
But Potica is definitely a delicious and easy-to-make taste of Eastern Europe. On one of my trips to Europe, I was fortunate enough to sample this pastry onboard a Viking River Cruise.
The chef was kind enough to let me watch the preparation and I’m happy to be able to share it with all of you.
Potica (pronounced po-teet-sah), is a Slovenian (Croatian / Yugoslavian) nut roll that is traditionally made for Easter and Christmas. But it’s a wonderful treat, any time of the year.
What Ingredients do I need to make Potica?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Potica. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How do I make pastry dough for Potica?
Start by making the dough.
- Stir the sugar, salt and ¼ cup butter into hot milk.
- Cool to lukewarm. (a drop on your wrist won’t feel hot)
- Sprinkle the yeast over warm water in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve.
- Stir in lukewarm milk mixture to the yeast.
- Add 2 eggs and 2.5 cups flour to the yeast mixture. Use a wooden spoon to mix in the ingredients until smooth.
- Gradually add in remaining 2 cups flour; knead by hand until the dough is stiff enough to leave side of bowl.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased large bowl. Turn dough over – greased side up – and cover with a towel.
- Let rise in warm place (85F) free from drafts, until doubled in size – about an hour.
How do I make the walnut filling?
- In a medium bowl beat the eggs slightly. Add the walnuts, brown sugar, ⅓ cup of the melted butter, cinnamon and vanilla.
- Stir until well blended and set aside until needed.
- When the dough has risen, punch it down and turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Cover the dough with a bowl and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough out to a 30×20” rectangle.
- Spread the walnut filling on top of the dough, leaving 1 inch of the edge uncovered around the entire dough.
- Starting from the wide side, begin rolling up the dough tightly (jellyroll style). Seal by pinching edges of dough with fingers.
- On a large greased cookie sheet or seasoned baking stone, form the roll into a large coil.
- Let rise in a warm place (85F), covered with a towel, for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Brush the potica with 2 Tablespoons of melted butter.
- Bake 35-40 minutes until golden.
- Cool on wire rack before cutting.
Recipe FAQ’s
You can make this recipe and cut the dough into 2 or 4 equal parts and make smaller loaves. They would be the perfect size for a housewarming or holiday gift.
The most popular filling for potica is made with walnuts which is what this recipe uses. Other popular fillings include hazelnut, chocolate, Nutella, poppy seed, cottage cheese, and honey.
you can also make savory versions of Potica using egg with tarragon, or chive. But my favorite version actually uses bacon with egg.
Depending upon the region of Eastern Europe potica is also known as povitica, povtica and potvitsa.
Anyway you slice it, you’re going to love this rich, flavorful pastry. Why not make a new family tradition with this Eastern European Pastry? You don’t have to be from that part of the world to enjoy the deliciousness of Potica.
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Potica – Traditional Slovenian Nut Roll
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 cup hot milk
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- ¼ cup warm water (105-115F)
- 2 eggs
- 4 ½ cups unsifted all-purpose flour
Filling
- 3 large eggs
- 4 cups (1lb) walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon optional
Instructions
Dough
- Stir the sugar, salt and ¼ cup butter into hot milk.Cool to lukewarm. (a drop on your wrist won’t feel hot)
- Sprinkle the yeast over warm water in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve.
- Stir in lukewarm milk mixture to the yeast mixture.
- Add 2 eggs and 2 ½ cups flour to the yeast mixture. Use a wooden spoon to mix in the ingredients until smooth.
- Gradually add in the remaining 2 cups flour; knead by hand until the dough is stiff enough to leave the side of the bowl.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased large bowl. Turn dough over – greased side up – and cover with a towel.
- Let the dough rise in warm place (85F) free from drafts, until doubled in size – about an hour.
Filling
- In a medium bowl beat the eggs slightly. Add the walnuts, brown sugar, ⅓ cup of melted butter, cinnamon and vanilla.Stir until well blended and set aside until needed.
Assembly
- When the dough has risen, punch it down and turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Cover the dough with a bowl and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough out to a 30×20” rectangle.
- Spread the walnut filling on top of the dough, leaving 1 inch of the edge uncovered around the entire dough.
- Starting from the wide side, begin rolling up the dough tightly (jellyroll style). Seal by pinching the edges of dough with your fingers.
- On a large greased cookie sheet or seasoned baking stone, form the roll into a large coil.
- Let the potica rise in a warm place (85F), covered with a towel, for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Brush the potica with 2 Tablespoons of melted butter.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool on wire rack before cutting.
Kim Bee
I am so happy to see Ann here. I adore this woman. Congrats on being a guest blogger my dear. This recipe is absolutely out of this world. I wish I was there to sample it. The pictures are incredible. I am so proud of you, you amaze me constantly.
Chef Dennis- thanks for sharing your page with Ann for the day. Sure was fun to see you two here. Glad you had a great day. It’s funny as we get older how much we appreciate the small things in life. Hope you both a wonderful week.
Ann
Awwww, Kim….you SO rock! Thanks for your comments – you know you’re made of awesome, right?! I’m sorry you weren’t here to try it as well – it was delish…and very large!
Elin
Ann…..that is good one and I have KIV it…infact I cant wait for the weekend to come to make this 🙂 I know I will love it…looks delish…thanks for sharing this potica recipe.
Chef Dennis…thanks for sharing Ann with us 🙂 She is a great baker and I great to see her guest post her. I ca’t wait to make this potica….first time hearing of this nut roll 🙂 I agree with her ..you are the Yoda of Foodbuzz 🙂 Keep them coming Chef..
Have a nice day to Ann and Chef Dennis,
Elin
Ann
Hi Elin! This weekend? AWESOME! Please let me know how it turns out! I’m so excited you’re going to make it! I appreciate your kind comment more than you know!
mangiabella
the feeling is quite mutual – and this nut roll is out of this world!!! great guest post!!!!
Ann
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it. Chef Dennis/Yoda is pretty awesome, isn’t he?
Kelly
Oh, what a fantastic recipe… looks so delicious. Great team work Ann and Chef Dennis! Ann is such a delight – a kind heart and warm smile.
Ann
Kelly – Thank you! You are so sweet to say that….I’m glad you like the recipe and it was all Chef Dennis’s doing – I was so thrilled to be asked to post for him!
Emily @ Life on Food
I love learning new recipes from other cultures. This looks great and so beautiful. I think I will have to try it out a few times before I could be confident in the gift arena. Good thing for me!
Ann
Hi Emily! I think you’ll be able to make this without any problem! It comes together much easier than you think! However, if you need to TASTE TEST….I understand!
Betty Ann @Mango_Queen
Wow! I’ve never had this before but it looks fabulous. I love to bake bread, especially this time of the year. Must try this one. Thanks Ann, for a great recipe. Thanks, Chef Dennis for featuring a great guest this week!
Ann
Oooh, Betty Ann if you like to bake, you’ll LOVE this one! Not so difficult you’ll get frustrated with HUGE results. I hope you make it – let me know how you liked it! Thanks for your comment!
Eftychia
Congradulations to you and to Chef Dennis for having your post in his blog! Really good!!
Ann
Thank you Eftychia! I appreciate that – coming from such an accomplished cake artist!
Boulder Locavore
What a lovely seasonal post and great introduction to Ann! I loved ‘Mike’s’ nostalgic comment above about how this was a family traditional dish for his family and with his older mother maybe he’ll make it. Isn’t that the way food works? It truly binds us together? I can see how I could easily adapt this to be gluten free and think I’ll give it a whirl. Thank you!
And Dennis we all feel the same about you. You add warmth and character to our food community; without you it would never be the same.
Ann
HI there! What a lovely comment! You’re right – it’s amazing how much food – good food – binds us. My mother was NOT a cook, but the things that she did make I remember with great fondness. I hope you adapt this to gluten free…and please blog about it! I’d love to see your changes! Thanks for your comment and it’s nice to meet you!
Alyssa
Ann is one of my absolute favorite bloggers, so I was soooo excited to see this post! I love the reference to yoda, so true!!! And this nut roll looks to DIE FOR! My husband always says that he hates nuts, but I’m sure if I made this for him, he would have more than one slice. Again, a really great guest post!
Ann
Hi Alyssa! Thank you SO much! That was one of the nicest things I’ve read/heard all day! I’m glad you like the potica. If you hubby doesn’t like nuts…..maybe fill it with poppy seeds?
Grubarazzi (@Grubarazzi)
Chef Dennis, I will now be referring to you as the Yoda of Foodbuzz. That has to be one of the sweetest and funniest things I’ve seen all day. Ann, these pictures and that recipe is amazing! Great job!
Chef D
thanks! I love the title!
Ann
I’m glad you like the title, Chef Yoda…you may be stuck with it!
Ann
Thanks! I’m glad you like the recipe – it was fun to do the post!
Kate @Kate from Scratch
This is a gorgeous recipe, Ann, it’s so good to see you here with Chef Dennis! He is indeed our yoda, and we his padawans. lol! So true. I love it!
Ann
Thanks, Kate! I was SO happy to be asked to do a guest post for Chef Yoda!
Jennifer Eloff
Good grief, Ann – that’s amazing! You’re amazing! Have a wonderful weekend, my sweet friend.
Ann
Hi Jennifer! You are the sweet one! Thanks for your wonderful comment – it made me smile!
Sandi
Top 9 worthy, congratulations 🙂
Such a fun, professional representation of food, NICE!
Ann
Thanks, Sandi! I’m glad you liked it!
Mojca
Hello! I am from Slovenia and am very happy to see, that potica is popular in other parts of the world too. Traditional filling is made with walnuts, but there are other varities such as honey, poppy, coconut, almonds and also savory varieties with cracklings.
Ann
Hi Mojca! I really enjoy this and it’s my husbands favorite! I love the idea of a coconut filling….and savory? Delicious! I can see I need to research this more! Thanks for stopping by and your wonderful comment!
ben
As Slovenian, I like most young cheese with tarragon filling.
Blair K.
Hi Ben,
I grew up on walnut potica (my mom is Slovenian American) but only tasted the tarragon version recently, at a fancy restaurant dinner put on by a Slovenian winemaker. Definitely an intriguing taste, and very unusual to the American palate. It was served as an appetizer at that dinner. Is that how you eat it?
Sandra
Congratulations on Top 9 you guys deserve it!
Ann
Thank you, Sandra! I was thrilled!