At the passing of an old friend, Walt Rojic who was of Slovenian descent, I was asked to make this traditional bread for the funeral lunch.
I did some research and found the method. Using the basic directions, I adjusted it a bit and came up with a recipe.
Walter said he remembered his mother making Potiza bread for him to take along when he worked in the fields.
The recipe I used here is filled with a sweet walnut filling, but the basic bread is also at times filled with savory meat fillings.
The bread is simple to make and I look forward to making it with a variety of fillings.
Basic Potiza Bread Dough
- 1 package rapid rise yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup lukewarm water
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup lukewarm milk
- 1/4 cup real butter at room temperature
- 3 3/4 cups flour divided
- Butter for brushing bread
- egg and milk for egg wash
Dissolve yeast plus 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Let raise until bubbly, about 10 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine sugar, egg, salt, warm milk and butter and half of the flour. Stir and mix with a wooden spoon. Continue mixing with dough hook attachment in stand mixer. Continue adding remaining flour and continue to knead (about 5 minutes) with dough hook.
Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and cover with a towel. Place in a warm place and let raise until double (1 1/5 hours).
Nut Filling
- 1/4 cup real butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon rum extract
- 2 cups finely ground walnuts
- 1 cup golden raisins
Blend together all ingredients. Set aside.
When dough has doubled in size, remove from bowl and place on a floured surface. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion in a very thin rectangle. Brush with melted real butter and spread a 1/3 of filling on dough covering entire surface. Roll up tight like a jelly roll. Place, seam side down in buttered loaf pan. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until double. Repeat with remaining portions of dough and filling.
When dough has risen, brush each loaf with an egg wash made from whipping egg and milk together. Bake 3 loaf pans side by side on middle rack of a preheated 325 degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.
TIPS
- An easy way to create warm environment for raising dough is to preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Leave oven on at this temperature for 2 minutes. Turn off oven and place dough on center rack.