Povitica: The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

Fun Fun Fun, all i can say it "Fun". Again, it is a little bit time consuming as you have to wait for the dough to rise. But the dough can stretch very amazing!! I can really see through the dough without tearing it apart. it's soft as silk. Love it! It surprises me so much how big the dough can stretch. I prepare my counter top a big area to roll the roll but it turn out that the dough reach all the edge of my counter top :D How funny is that! Nutty filling is yummy. Everything get along so well :) And the look, do i need to say more??!?!?!?!?!?!?! :) Why don't you try it yourself? You might find out your hidden talent ;) Who's know ;) Well, enough talking, let's roll!!! :)

Ingredients (Makes one loaf, about 565 grams)   

Yeast mixture:
½ teaspoon Sugar
¼ teaspoon All-Purpose Flour

1½ teaspoons Dry Yeast
2 tablespoons (30 ml) Warm Water (*heat in microwave about 15 seconds)

Directions:

To Activate Yeast:

In a small bowl, stir together -- sugar + flour + yeast + warm water -- cover with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 5 minutes

Dough:
½ cup (120 ml) Whole Milk (*heat in microwave about 1 minute then wait)

3 tablespoons Sugar
¾ teaspoon Salt
1 large Egg

2 tablespoon (30 g) Unsalted Butter, melted (*melt in microwave about 30 seconds)
2 cups All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift

Directions:

To Make the Dough:

1. In a small bowl, heat -- milk -- until about 180°F/82°C, stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top of the milk. You want it hot enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.
2. In a large bowl, mix together -- the scalded milk (from step 1.) + sugar + salt -- until combined.
3. Add -- the beaten egg + yeast mixture + melted butter + 1 and 1/2 cup flour -- 
4. Mix thoroughly and slowly add -- remaining flour -- mixing well until the dough starts to clean the bowl.
5. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until smooth and does not stick. 
6. Divide the dough in half (they will each weight about 565 grams)
7. Place the dough in 2 lightly oiled bowls, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size.

Filling: (for one loaf)
1¾ cups (280 g) Ground English Walnuts (*i ground my whole walnuts in food processor :))
½ cup Sugar

¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

¼ cup (60 ml) Whole Milk
¼ cup (58 g) Unsalted Butter

1 egg Yolk
¼ teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

To Make the Filling

1. In a large bowl, mix together -- the ground walnuts + sugar + cinnamon + cocoa --
2. In a medium bowl, heat together -- milk + butter -- to boiling. (*i only heat them together about 40 seconds in microwave and stir until all butter melted)
3. Pour the liquid over the nut/sugar mixture.
4. Add -- egg yolk + vanilla -- mix thoroughly.
5. Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to be spread on the dough. If the mixture thickens, add a small amount of warm milk. (*i add about 1/8 cup of milk more, to reach the consistency that i find it easy to spread over the dough.)

To Roll and Assemble the Dough:

1. Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table so that it is covered. (*i covered my counter top with cling film and it works just fine :))
2. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons to a handful of flour. 
3. Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling pin, starting in the middle and working your way out, until it measures roughly 10-12 inches (25½ cm by 30½ cm) in diameter. (* i measure mine : 24 x 40 inches :))
4. Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of melted butter on top. (*i skip this step)
5. With the rolling pin, stretch dough out from the center until the dough is thin and uniformly opaque. As you work, continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn’t sticking.
6. When you think it the dough is thin enough, try to get it a little thinner. It should be so thin that you can see the color and perhaps the pattern of the sheet underneath.
7. Spread the filling evenly over the dough until all covered.
8. Lift the edge of the cloth (the one closest to you) and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll.
9. Once the dough is rolled up into a rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan in the shape of a “U”, with the ends meeting in the middle. You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced.
10. Repeat with the second loaf, coiling the dough in second loaf pan.

Topping:
2 tablespoons (30 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee
1½ teaspoons Sugar
Melted Butter

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together.

1. Brush the top of each loaf with topping mixture. (* I just simply brush mine with egg white that left from the filling :)
2. Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for approximately 15 minutes.

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
2. Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.
3. Turn down the oven temperature to slow 300°F/150°C/gas mark 2 and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until done.
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes, still in the bread pan. Remember, the bread weighs about 2.5 and it needs to be able to hold its own weight, which is difficult when still warm and fresh out of the oven. Allowing it to cool in the pan helps the loaf to hold its shape.
5. It is recommended that the best way to cut Povitica loaves into slices is by turning the loaf upside down and slicing with a serrated knife. 

All Done!!!

I cannot help but to play with it. It's just look so much like Butterfly wings ^_^ to me.

Don't you agree?!?!!?

Please give this a try and E-N-J-O-Y!!! ^_^

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