Povitica Food

AMAZING TRADITIONAL CROATIAN POVITICA

Steps:

• Combine filling ingredients in a heavy saucepan.
• Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the mixture for about 30 minutes or until the mixture is fairly thick (remember this will be the filling inside the bread and it shouldn't be runny) Let cool.
• In a large heated bowl, combine yeast, warm water.
• and 1/2 tsp.
• sugar.
• Stir until yeast is dissolved.
• Set in a warm place for about 5 minutes, until foamy.
• Combine 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter and salt.
• Add boiling water, stir and cool until lukewarm.
• Add this mixture to yeast.
• Stir in beaten eggs and add flour gradually.
• Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 5 minutes.
• Do not over flour this it should be softer than regular bread dough.
• Place in a greased bowl, cover and set in a warm place to rise until double in bulk.
• Put dough in center of a lightly floured work table and roll out as thin as possible with a rolling pin, maintaining a square or rectangle shape.
• The thinner you are able to roll the dough the better this will turn out.
• Spread the pulled dough evenly with the prepared.
• filling.
• Roll up the povitica as for a jelly roll.
• Cut roll in half and place each half into a greased bread pan two inches deep and form it into an"S" shape.
• Tuck in the ends and flatten it a little.
• Cover and let raise for 2-1/2 hours in a warm place.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 375° for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350° for 50 minutes until nicely browned.
• Cool in pan for 30 minutes then remove from pan.
• and finish cooling on wire rack.
• alternate fillings could be your favorite fruit cooked down with sugar into almost a jam, cream cheese mixed with egg and powdered sugar or even your favorite pumpkin pie filling.

POVITICA 2 AUSTRIAN HOLIDAY BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, then mix remaining ingredients as you would for bread with about 9 cups flour (Do not add the flour all at once; 9 cups is approximate, as with all bread many things including temperature and humidity effect how much flour you need. Use enough to make a smooth pliable nonsticky dough); knead well.
• Let rise 2 hours.
• Mix filling ingredients together while milk is still warm.
• Spread or roll dough on table top, making sure you have no holes.
• Spread filling on top.
• Roll up, then coil as a snake.
• Let rise 2 hours in large greased roaster.
• Bake 2 hours at 350°F.

BELOKRANJSKA POVITICA

Steps:

• Mix ingredients for dough into a soft satin dough (about 10 minutes) and divide it into 4 smaller balls, brush them with oil and let them rest for about 1/2 hour.
• Spread out an old clean tablecloth on the table and sprinkle lightly with flour. Place the dough balls one a t a time on the cloth and roll out to a rectangle as thin as possible, lifting and turning it to prevent it from sticking.
• Gently stretch the rectangle, working from the centre to the outside, and using the backs on the hands until it is very thin. Trim the thick edges. Leave to dry and rest for 10-15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining three dough balls.
• Have the fill prepared beforehand. For the fill - If you want to make it as the original and I suggest you do because it does make a difference - skrlupec (baked cream) and fresh cheese (ricotta) is made as following: Take 5 liter fresh milk (NOT reduced fat!) refrigerated for at least 12 hours in a pot. Slowly warm it up on a stove to a temperature just under boiling and keep it there for a while until a thick layer of cream with a skin forms on the top. Heat the oven to 200°C and put the milk off the stove to cool down a little. When the oven is at 200°C put the milk pot into the oven for 10-15 minutes so the cream that formed on the milk gets a thin unevenly brownish crust. Then collect the baked cream from the milk with a spatula or a big spoon and put it in a bowl--this is "skrlupec" or baked fresh cream. For fresh cheese (ricotta) put the remaining milk back on the stove and warm it to a simmer slowly. Put a teaspoon (or tablespoon if using less acid vinegar) of apple cider vinegar and salt into the milk and turn off the stove. Milk starts turning into cheese. Leave it to cool down to room temperature (round 1 and 1/2h or more) so you can collect the fresh cheese (ricotta) from the cheese water with a clean cloth. Press the cheese in the cloth to drain it and make it firmer. The cheese has to be white, not green or grey.
• Alternatively if you don't want to bother with the extra work or don't have time you can use a ricotta from the store (500 g package) to which you add a mixture of 0.2 l sour cream, 0.1 l milk and 200 grams butter.
• Mix 2 eggs with the cheese/baked cream mixture (or bought ricotta, sour cream, butter and milk mix) and 2 full teaspoons of salt or sugar into a thick mass.
• For special occasions you can add grape raisins into the fill of the sweet variety or pork cracklings to the salty variety.
• Spread the fill evenly on the 4 stretched dough rectangles.
• Roll the dough into rolls, close both ends by stuffing the outer ends into the roll - towards the center. Fit the four rolls into a baking pan. If the rolls are too big, fit two and two together.
• Brush it with beaten egg and bake at 200°C approximately 30 minutes.

POVITICA

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water.
• scald milk.
• add butter and sugar cool to lukewarm.
• add yeast and well beaten eggs and salt.
• add 1/2 of the sifted flour.
• rise until double in bulk.
• knead in remaining flour.
• roll to 1/8 inch thick.
• filling.
• grind nuts as fine as possible.
• combine all ingredents .
• spread 1/4 of filling on 1/4 of dough and roll like cinnamon rolls.
• place in greased loaf pan folding under ends.
• brush with beaten egg.
• bake @350 for 1 hour.

POVITICA POLISH HOLIDAY BREAD

Steps:

• Sweet Dough preparation: Combine warm milk, sugar, salt, softened butter, and beaten eggs.
• Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to other ingredients.
• Add half of flour, mix well until smooth.
• Add flour to handle easily.
• Knead dough on lightly floured board.
• Put dough in greased bowl, cover and place in warm, draft free place until doubled in size.
• Punch down and let double again.
• Divide dough in three parts.
• Roll each part until very thin in rectangular shape.
• Spread filling, roll and twist in circular shape like a snail or cinnamon roll.
• Place in greased 8” or 9” cake pans.
• Cover, put in warm place and let rise.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 45 minutes.
• Makes three loaves.
• Filling preparation: In heavy pan, over medium heat, combine sugar, milk and margarine and heat.
• Add nuts, then beaten eggs and mix well.
• Boil one minutes stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat, add pinch of salt, cocoa and cinnamon and mix well.
• Let cool till just warm enough to spread.

TRADITIONAL CROATIAN POVITICA

Steps:

• Combine filling ingredients except raisins in a heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the mixture is fairly thick (about 30 minutes). Set aside to cool.
• In a large heated bowl, combine yeast, warm water and 1/2 tsp sugar; stir until yeast is dissolved. Set in a warm place for about 5 minutes, until foamy.
• Combine 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter and salt. Add boiling water; stir and cool until lukewarm. Add this mixture to yeast.
• Stir in beaten eggs and add flour gradually.
• Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 5 minutes. This will be softer than bread dough. Place in a greased bowl; cover and set in a warm place to rise until double in bulk.
• Method for rolling out dough: Cover a work table with a large cotton dish towel or a cloth large enough to cover the entire table. Sprinkle cloth lightly with flour all over the cloth. Put dough in center and roll out as thin as possible with a rolling pin, maintaining a square or rectangle shape.
• Spread the pulled dough evenly with the prepared filling.
• Sprinkle with raisins.
• Roll up the povitica as for a jelly roll, by lifting the cloth up on one side and letting the dough roll itself up.
• Place in a large greased baking pan, two inches deep and form it into an "S" shape. Tuck in the ends and flatten it a little. This may also be cut in half and baked in angel food cake pans or bread pans.
• Cover and let raise for 2-1/2 hours in a warm place.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 50 minutes until nicely browned.
• Cool in pan for 30 minutes then remove from pan and finish cooling on wire rack.