SLOVENIAN WALNUT, POPPY SEED AND JAM ROLL (POTICA)

INGREDIENTS and INSTRUCTIONS:

YEAST DOUGH:
500 g all purpose flour
300 g lukewarm milk
7 g dry yeast or 20 g fresh yeast
1 teaspoon salt
50 g sugar
60 g soft butter
1 tablespoon rum
2 egg yolks

WALNUT FILLING:
200 g ground walnuts
100 g sugar
1 tablespoon rum
a pinch of ground cloves
1 egg white (optional)
some milk (to make the filling thick)… less than 100 ml

POPPY SEED FILLING:
200 g ground poppy seeds
150 ml boiled milk
100 g sugar
1 tablespoon rum
grated lemon peel
1 egg white
cinnamon

JAM FILLING:
350 g Cranberry jam
100 - 150 g ground almonds

INSTRUCTIONS:

YEAST DOUGH:
Knead a pliable dough from the listed ingredients.
Heat the milk to make it lukewarm.
Dissolve the yeast in 50 ml of lukewarm milk with 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Heat the butter (do not melt it).
Put the flour in a bowl. Make a hole in the middle, where you pour the fermented yeast and milk. Mix with a portion of the flour into a thick paste.
Add salt (be careful not to get in contact with the yeast mixture), sugar and egg yolk on the flour along the edge of the bowl. Mix with electric mixer, then add rum and butter. Knead until the dough is completely smooth.

When making yeast dough, the kneaded dough has to have some rise time. During rising, the yeast ferments (eats) the sugar and develops the dough. Rising also improves the flavor and texture of the dough.
After kneading, divide the dough in 3 parts (one part should be a little bigger… .this will be the outer layer of potica) and shape them into balls.
Place them in 3 lightly oiled bowls. The dough should be turned over to oil the top so that it doesn’t dry out. Cover the bowls loosely with plastic wrap, foil, or a towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free location. Ideal rise temperatures are between 80°F – 90°F; higher temperatures may kill the yeast and keep the dough from rising; lower temperatures will slow the yeast activity which will increase your rise time.

ASSEMBLING:
1. Roll out the first, larger loaf into a 3 mm thick rectangle.
2. Spread it with walnut filling
3. Roll out the second loaf into a 3 mm thick rectangle.
4. Place it over the walnut filling.
5. Spread it with poppy seed filling.
6. Roll out the third loaf into a 3 mm thick rectangle.
7. Place it over the poppy seed filling.
8. Spread it with the mixture of the cranberry jam and ground almonds.
9. Roll the dough tight along the longer side. Keep it seam-side down.
10. Put the roll in a baking mold, well greased with the butter.
11. Press the roll in the mold with your hands to get good contact between all the layers of the roll.
12. Knit the roll with a needle right to the bottom.
13. Cover the mold with a plastic wrap.
14. Let it rise for 20 minutes in a warm location.
15. Place the mold with the rised roll into a cold oven.
16. Bake it in a non pre-heated static oven at 190°C – 375°F for 55 minutes.