From a Pot: Potica - Slovenian nut roll

Dough

• Flour: 500 g

• Dry yeast: 5 g

• Salt: 1 teaspoon

• Sugar: 40 g

• Egg yolks: 2

• Rum: 1 teaspoon

• Butter: 70 g

• Milk: 290 ml

• Lemon zest

Filling

• Walnuts: 450 g

• Coffee: 1 teaspoon

• Cocoa: 1 teaspoon

• Rum: 2 tablespoons

• Cinnamon: 0.5 teaspoon

• Butter: 80 g

• Heavy cream: 150 ml

• Sugar: 100 g

• Egg: 1

• Vanilla sugar: 10 g

• Orange juice: 1 tablespoon

Coating

• Egg: 1

• Milk: 1 tablespoon

1. In a small cup mix together lukewarm milk, sugar and yeast. Then let it rest at a warm place for about 10 minutes so that the yeast activates.
2. Separate egg whites from egg yolks.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, egg yolk then add in the yeast. Mix for about a minute and then add in the yeast, melted butter and other ingredients. Knead for about 10 to 20 minutes to get a smooth dough. Use hands or an electric mixer.

1. There are two options when proofing the potica, overnight and classic.
2. In the classic way of proofing, cover the dough with a kitchen towel and leave it to rise for one hour at room temperature (or until double the size).
3. Then roll out the dough on a floured tablecloth - the dough should be about 40 x 40 cm long and about 0.5 cm thick. Coat it with a walnut filling from edge to edge (leave some space at the top side), then roll it tightly into a long log.
4. Transfer the dough to the greased baking tray, so that the part where the dough is rolled (seam part), is looking up. After transferring the dough to the baking tray, pierce it in several places with a toothpick. Cover it with a kitchen towel and leave it to rise at room temperature for about an hour or so until the dough doubles in size.
5. In the overnight proofing, let the dough rest for about 15 minutes after kneading, then roll it out, coat it with the filling and transfer it to a greased baking tray. Pierce it in several places with a toothpick, cover it with a kitchen towel then leave it to rise for about 12 hours in a cold place like fridge.

1. Heat the heavy cream and butter until warm (but not too hot) and pour it over the walnuts. Wait for the walnuts to cool slightly before adding the egg and other ingredients. Let the filling rest for at least half an hour so that the walnuts are soaked with all the ingredients.

1. Before putting potica in the oven, mix one egg with a spoonful of milk and spread it over the top of potica for a shiny look.

1. Bake the potica in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees F) for about 45 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees F). Cover the potica with parchment paper (to keep it from burning), and bake for another 20 minutes or so until golden brown.
2. When you take it out of the oven, cover it with a kitchen towel and let it cool. When it’s cold, invert it to a plate, then sprinkle some icing sugar on top.