The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Slovenian Potica Rolls (Nut Rolls)

Dwayne's picture
Dwayne

Slovenian Potica Rolls (Nut Rolls)

A while back I saw a picture in a Christmas catalog of a very cool looking pastry/coffee cake and I asked here on TFL How did they do this?  I got the help that I was looking for from this great community.  

I've been experimenting with Cinnamon Rolls now for a while.  I am using the term Cinnamon Rolls very loosely here, I guess that a better term would be "Stuff rolled up in dough", however that just does not sound as good.

So basically what I did was to take my Cinnamon Roll Dough recipe and made it into Nut Rolls using the Potica filling.  I used JoeV's recipe for the filling (see link above).  You might want to follow JoeV's Dough recipe as well, this makes a lot so you may want to make a half batch.

I've now made this twice, once with Almonds and once with Walnuts (Pecans will be my next test and then maybe Hazel Nuts).

So I made my dough as I always do and rolled it out very thin.  I put the Potica filling on top.  I began rolling up the dough (stretching it even thinner as I roll).  I got a big surprise here.  The Potica filling was wet where as my Cinnamon Roll filling is dry and things were behaving a lot differently.  It was a bit harder working with the dough and rolling it up.  When I got all done it felt like I had a tube sock full of mush.


I was stuck with the challenge of trying to slice the rolls and to place them in the pan.  I made the cuts quickly and then using the knife blade as a spatula picked up the roll and placed it on the pan.  I usually like to make my rows all nice and straight but there was no way that I could do that.  I was just happy to be able to scoop them up and place them as best as I could in the pan.

I let them raise in the pan for a while and then baked them the way I usually do for Cinnamon Rolls.  Again another surprise, they took longer to bake because of the wet filling.  (I know, I'm a slow learner)  I left them in until they looked done.


 

I let them cool for 10 minutes and made a Powered Sugar/Milk frosting.  I put this in a zip lock baggie and trimmed off a corner and then just went back and forth over the rolls squeezing out the frosting.


The last surprise was the way that they tasted.  They were a lot lighter and moister than my Cinnamon Rolls.  The nut filling gave the rolls a great flavor.  Beware: these are very rich.

What I will do differently next time:
1. Hold back the milk from the filling and make it less wet.  I want to be able shape these like I do my Cinnamon rolls.
2. Bake a bit longer.
3. Make a smaller batch or I won't get any smaller.

 

Happy Baking, Dwayne

Comments

R.Acosta's picture
R.Acosta

These look delicious! I feel like this would be something you would walk by a bakery window on the street and then stop and drool over before they drew you inside.  The icing was a terrific touch.  However messy the process might have been, they definitely look worth it! yum!

-Rachel

breadbakin fool's picture
breadbakin fool

I grew up eating these, and the more traditional way to make them would be to just roll up the dough with the nut filling and bake it as a whole loaf, then slice into pieces once it's done baking.  It would probably be a lot easier and not as messy also.  I made this at Christmas this year, but I don't have any pics.  Try it with poppyseed, or slightly sweetened ricotta cheese mixed with  raisens,  vanilla and orange zest as a filling also. It's great. 

Terry

Dwayne's picture
Dwayne

Terry,

 

While look into this a bit I did see that the traditional way to make these was in the shape of a loaf, I've just been experimenting (aka Playing Around).  Thanks for telling me about the other fillings that are used.  I'll do some more searching for these other types.

 

Thanks, Dwayne

breadbakin fool's picture
breadbakin fool

I think I might have to try your method also. Those pics of yours sure look tasty. 

  Terry

MontBaybaker's picture
MontBaybaker

Wet filling or not, these look fantastic!  I recently had a softer sweet roll dough (new recipe) plus a slightly wetter filling (miscalculated increasing my usual filling).  Next time I'll add some ground nuts.  I could tell slicing rolls for overnight fridge proof would be a mess, and put the sheet tray with the filled roll (on Silpat) in the freezer for 15? minutes.  It stopped the roll spreading & helped firm up everything enough to cut slices so I could go to bed.  The rolls baked up beautifully in the morning.  Can't wait to try these recipes.  Thanks for sharing!

Dwayne's picture
Dwayne

Thanks for the idea, I had not thought of that.  That might have made this job much easier and the end product look much nicer.

 

Dwayne

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

a half hour to make slicing perfect and easy easy as pie but not as tasty!  These have to be about as tasty as they get too.  I like a bit of lemon in the glaze to cut the fat a bit.  Learned that for the 3 grandmas that sadly are down to 2 now.  I miss them.

Happy baking Dwayne