Let the baking begin....

This week went by so fast. I came back from Illinois on Monday morning and worked here in Colorado this week. Only one more week until I'm off to New York City and I can't wait!!! I started doing some baking last night when I got home. I stayed up until midnight making Povitica. Povitica, also known as Potica is a yeast raised dough that has various fillings rolled up inside. The name comes from the Slovenian word poviti, which means "to wrap in." (The temperature here in Denver has dipped to single digits, so I think I may "poviti" myself in a blanket!!!) There are all sorts of fillings that you can use inside your povitica, but mine is a combination of walnuts, pecans, butter, cocoa and cinnamon. The dough has to raise three times total, so it's not something you can whip together quickly. Here's the recipe I used:

Povitica

For the dough:

1 1/2 cups warm milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

7-8 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine milk, sugar, salt, butter and beaten eggs. Add the yeast mixture. Add about half of the flour and mix until smooth. Gradually add more flour until dough is no longer sticky and easy to handle. Switch to dough hook and knead until smooth. Put the dough in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled. Punch down the dough and let rise until doubled again. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll out on a floured surface to a very, very thin rectangle. Spread the filling over dough and roll up. Povitica can be shaped into a loaf or twist into a cinnamon roll shape. Place on greased baking sheet or in greased 9inch round pan. Let rise . Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

For the filling:

1 - 12oz. can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 sticks butter

3/4 pound pecans, ground fine

3/4 pound walnuts, ground fine

4 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

In a heavy pan, combine sugar, evaporated milk and butter. Heat until butter has melted and sugar is dissolved. Add the nuts, then the eggs and mix well. Boil for about one minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Let the filling cool slightly.