Slovenian Nut Roll (Potica) Recipe (2024)

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Nana’s Potica recipe – a Slovenian nut roll traditionally served at Easter and Christmas, or any family gathering. Make this dessert to give as gifts or for holiday dinner parties. Grandma makes the best potica!

Slovenian Nut Roll (Potica) Recipe (1)

My Nana was an awesome baker.

When I would visit her in summers growing up, I would spend hours leafing through her cookbooks with dreams of owning my own bakery when I grew up.

Little did either of us know that my fascination would instead turn into a food blog one day.

I’m actually trying to imaginetrying to explain what a blog is to my Nana. I’m not sure she even understood whata computer is!

I know I’mso lucky to have these memories of her since most people never even know their great-grandparents, let alone get to spend time with them in the kitchen.

My Nana passed away a couple weeks ago. She would have turned 99 years old this summer. Maybe her baking had something to do with her long life?

I’ll believe it.

I’ve sharedher Easter bread recipe on here before, and another recipe she would make for the holiday is this sweet potica (pronounced po-teet-sah).

A traditional Slovenian nut roll traditionally made for Easter and Christmas.

Making her potica recipe seemed like a perfect way to honor Nana.

The yeast dough is refrigerated (trust me, this helps), then rolled out and a sweet walnut filling is scooped on top. Then rolled tightly.

Try not to overstuff the filling before rolling – if you have leftover you can always add it as a topping.

Slovenian Nut Roll (Potica) Recipe (2)
Slovenian Nut Roll (Potica) Recipe (3)
Slovenian Nut Roll (Potica) Recipe (4)

I made 4 loaves out of my batch, which is why they are smaller circles than you might have seen in potica before.

If you separate the dough into only 2 larger loaves then you’ll get more of the “swirls”.

You’ll just need a larger area to roll out the dough initially, but they will obviously be thicker rolls resulting in more layers.

Slovenian Nut Roll (Potica) Recipe (5)

Everyone in my family loves this bread.

One time my aunt TRIPLEDthe recipe, and still had to make more for Easter brunch because everyone was eating it up.

I hope you’re proud, Nana. Love you.

Slovenian Nut Roll (Potica) Recipe (6)

Need more Easter recipe ideas? Check out this list of 40+ vegetarian Easter mains, sides, and desserts.

Yield: 2 loaves

Nana's Potica

Slovenian Nut Roll (Potica) Recipe (7)

Nana's Potica recipe - a Slovenian nut roll traditionally served at Easter and Christmas.

Prep Time45 minutes

Cook Time30 minutes

Rise time2 hours

Total Time3 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the bread:

  • 4 1/2 teaspoons yeast, (2 packets)
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 egg yolks, (save the egg whites for the filling)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (plus more for rolling out as needed)

For the walnut filling:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 lb ground walnuts
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, add the yeast and water and mix together to make a paste. Set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add salt, egg yolks, sour cream, and start adding the flour 1 cup at a time until combined.
  3. Add the proofed yeast (should be bubbly) to the flour mixture and combine. Dough will be sticky.
  4. Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight (see note*)
  5. Remove dough from fridge and separate into 2 balls (***see notes)
  6. Roll out each ball into rectangles (about 1/4 of an inch works well), adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking.
  7. Mix together all ingredients for nut filling and spread evenly over dough, leaving a little room near the edges so it doesn't overflow when rolled.
  8. Roll tightly.
  9. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  10. Let rise for 1 hour (will rise more in the oven if the dough has been refrigerated for a longer time)
  11. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until browned.

Notes

I tried this recipe by refrigerating the dough only briefly (30 minutes to an hour) and also overnight. If you are in a hurry, it will still turn out mostly the same by refrigerating briefly but the longer time will help the dough be more manageable when you need to roll it out from my experience.

*Calories are for 1/12 of a loaf based on 2 loaves.

**This nut roll can be served hot or cooled - whichever your preference! Kind of like a cookie. I prefer room temperature.

***I made 4 loaves out of my batch, which is why they are smaller circles than you might have seen in potica before. If you separate the dough into only 2 larger loaves then you'll get more of the "swirls". You'll just need a larger area to roll out the dough initially, but they will obviously be thicker rolls resulting in more layers.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1/24 of recipe

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 309Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 105mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 2gSugar: 18gProtein: 5g

Nutrition information is calculated automatically by an online tool at Nutritionix. It is not always accurate. Please use your own tools to check if you rely on this information.

Slovenian Nut Roll (Potica) Recipe (10)
Slovenian Nut Roll (Potica) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What nationality is Potica? ›

The Slovenian holidays smell of Potica. Potica is ranked number one in Slovenian traditional holiday pastries. It is made from folded and rolled out yeast dough and filled with various fillings. Slovenian housekeepers are happy to bake it even outside the holiday season to pamper their loved ones.

What is the difference between Potica and povitica? ›

Slovenska potica is variation of rolled pastry. The word potica as well as some regional names for potica, like povtica, potvica, etc. are descended from the word povitica. Povitica is derived from the verb 'poviti', which means to wrap in or to envelop, and it signifies a type of pastry that you roll.

What is Potica made of? ›

Potica is a yeasted sweet bread stuffed with sweet walnut fillings and then roll up to form those beautiful layers when you cut the bread. The bread is usually is a ring shape baked in a special mold calls potičnik made with ceramic, which looks like a bundt pan.

What are the different types of potica? ›

The most common one is walnut potica (you can find a recipe here). It's juicy, often complemented with raisins soaked in rum. But there are other kinds, like tarragon potica or coconut potica made with chocolate dough, or even the one with pork cracknels (I've never had it, it just doesn't seem right).

What is the most famous Slovenian dessert? ›

Slovenian desserts are just as diverse as the towns and villages they originated in. However, some traditional recipes have won over the hearts of all generations across Slovenia. The most famous one is definitely potica; there is Bled cream cake, and there are štruklji, which can even be eaten as the main dish.

What is the difference between babka and potica? ›

Babka may be the most well-known, but it is not the only twisted or braided bread from Eastern Europe. Povitica, an Easter bread from Slovenia and Croatia, is a similar enriched bread rolled with a walnut filling. Compared to babka, potivica is rolled much thinner and has an elaborate pattern of tight spirals.

What is the traditional festive pastry in Slovenia? ›

Potica is arguably the most famous and the most popular Slovenian authentic dessert. It's a rolled pastry made of leavened dough filled with a wide selection of fillings. Every household, or at least family, has someone, usually an older female, who knows how to make some type of Potica.

How long can you keep Potica? ›

Once received, your povitica will remain soft and fresh for up to a week on your countertop. If you're aiming for a bit longer, keep each loaf cool in your refrigerator for up to two weeks. If you have the will power, you can freeze your Povitica for up to three months.

Is Potica Hungarian? ›

Potica (po-TEET-zah) is a wonderful bread from Slovenia with a sweet, nutty filling.

What is another name for Potica? ›

Nut rolls are known also by many specific regional names, including: orechovník in Slovak; makowiec in Polish; potica, povitica, gibanica, orahnjača/orehnjača in Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian (walnut variant, makovnjača for variant with poppy seed, in Croatia can also be made with carob); kalács and bejgli in Hungarian; ...

How do you pronounce Potica bread? ›

01/18/2023 | 1m 18s | Take a trip to Virginia, MN, where we learned about making the Slovenian sweet bread treat, Potica (pronounced poh-TEET-sah).

How many calories in a piece of Potica? ›

POTICA (NUT ROLL) CALORIES & NUTRITION VALUES

One serving of Nut Roll has 334 calories (155 calories from fat), 17.2g total fat (7.0g saturated fat), 58mg cholesterol, 509mg sodium, 150mg potassium, 37.9g total carbohydrates (1.9g dietary fiber, 10.1g sugar). One serving of Potica contains 8.6g protein.

What does Potica mean? ›

A cake or bread filled with (ground) nuts, popular in Slovenia and in Croatia. (In particular, the Slovene variant of this pastry, in contrast to the Croatian variant, termed a povitica.) Wiktionary.

When was Potica invented? ›

Potica was first mentioned as early as the 16th century. Today, it is considered a symbol of Slovenian cuisine, a traditional guaranteed speciality that is undergoing a protection procedure under the auspices of the European Commission.

Is potica Hungarian? ›

Potica (po-TEET-zah) is a wonderful bread from Slovenia with a sweet, nutty filling.

What does potica mean? ›

A cake or bread filled with (ground) nuts, popular in Slovenia and in Croatia. (In particular, the Slovene variant of this pastry, in contrast to the Croatian variant, termed a povitica.) Wiktionary.

Why is povitica so expensive? ›

Because making povitica is quite labour intensive, what with stretching the dough out to cover your entire kitchen table, it is available for purchase from specialty bakeries for ridiculous prices – upwards of $25 a loaf!

What is another name for potica? ›

Nut rolls are known also by many specific regional names, including: orechovník in Slovak; makowiec in Polish; potica, povitica, gibanica, orahnjača/orehnjača in Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian (walnut variant, makovnjača for variant with poppy seed, in Croatia can also be made with carob); kalács and bejgli in Hungarian; ...

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