Povitica 2 Austrian Holiday Bread

Submitted by Steve P.

"This is a traditional sweet Christmas bread made both in Austria and Poland. This is the Austrian version. I have posted the Polish version seperately as well ;-)"

 

• Ready In: 6hrs
• Ingredients: 15
• Yields: 1 Very large spiral loaf

ingredients

• For Dough

• 1 cup milk, scalded
• 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 1⁄4 lb butter, melted
• 1 1⁄2 cups water
• 2 packages yeast
• 1⁄2 cup water (warm)
• 3 eggs
• 9 cups flour, approximate

• For Filling

• 2 lbs ground walnuts
• 2 cups milk, scalded
• 1⁄4 cup butter
• 2 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 4 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 beaten eggs

directions

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, then mix remaining ingredients as you would for bread with about 9 cups flour (Do not add the flour all at once; 9 cups is approximate, as with all bread many things including temperature and humidity effect how much flour you need. Use enough to make a smooth pliable nonsticky dough); knead well.
2. Let rise 2 hours.
3. Mix filling ingredients together while milk is still warm.
4. Spread or roll dough on table top, making sure you have no holes.
5. Spread filling on top.
6. Roll up, then coil as a snake.
7. Let rise 2 hours in large greased roaster.
8. Bake 2 hours at 350°F.

Reviews

[littleturtle]

Very good. Tastes a lot like cinnamon rolls. I cut the recipe down to 1/3 and it still made a huge loaf, easily enough for 25 servings. This was a lot of effort, but I mixed and kneaded in my bread maker, and that helped a lot. I did end up using all of the flour called for and even a little extra to make it not sticky. Things got a little messy spreading the filling and rolling it all up. Seems like it would be at least a two person job, working with the full-sized loaf. The filling leaked out all around the edges and burns rather quickly once it does, so I had to cover this loosely with tinfoil and I'd recommend lining the pan with parchment paper to keep anything from sticking because having greased the pan doesn't make much difference if your filling leaks out. The outside was done at 60 minutes, but the inside could have been a little more done for my tastes, so I would drop the heat a little next time. Thanks for sharing.

 

[starrster123]

I made this recipe last year for Christmas. Actually, it was a combination of recipes (Polish and Austrian versions co-mingled). I then sent 2 of the loaves by mail as Christmas gifts (just wrapped them in Saran wrap and put into cake tins). They arrived beautifully and there was no problem with freshness. Both of the recipients went wild. To say the least, they were huge hits. I addes small choc. chips and raisins instead of the cocoa, doubled the cinnamon of the Polish version and added 1/2 cup honey. WOW! I am sending the same gifts this year to the same people and I just thought I'd let you know, this is the best dessert I have ever made, period!