Whew!  I think I’m making this post just under the October deadline (it’s 1 week after the 27th, right? :D)!  I’m glad I made myself do this challenge too – it was straight-forward and delicious!

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

I’d actually been excited for this povitica challenge since it was announced on the Daring Baker forums in the beginning of October.  After reading over the commentary and directions for this tasty-sweet loaf, I realized it sounded remarkably like the kolache my Grandmother makes every year.  In fact, in the announcement post on the DB forums povitica is described as being of Eastern European origin and is also known as “kalachi”.  Sounds familiar, right?

Basically this was a grand excuse to try out a slight spin on a recipe I’d already made…and I love me an excuse to make kolache, or any derivative thereof.  The process was basically exactly like the one my Grandmother uses, with the twist of making the loaf extra long and then folding it into the pan so the loaf gets a few extra swirls in it.

Luckily for me I’ve had more experience with yeast since the last time I took a stab at kolache-making, so my loaf rose correctly this time around and turned out light and fluffy, as opposed to brick-like.  One problem I did run into, though, was one I actually have pretty frequently: basic lack of counter space.  The directions for the povitica encouraged the baker to roll out the dough as much as possible, even to the point of translucency on the counter.  Unfortunately, even though I used the quartered recipe, my small counter space didn’t allow me to get it as thin as I would have liked.

As usual, though, I shrugged and moved on!

Not having the time or patience (or money – dear god nuts are expensive!) for making the nut filling, I relied on the tried’n’true (‘n’delicious) filling I still had lurking in my pantry: poppy seed!  Luckily the one can I had left just covered the one roll.  I was pleased, if a bit skeptical about how poppy seed-y it would taste in the end.

Then commenced the rolling!  Not as bad as I thought it’d be, to be honest, though there was some slight swearing involved.  The directions had said specifically to be gentle with the dough and peel it up from the counter often as it tends to get stuck (thus making you swear).  Still, because I was worried about over-flouring the dough I ended up not using enough and having to take extra care to be gentle with it.  Slightly tedious, but not a big deal in the end.  I managed to only tear the dough once, and only near an edge.  Huzzah!

   

As you can see here, from left to right, I have first rolled the dough into a long…uh…string?  Log?  Tube thingy?  Take your pick.  Next it’s laid in a U-shape in the pan with the ends hanging over, and the finally the ends get folded into the pan on top of each other.  The kolache I’d made before were simply one roll, done log-style and then finished.  This has a nice extra bit of flair with the extra layers of folding.

Which resulted in…

A bit lumpy, I’ll admit, but very pretty when cut open…and absolute heaven when you eat it.

Sometimes when I try something new I automatically assume it won’t taste quite right, especially if I feel like I’ve skipped a few steps (either intentionally or accidentally).  In this case, though, I was astounded by the final product.  Fresh from the oven the dough was sweet and warm, and the amount of poppy seed filling I’d used was perfect.  It added just the right amount of flavoring to make it more than just a sweet loaf.

This was a great treat for me to make and as I mentioned before, super straight-forward to make.  This is another one of those recipes that don’t require too much work but is sure to impress everybody around you.  If you’re not afraid of puttering with yeast and getting some flour on your hands (or more annoyingly, all over your counter), you should really check this recipe out.  It’s absolutely worth any and all work you put into it!  Oh, and you can totally buy poppy seed filling at your local Publix now.  Go team!

Povitica Recipe

Here, because I’m too lazy to type the whole thing out!  Enjoy!