Povitica revisited

 

 

For this month’s baking challenge, Kelly of A Messy Kitchen asked us to make Povitica (PoviTeetsa), a rolled and filled bread from Eastern Europe.  I recall that about 10 years ago, when Daring Bakers was in existence, we all baked this delicious bread, so it was time to revisit it.  Of course, that meant getting out and assembling my infamous strudel table.  

 

Many, many years ago, I learned how to make strudel from scratch, and my S.O. at the time built me a special table to make it easier.  The legs are removable for easy storage, and it’s helpful to be able to freely move around all sides of the table when stretching the dough.

 

I used walnuts and cinnamon for the filling this time, and it smelled heavenly while baking.  One of the fun things about this loaf is that every time a piece is cut, it looks different.  You can really see the swirls and layers.  I almost made the loaf with a cream cheese and jam filling (either cherry jam or lemon curd), but this time opted for walnuts.

 

For the recipe and shaping techniques, go to Kelly’s website.  If you want to join in as a Buddy, be sure to contact Kelly by May 30^th.

Then, check out the versions that the other Babes baked.

 

 

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly (Kitchen of the Month)
• My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna 
• Bread Experience – Cathy                                           
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups – Tanna  
• Feeding My Enthusiasms – Elle

 

 

 

Bread Baking Babes: Olive Oil Wreath

 

 

This month’s Kitchen of the Month is Karen from Karen’s Kitchen Stories.  Our challenge was to make a bread wreath using a lovely olive oil dough.  My personal challenge was the shaping part.

While I made the full recipe for the biga, I halved the recipe for the actual wreath, primarily because I don’t have any counter space that is 42” long.  Using a 21” strand of dough  gave me the opportunity to make the loaf several times, experimenting with the shaping part.  (Although I should have also scaled down the cutting distance from 3” to 1 ½”.  That occurred to me at 3 am one morning.)

The first test was forming the wreath, letting it rise, then making the cuts just before baking.  I have this fear of deflating the dough when I cut or score, and I’m sure that did happen, because the dough just didn’t seem to rise that much.

 

The second test was forming the wreath, making the cuts, then letting it rise.  This turned out to be a puffier loaf, but the cuts sort of blended together instead of being more separate.  The crumb was better than the first loaf.  And, if you squint, you can imagine the wreath shape.

 

For the third test, I used the remaining biga and made a whole loaf (no wreath), and I did the scoring before letting it rise.  I was happy with the result, but I’m still struggling with scoring time:  before or after rising?  I don’t understand how bakers can make intricate designs and not deflate the dough.

 

That said, this is a great dough for any shape of bread.  I’ll continue to work on my scoring/cutting so they don't look so demented.

If you’re interested in baking along with us, go to Karen’s blog for the recipe, and send her your information by April 29^th to be included in the Buddy roundup.

 

I'm also sure you will enjoy seeing what the other Babes made!

 

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen (Kitchen of the Month)
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
• My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna 
• Bread Experience – Cathy                                           
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups – Tanna  
• Feeding My Enthusiasms – Elle