Povitica (apple cinnamon rolled bread)

I saw this bread in a catalog around Christmas time - retailing for $35 a loaf! Whaaaat? So that immediately made we want to make this bread and see why in the world you'd pay $35 for a loaf of bread. I'd never heard of it, so naturally I turned to my friend Google and found a bunch of recipes - most have nuts in them which Dave can't have so I chose this apple-cinnamon-no-nut recipe at random. Shoulda paid a little more attention to the recipe, after I started it I realize there are a few errors printed and no pictures of the steps - let's just say pictures of the steps and accurate instructions would have been helpful! So I have no idea if I did this correctly, but in the end it looks right on the inside and it is DELICIOUS! 

It's great. And pretty. It's a lot of steps and doesn't come together quickly and there were lots of dishes and a mess to clean up - but it's delicious and worth it. Now that I have a bit more knowledge I will absolutely make this again and it'll be easier next time. I did take some pics of the steps for you, I'm putting them below the recipe - just remember I might not have done it right hahahah. End result is good tho so that's what matters.

Dave walked into the kitchen when I was cleaning up and goes 'it's a 35 dollar loaf of bread because of how much work and mess it is' LOL. Point. 

I'm linking the source recipe below but will write it for you how I made it (which means I'm writing it and hopefully correcting the errors!). 

One more thing, just FYI - I also googled how to pronounce this rolled Eastern European bread and it's 'po-vee-TEET-sah'

Ingredients for one loaf ~

to activate the yeast:

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons warm water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

dough:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the dough if needed and for flouring the surface

filling:

• 2-3 small apples, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmet
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

topping:

• egg white
• melted butter

Directions ~

to activate the yeast:

1. In a small bowl, stir sugar, flour, and the yeast into warm water and cover with plastic wrap.
2. Allow to stand for 5 minutes (it should look foamy if it's active)

to make the dough:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to just below boiling (about 180'), stirring constantly. Hot enough to scald you but not boiling. Allow the milk to cool slightly until it is about 110'. (my note: I microwaved the milk in a glass measuring cup for 1 minute which put me right at 180' - lucky guess).
2. In a large bowl mix the scalded milk, sugar, and the salt until combined. 
3. Add the beaten egg, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 1/2 cup of flour.
4. Blend thoroughly; slowly add remaining flour mixing well until the dough starts to come away from the side of the bowl. 
5. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead, gradually adding more flour a little at a time until the dough is smooth and does not stick. (my note: I used my kitchen aid standing mixer with the bread hook instead of kneading by hand)
6. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl; cover loosely with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place and hour and a half to 2 hours, until doubled in size. Click here to see yesterday's tip about using the oven while the dough is proofing (rising). 

meanwhile, make the filling:

1. In a small saucepan, combine chopped apples, brown sugar, butter, honey, and flour.
2. Heat to boiling and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. 
3. Remove from heat, stir in spices. Allow to stand at room temperature until slightly cooled.
4. Transfer to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Set aside until ready to use. 

to roll and assemble the dough:

1. Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your counter (my note: I didn't do this and rolled it out onto my large cutting board and then my counter). Sprinkle with a little flour to keep the dough from sticking. 
2. Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling pin as thin and uniform as possible, you can use your hands to help stretch the dough if that's easier. Pick up and shift the dough often to keep it from sticking to the surface. Use additional flour if necessary. You want the dough to be almost see-thru thin. Tip: if the dough springs back and is difficult to roll, cover and let it rest for about 15 minutes - this will make it easier to work with.
3. Spoon apple cinnamon filling onto the rolled out dough, spread evenly over dough until covered. 
4. Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll from both long sides toward the middle. (my notes: roll it as tight as you can without squishing out the filling. I followed these directions to roll in from both sides but next time I will just roll it up from one long side like a traditional jelly roll).
5. Once the dough is rolled up like a long rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan. Fit the dough into the pan by shaping it into a 'U' or 'S' shape, coiling the dough around itself.
6. Brush the top the loaf with egg white.
7. Cover pan lightly with a clean cloth and allow it to rest for about an hour.
8. Preheat the oven to 350'. 
9. Remove cloth from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes. Turn down the oven temp to 300' and bake for an additional 45 -50 minutes, until done. Check the bread to make sure it isn't getting too brown, loosely cover with a sheet of aluminum foil if it is. 
10. Cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes. (my note: I left it in the pan for a few minutes and then decided to turn it out onto the wire rack so I could make sure the bread was done - after checking it I put it back in the pan to continue to cool. 

combine ingredients to activate the yeast

after about 5 minutes it'll be foamy, add to dough ingredients

let dough rise until doubled

roll out as thin as possible - one loaf I rolled on my cutting board (above) that is 18"x21",
the second loaf I rolled out on the counter to about 21"x24". The thinner you can roll it
the more layers you'll have. 

make the filling

let it cool a bit and then process until smooth

I thought it was going to be too runny but as it cools it thickens up

this is the one I rolled out even thinner 21"x24"

and this is the smaller one - smaller means less swirls on the inside of the loaf

following the instructions, I rolled from both ends. 

not gonna lie - this looks like intestines to me hahahha...

but much prettier once baked!

this is the smaller one with less swirly layers...

...and this one has more layers

 click here for source