Orehnjača (Oresgnaza) - Potiča (Potiza or Putiza)

This sweet cake is an integral part of the Easter and Christmas traditions and adds something special to the basic pinza base recipe. Its Austro-Hungarian origins are apparent and it is traditionally served in Istria, Slovenia, and Slovakia.

There is a distinction, however, between this cake and presniz (also presnitz) which is likewise referred to as putiza or putizza. The presniz flour is made without yeast and laid out thin like the dough for apple strudel. In Trieste, the putiza is made with leavened dough and is also similar to the gubana of Friuli. For comparison purposes, therefore, we include one recipe for the unleavened putiza.

Tip:  The leavened sweet bread is supposed to rise very high, topping out an angel food cake pan. In Slovenia they use special ceramic pans which bring it higher still. To get the rise you should have, the ingredients, the bowls, and the pans should all be warm, at least room temperature, and the kitchen should best be very warm as well. This way your potica won't catch a chill and fail to rise to expectations.

Articles:

Recipes:

Also:

Oresgnaza fiumana de Fabio Leonessa

L'impasto:

  • 30 gr. lievito
  • 350 gr. farina
  • 150 gr. farina
  • 120 gr. buro
  • 3/8 latte
  • 50 gr. zibibe
  • 3 ovi 
  • 30 gr. mandorle
  • 80 gr. zucchero 
  • Raschiatra de scorza de limon

El ripien:

  • 70 gr. de ciocolata
  • 1/8 de latte
  • 60 gr. de zuchero
  • 120 gr. Nose masinade
  • 80 gr. Pan gratado frito in 80 gr. Buro
  • raschiatura de limon e spezie

Col lievito, un cuciar de zuchero, 150 gr. de farina ed un poco de late tiepido frular in una terina una pastela e lasarla lievitar al caldo  coperta da una salvieta. Quando la pastela sara radopiada de volume frular dentro a piu riprese le uova, el zuchero , el limon la farina el late fino ad esaurimento dei quantitativi prescriti; per ultimo incorporar el burro liquefato, tiepido. Per ultimo se agiunge le zibibe; se continua a mescolar fino a che la masa ga la densita de una crema non  scorevole. Spianar l'impasto a retangolo del spesor de un dito su carta oleata o carta bianca infarinada o pur una salvieta infarinada.

Meter la ciocolata sul fogo nel late fredo e mescolarla fin che se sciogliera; dopo tiepida agiunger zuchero, nose pangratado limon e spezie.  El ripien deve essere umido, stenderlo sopra l'impasto pronto, arrtolar e arostir a forno moderato circa 60 minuti.

Cortesia di: 

  • Fabio Leonessa
Potizza triestina de Maria Martinuzzi

La pasta:

  • 250 grammi di farina
  • 25 grammi di lievito di birra
  • 50 grammi di zucchero
  • 1 tuorlo d’uovo
  • 50 grammi di burro fuso
  • latte quanto basta
  • un pizzico di sale
Con un po’ di farina, lievito sminuzzato, un cucchiaio di zucchero ed il latte tiepido, fare una pastella e lasciare lievitare. Aggiungere poi il resto degli ingredienti, lavorare a lungo l’impasto finchè si formano delle bollicine sulla pasta. Lasciare lievitare
   

Variante ripieno "chiaro":

  • 300 grammi di mandorle spellate e tritate grosse
  • 1/2 litro di panna dolce
  • tuorli d’uovo
  • 100 grammi di zucchero
  • 2 cucchiai di farina
  • limone grattugiato
  • 1 o 2 bicchierini di rum
Variante ripieno "scuro":
  • 120 grammi di burro sbattuto
  • 2 tuorli d’uovo
  • 70 grammi di miele
  • 125 grammi di noci tritate
  • 125 grammi di mandorle tritate
  • 125 grammi di uvetta
  • 5 grammi di cedrini (entrambi macerati nel rum)
  • limone grattugiato
  • 2 cucchiai di zucchero
  • un pezzetto di vaniglia tritata
Cuocere la farina, lo zucchero, la panna, però senza fare bollire. Aggiungere mandorle, limone e rum.

Stendere bene la pasta già lievitata, e spargere su di essa il ripieno prescelto. Arrotolare, aggiungere sulla superficie qualche fiocco di burro, pennellare con dell’uovo. Infornare per circa un’ora, prima a fuoco forte e poi moderato.

Cortesia di: 

  • Maria Martinuzzi 

Oresgnaza fiumana-ungherese de Nina Ciceran

[Warning: this recipe is not for beginners as it incomplete. It does not give the quantify for the nuts and raisins in the filling or oven temperature!]

Main dough:  Pinza

Glazing:

  • 1 tsp. olive oil or butter (to coat baking pan)
  • 2 tbsp. sugar melted in equal amount of hot water (for glazing pinza); non-sweet alternative: egg-white

Filling:

  • equal amounts of ground walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts - quantity of each to be determined!
  • 2 large or jumbo egg yolks, room temperature
  • raisins, soaked in rum - quantity to be determined
  • 1/4 lb. sweet butter, room temperature
  • sugar to taste - recommended amount to be determined
  • grated lemon and orange peels

Prepare the main dough as prescribed in the pinza recipe. Blend all the filling ingredients.

Once the right consistency of dough is achieved, cut the dough in two. Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle that is approximately 9 inch by 12 inch by 1/2 inch thick. Spread the filling evenly on the dough to fill 3/4 of it, leaving the sides uncovered, then roll the dough tightly. Follow directions as per other recipes for baking. 

Yield: 2 long loaves

Courtesy of: 

  • Nina Ciceran from a recipe taught to her by a Fiuman-Hungarian, transcribed (yet unfinished) by Marisa Ciceran.

Oresgnaza fiumana di Erika Napolitano

Pasta:
  • 250 grammi di farina
  • 25 grammi di lievito di birra
  • 50 grammi di zucchero
  • 1 tuorlo d’uovo
  • 50 grammi di burro fuso
  • latte quanto basta
  • un pizzico di sale
Ripieno:
  • 1 tuorlo d’uovo
  • 70 grammi di miele
  • 200 grammi di noci tritate
  • 125 grammi di uvetta (macerata nel rhum)
  • limone grattugiato
  • 2 cucchiai di zucchero
  • pinoli
  • latte q.b.
Con un po’ di farina, lievito sminuzzato, un cucchiaio di zucchero ed il latte tiepido, fare una pastella e lasciare lievitare. Aggiungere poi il resto degli ingredienti, lavorare a lungo l’impasto finchè si formano delle bollicine sulla pasta. Lasciare lievitare per un'ora, poi si lavora ancora e si fa lievitare ancora un'ora coperta in una ciotola.

Sersare nel latte bollente le noci, il miele e lo zucchero e cuocere per 5 minuti. Lasciar raffreddare ed aggiungere gli altri ingredienti. Stendere la pasta, spennellarla con burro fuso, spolverizzare con pane grattugiato e versarvi il composto: arrotolarla su se stessa e posarla sulla leccarda del forno ricoperta di carta da forno, Infornare a 180° per 15 minuti, spennelare con rosso d'uovo, e cuocere a 150° per altri 20 m. Far raffreddare e trasferire su un piatto rettangolare e se volete spolverizzate con zucchero a velo. .

Tratto da:

  • https://erikanapoletano.blogspot.com/2009/05/ricetta-di-un-dolce-ungherese-questa.html

Orehnjačača

Yeast:

  • 30 g. (1 oz.) fresh yeast
  • lemon peel
  • 10 g. (2/3 oz.) sugar + teaspoon sugar
  • 50 ml. (2 jl. oz.) milk salt
  • 30 g. (1 oz.) flour
Pastry:
  • 350 g. (12 oz.) blend of smooth and coarse flour
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 egg
  • 200 ml. (8 fl. oz.) milk
  • 1 tablespoon smetana
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • tot of rum

Filling:

  • 400 g. (14 oz.) shelled walnuts
  • 200 g. (7 oz.) sugar
  • 100 g. (4 oz.) raisins
  • 200 ml. (8j1. oz.) milk
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • lemon peel
  • cinnamon
  • 1 sachet vanilla sugar
  • 1 egg for coating

Dissolve the sugar in a little lukewarm water, add flour, milk and crumbled yeast. Cover the bowl and allow the yeast to prove. Sift the flour, melt the butter and whisk the egg yolks and milk together. Grate the lemon peel, grind the poppy seeds finely and scald them with boiling milk. Clean and wash the raisins and soak them in rum. Take a warmed bowl, pour in the sifted flour, make a depression in the centre and add a pinch of salt, a mixture of egg yolks and egg and milk, lemon peel and rum, working it all together with the fingers. Finally, add the yeast mlxture, mlx well and continue to beat with a wooden spoon until the dough no longer sticks to the spoon or bowl. Remove the aough, sprinkle the bowl with flour, replace the dough, cover with a clean cloth and leave to prove until it doubles in size. 

Meanwhile, prepare the filling: 

Grind the walnuts and scald with boiling milk. Clean and wash the raisins and soak in a little rum. Combine the ground walnuts, raisins, sugar, honey, vanilla sugar, cinnamon and grated lemon peel and mix well together. Knead the proved dough lightly, divide in half and roll out into a rectangular shape (the longer side of which should be the length of tlie baking tin). Spread one-half of the filling over two-thirds of each section of dough, roll up like a Swiss roll and press-seal the dough at the edges to prevent the filling from oozing out.

Place the rolls into a buttered baking tin, ensuring that the sides of the rolls are coated with melted butter to prevent them sticking together. Cover the orehnjaca and put in a warm place to prove. When the dough has risen, smear it with beaten egg and bake for 40-50 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 °C (Gas Mark 6).

Suggestion:

Should walnuts be unavailable, or if they are too heavy on the stomach, a good and tasty substitute is ground carob pods.

Source (text and image): 

  • Croatian Cuisine, the Modern Way. Golden Marketing (Zagreb, 1995)

Slovenian Potiča # 1

Yeast:
  • 2 pkgs. dry yeast
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1/4 cup warm water
Dough:
  • 5 cups flour (4 cups to start, adding additional flour as needed)
  • 1-1/4 cup warm milk
  • 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. dark rum (or vanilla)
  • 1 grated peel of lemon
  • Pinch of salt

Filling:

  • 6 cups finely ground walnuts (approx. 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 lb.)
  • 1 cup finely ground golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. dry bread crumbs
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 3/4 cup thick cream (or 1/2 and 1/2)
  • 1/2 cup butter (or margarine)
  • 3 egg whites, beaten stiff

Prepare the yeast:

Sprinkle sugar over yeast and add warm water. Let it stand until twice its original volume.

Prepare the dough:

Mix softened butter, sugar and egg yolks until the sugar is well dissolved and mixture is frothy. Set aside. Warm up the milk, mix in salt, lemon peel, and rum, and add to the butter mixture. Form the dough out of the 4 cups of flour, yeast, and milk mixtures. The trick is not to pour in all the milk mixture immediately; use about 3/4 to start with, then add more as the dough forms.

Beat with electric mixer until smooth and elastic. Then keep adding flour as needed, and mixing with a wooden spoon until of consistency that dough can be handled without sticking. Place dough on floured board and knead for about 15 minutes, adding flour as needed to make a non-sticking dough. Place dough in a well-greased bowl; turn dough upside down to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours until double in bulk. While dough is rising, prepare filling.

Prepare the filling:

Mix the walnuts and raisins, and grind them together to keep raisins from clumping. Combine all dry ingredients. Warm the cream and honey, and melt the butter in this mixture. Add cream mixture to dry ingredients and mix completely. Fold in beaten egg whites last. Let filling cool as you roll out dough.

Roll out the dough on table covered with a tablecloth well sprinkled with flour. Roll out to 1/4" thick, 18" x 24" or bigger. Spread cooled filling over entire dough evenly. Start rolling up dough by hand, jelly roll fashion, stretching dough slightly with each roll. Start at an 18" edge and roll in the 24" direction. Keep side edges as even as possible. Continue to roll by raising the cloth edge slowly with both hands so the dough rolls itself. Dust away any excess flour on the outside of the dough with a pastry brush as you roll. Prick roll with a toothpick as needed to eliminate air pockets.

With the edge of a spatula (pancake flipper) cut off each end of roll to make it the length needed to fit around the inside of an angel food cake pan. Place in well-greased angel food cake pan or Bundt cake pan, being sure to arrange the seam where the roll ended against the center. If you have a two-piece angel food cake pan, it is easiest to roll the loaf onto and around the bottom plate of the pan, and then lower this into the body of the pan. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until double in volume. Bake about 1 hour at 325 degrees.

Put cut-off ends in greased loaf pans, cover with cloth and let rise in a warm place until double in volume, then bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 325 degrees.

For a shiny crust, brush top before baking with 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. milk, OR brush top with melted butter when taken from oven.

Let stand one hour before removing from pan. Loosen sides and bottom with knife. Turn onto wire rack to remove, then turn over again onto another wire rack to cool right-side up.

Once completely cool, turn upside-down on a cake plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Slovenian potiča # 2

Ingredients::
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk, lukewarm
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1 1/3 cups milk
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1 1/2 cups raisins
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 3 tablespoons of the flour in warm milk. Mix well, and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter with the remaining sugar. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the yeast mixture, remaining milk, 4 cups of flour and the salt; mix well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Lightly grease one or two cookie sheets. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll Out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Spread each piece with melted butter, honey, raisins, walnuts and cinnamon. Roll each piece up like a jelly roll and pinch the ends. Place seam side down onto the prepared baking sheets. Let rise until double in volume. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bake at 350° F. (175° C.) for about 60 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Source:

  • Bread recipes  - Potiča - https://breadrecipe.com/AZ/Potica.asp

Slovenian chocolate potiča (unleavened)

Dough:

  • 1 cup warm milk 1 cup warm water
  • 3-1/4 ounce pkgs. dry yeast ½ cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon salt flour – about 6 cups
Photograph (potica) by © Mirjana M. for Istrianet.org.

Filling:

  • 1 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 pound light raisins, ground 2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla 1 pound walnuts, ground
  • 1 stick butter 2 bars sweet chocolate
  • 3 egg whites

For this recipe, you will need a baking pan that is approximately 14 in. x 18 in. and about 4-inches deep.

Take the eggs out of the refrigerator, separate them and let them warm to room temperature. Also take the butter out and warm to room temperature.

Preparing the dough:

Combine the dry yeast with the warm water. Check the yeast package for the correct temperature of the water and the correct time to allow for letting the yeast bloom. Always use fresh yeast. 

When the yeast is ready, pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the warm milk, butter, sugar, egg yolks, and salt and stir. Add flour as needed to make the dough.  While the ingredients list says, "about 6 cups." The dough will more than likely be ready somewhere after 5 cups. It should not be sticky nor should it get to hard. You will have to judge for yourself. Remember that practice makes perfect. Once the dough is mixed, place it in a large greased bowl, set the bowl in a warm place and allow it to rise to double.

Preparing the filling:

Start out by grinding the light raisins. Use whatever tool you wish, but an old hand grinder that clamps is just fine. Grind the walnuts after the raisins. If you do the walnuts last they will help clean the sticky raisins out of the hand grinder.

Put the ground walnuts, ground light raisins and the rest of the filling ingredients into a 4-quart pot and cook over medium heat. Heat the mixture only enough to melt the chocolate and get everything mixed well. Set the mixture aside and allow to cool.

Beat the three egg whites to soft peaks & fold into above mixture after cooled.

Putting it all together:

The easiest way to do this step is to make one piece (method # 1=, but you need a large dining room table for it. However, it can be done in smaller parts (method # 2) which will be described below. 

Method # 1:

First, using a huge dining room table with all the leaves inserted, spread a clean full-size bedroom topsheet over it like a tablecloth. 

Get the dough and the remaining flour (about 1 cup). Using a flour sifter, lightly sift the flour over the sheet rubbing it into the cloth and place the dough on the floured sheet. Now get your rolling pin out and roll the dough in all directions to thin it as much as possible. Grandma Govednik used to get it close to paper thin with the rolling pin then she’d put the rolling pin down and pull the dough with her hands. Shift the sheet side to side across the table to allow the dough to grow. Depending on how big your dinning room table is, the sheet of dough can be twice as big in area as your table by the time you’re done and droop over the edges of the table. here should be sufficient flour on the sheet so that the dough does not stick to the sheet.

Once you have the dough as thin as you can get it, push it to one side so that one edge of the dough is at the edge of the table in front of you. Now get the chocolate mixture and a wooden spoon. The object here is to get an even coating of the Chocolate mixture all over the dough. Start out by dropping little piles of the mixture every 4-6 inches. Then use the back of the spoon to spread the mixture out. Continue spreading the mixture until you have about half of the dough on the tabletop covered. Lift the sheet edge up and roll the dough mixture into itself. This is like making a jelly roll. Continue lifting the sheet and pulling it toward you as you go, rolling the dough into a long roll. Continue spreading the mixture out onto the dough and rolling until it’s completely covered and rolled. By now, you should have one very long tube.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. 

Now it’s time to put that long roll into the pan. 

First, cut about 3-4 inches or so off the ends of the roll and set them aside. Then carefully lift the roll into the lightly greased pan curling it around in something like an "e" shape that fills the pan.

Bake 30 minutes – then reduce the heat to 350° and bake for another 45-60 minutes. Cook those little end pieces you cut off earlier separately for 20-30 minutes and serve them a a treat.

Method # 2:

There are two different ways to make the rolling of the dough slightly easier BUT it won’t look like Grandma Govednik’s Chocolate Potica when it comes out of the oven, although it will taste the same. 

The first method; when you get ready to roll the dough cut the raw dough into halves, thirds or quarters. 

The second simpler way is to follow Grandma Govednik’s method up to where you have to put it in the pan.  At that point you can cut it into smaller pieces and cook them on a cookie sheet. If you take either short route, shorten your cooking time by whatever you find best. 

Watch the bottom of the roll and take it out when it turns golden brown. Don't let it turn black. 

Potizza comune

Ingredienti::

  • farina 500 g
  • lievito 15 g
  • burro 20g
  • uova 2 pezzi
  • tuorli 2 pezzi
  • latte2,5 di
  • sale 10 g
  • zucchero 80 g
  • zucchero vanigliato 10g
  • scorza di limone

Per il ripieno:

  • mele 1000 g
  • noci 200 g
  • zucchero cristallino 80 g 
  • zucchero in polvere 20 g
  • cannella 5 g
  • grappa 0,5 dl
  • pangrattato 20 g
  • foglie di olivo

Sciogliere il lievito e un cucchiaio di zucchero in 1 dl di latte tiepido e lasciare lievitare in un luogo caldo. Aggiungere alla farina 1 uovo, 2 tuorli, il burro fuso, il sale, lo zucchero, lo zucchero vanigliato, la scorza di limone grattugiata e il lievito raddoppiato Aggiungendo latte tiepido, lavorare un impasto morbido e lasciarlo lievitare in un luogo caldo. Nel frattempo preparare il ripieno. Pulire e tagliare le mele a fette, aggiungere le noci a pezzettini, lo zucchero, la cannella, la grappa, il pangrattato e mescolare. Fare con l'impasto una sfoglia spessa circa 0,5 cm. Su questa mettere il ripieno e avvolgere Mettere il dolce, così preparato, in una placca rotonda unta e lasciarlo di nuovo in un luogo fresco per circa un'ora poi lucidarlo con uovo sbattuto.

Conficcare sulla sommità circa 10 foglie di olivo e passarlo nel forno. Infine, cospargerlo con lo zucchero in polvere.

Source:

  • Franco Cucich - recipe and photograph of his mother's potizza taken on 20 December 2003

Croatian Potiza

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup butter or margarine
  • 1 cup milk;
  • hot 2 pk active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water (105 F)
  • 2 Eggs
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted

Filling:

  • 3 eggs
  • 4 cups walnuts, finely chopped
  • 1 cup light brown sugar,
  • packed 2 tb butter
  • 1/3 cup butter or margarine; melted
  • 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Stir sugar, salt and butter into hot milk; cool to lukewarm. (A drop sprinkled on wrist will not feel hot.) Sprinkle yeast over warm water in large bowl; stir to dissolve. Stir in lukewarm milk mixture. Add 2 eggs and 2 1/2 cups flour; beat at high speed with electric mixer. With a wooden spoon gradually beat in remaining 2 cups flour. Knead with hand until dough is stiff enough to leave side of bowl. Place dough in lightly greased large bowl. Turn the dough over to bring up greased side. Cover with a towel; let rise in warm place (85 F), free from drafts, until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Make filling in medium bowl.

Beat eggs slightly; add nuts, brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir filling to blend well. Shape dough; punch down dough. On lightly floured surface turn out dough; cover with bowl and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Roll out to a rectangle 30 inches long by 20 inches wide. Spread with filling, to 1 inch from the edge. Starting from wide side, roll up tightly, as for jelly roll. With palms of hands, roll back and forth so that roll is even all over. On large greased cookie sheet, form roll into a large coil, seam side down. Let rise in warm place (85 F), covered with towel, free from drafts, until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 F and brush the roll with the melted butter. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until golden. Cool on wire rack. Slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick.

Makes a 4 pound loaf.

Source:

  • Cathy Arkovich "Our Favorite Recipes" St. Anthony Croatian Church Women's Guild Typed for you by Karen Mintzias

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Created: Thursday, April 12, 2001. Last Updated: Saturday, December 10, 2022
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