The Daring Bakers' Challenge - October 2011 - Povitica!

Wow!! Can you believe it? For the first time in a few months I'm finally participating in a Daring Bakers' Challenge. And how I've missed this group... the wonderful challenges, the encouragement of fellow Daring Bakers and the general sense of accomplishment that comes from from tackling a new challenge in the kitchen and learning from the experience.



The Daring Bakers' Challenge for October 2011 was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of the Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional eastern European dessert bread that is as loverly to look at as it is to eat! 

Jenni definitely hit the nail on the head with this recipe! It was absolutely divine. The dough was fantastic to work with and the traditional walnut filling was heavenly. :) I will definitely be making this one over and over and over again! All the while experimenting with different fillings of course... I couldn't resist making four different loaves, but our family definitely had their favorites.

 First off - if you're looking for the recipe, I'm going to send you over to the Daring Kitchen website. There are a few components to the recipe and many steps, so I'm going to save myself some effort (what?? its getting late okay?!). :) Browse around the archives... you might stumble across something else you want to make... oh yeah and if you haven't already done so, maybe you should sign up and participate in our monthly challenges! Its fun, you'll learn things and you'll probably be able to cross things off your baking "bucket list"!!

 If I'm not posting the recipe you might be wondering what I plan to fill this post with... well, how about some step-by-step pictures? And maybe a few suggestions for fillings for your yummy bread (afterall, a full batch of this recipe makes four whole loaves of this delicious bread!!).

 I had to make one loaf with the traditional walnut filling as posted by Jenni. And it was amazing! I would probably make two of the loaves with the walnut filling when I make this recipe again. This bread is so delicate and flavourful without being overwhelmingly sweet. Can you tell I liked it?!

 Then I tried a combination of spinach, feta and fresh chopped oregano. MMMMMM!!!! This one was awesome too - it was the favorite in our house. Hubby and sister couldn't get enough. I used one package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and thoroughly drained), about 200-300 g of feta crumbled, and about 3-4 tbsp fresh chopped oregano for one loaf of the bread. Premix the fillings then just sprinkle the mixture over your dough once it's been rolled out.

 I also made a roasted garlic, cheddar and carmelized onion loaf.... mmmm!! Super yummy! And lastly I made a loaf with roasted garlic, goats cheese and cranberry jalepeno jelly! All were delish and I can't wait to experiment with different fillings in my "cough" spare time! :D

 Thank you to Jenni for hosting such an amazing challenge! I had never even heard of Povitica... to think I've been missing out on such a good thing all these years... guess I've got some catching up to do.

 

Happy Baking my Friends! Thanks for stopping by.