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Patience is a Virtue…

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This Poteca Nut Roll is a rolled yeast-based pastry layered with a sweet pecan nut and brown sugar filling that you see at Christmas time.

Patience.

You either have it or you don’t.

And if you are going to be a baker and a pastry maker, you need patience.

I realize many a person does not possess this trait.

For people are always apologizing for making me wait.

I always give them a big smile and say, “I used to teach Junior High, I have the patience of a saint.”

And they smile back and know that I am not mad at them.

Most days I have patience.

Poteca Nut Roll

When I made this Poteca Nut Roll I had patience.

I made the dough.

Let it rise.

Punched it down, rolled it out and stuffed it with pecan filling.

Then let it rise again.

And then after the almost 3 hours were up, into the oven it went.

Thirty-five minutes later out of the oven it comes.

No problem.

Since I got the idea to make the bread at 11:00 at night I did not finish until almost 3am (remember I am the night owl).

Obviously there was no light out so I knew that I would not be taking photos of this bread until I awoke the next morning(afternoon).

So I chose to wait on glazing the bread, so it would not get soggy.

I overslept and quickly realized that the beloved Sun Break (a term I never heard of until I moved to the Seattle area…it simply is a break from all the rain…except they last about 15 minutes it seems) would soon be over.

So I jumped out of bed and ran down stairs to quickly make the glaze.

I looked for my sifter and could not find it.

I looked out the window at the looming rain clouds rolling in and thought “screw it”, I just threw together the powder sugar and milk and slopped it onto the bread.

And for that I was severely punished.

Sigh.

Big, giant clumps of non-sifted powder sugar staring back at me on my bread.

Mocking me if you will.

Did the Sun Break pass?

Yes, though I did get a few photos in, BUT it didn’t matter to me because I just kept seeing those horrible little specks of sugar glaring at me. Boo.

So was it worth it to rush?

Not so much.

I think this proves that patience is most definitely needed for a quality product and I am going to buy another sifter so that I have two now and won’t have to go looking for just the one.

Things to Remember when Baking with Yeast:

Don’t be afraid of it.

A lot of people are intimidated by yeast and end up not making yummy recipes because of it.

If your yeast baked goods are not rising it is most likely two culprits.

You didn’t check the expiration date.

Or the water was too hot.

The expiration date is important and not a guideline.

Yeast is a living thing and it does expire.

So always check the date.

The other big killer of yeast is water way too hot.

If it’s too hot for you to touch, then it’s too hot for the yeast.

Dough not rising and you checked the date and you didn’t use too hot of water/milk?

Most likely it’s just cooler in your house then you realize.

My yeast bakes always take longer to rise if I don’t use my proofer.

Yes, I own a proofer and I love it.

But if I do room temperature it’s never the 75F when I bake…unless of course it’s summer.

But I most bake with yeast in the fall and winter.

P.S. It’s a great day to buy my cookbook Holy Sweet!

Poteca Nut Roll

Want more recipes like this? Try these:

Orange Walnut Roll

Sticky Toffee Pudding Sticky Buns

Apple Cider Whiskey Glazed Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread

Blue-Raspberry Laminated Brioche Buns

Coconut Cream Pie Breakfast Buns

Maple Pecan Swirl Bread

Poteca Nut Roll

Poteca Nut Roll

Ingredients

  • 1 package( ¼  ounce) active dry yeast
  • ¼ cup warm water(110-115F)
  • ¾ cup warm milk(110-115F)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • ¼ cup shortening
  • 1 tsp salt1 egg, slightly beaten
  • 3 to 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • Filling:
  • 4 cups ground or finely chopped pecans
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • milk(amount to be determined on consistency...I used about ¼ cup)

Instructions

  1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water.
  2. Add milk , sugar, shortening, salt, egg. And 1 ½ cups flour.
  3. Beat until smooth.
  4. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (mine took the whole 3 ½ cups).
  5. Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
  6. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.
  7. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  8. Combine nuts, brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract.
  9. Add enough milk until mixture is spreading consistency.
  10. Punch dough down. Roll into a 30-inch by 20-inch rectangle. Spread filling to within 1-inch of edges.
  11. Roll up from one long side; pinch seams and ends to seal.
  12. Place on a greased baking sheet; shape into a tight spiral.
  13. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  14. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
  15. If desired, brush with a glaze of powder sugar and milk (but what ever you do...sift the sugar!)
© Peabody
Poteca Nut Roll

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Comments

  2. Oh girl, I hear you on the lack of a sifter thing. My husband thought my wire mesh sifter was “just another one of those drainer things” and used it to hold raw shrimp as he cleaned them. Yea. Have you tried cleaning shrimp shell pieces out of tightly woven wire mesh? It doesn’t work….so he now gets to buy me a new sifter 🙂

    Reply

  3. Despite your lamenting those TINY specks of powdered sugar (hardly giant at all!), I think it looks quite pretty, especially with all that luscious nutty filling – mm mm! But I’d say the extra sifter is a good idea, I’ve got 2 and it comes in handy when you’ve lost one or have to sift various ingredients 🙂

    Reply

  4. I totally understand the push-pull between having patience and then suddenly having none. But don’t be so hard on yourself — this looks DELICIOUS!

    Reply

  5. You might see them, but I think the rest of us will be drawn to the sexy shot of the cut-open nut roll with swirls of pecan and a pool of icing cutting through it. Lovely shot, and nicely captured during the sun break.

    Reply

  6. Thi cake is the same we call in the northen east part of Italy “putizza” (the name is even similar”) or “gubana” and is generally served at the end of lunch during Christmas or Easter. I was going to bake it as well the putizza .. we might it compare the two versions

    Reply

  7. oh my what a delectable nut roll. Patience is a must for bakers…I have learned that in more ways than one! Although if you had not pointed out the specks of powdered sugar I wouldn’t have noticed it. We are are own worst critique!

    Reply

  10. I like that your solution is to have 2 sifters on hand from now on:) I know specs of sugar would irk me too, but to everyone else (including me) that is one gorgeous pastry!
    Julie

    Reply

  13. It sounds like you are a perfectionist, like I am! All I can say is that my stomach is growling now and really wants to eat some of that for breakfast!!!

    Reply

  16. Well…I never sift my powdered sugar! Guess I’m not quite a perfectionist! The inside of this is amazing…I’d make it but my brother wouldn’t eat it…it has nuts. Personally, I think HE’S nuts!

    Reply

  18. That looks like one pretty darn fine piece of temptation to me……….stop criticizing it or I might just reach into this computer thang and take it for myself, now I would appreciate it as it deserves to be appreciated….. 🙂 Hugs and good Christmas wishes to you and your family Peabody, thanks for a great year with you and your blog! May 2008 bring lots of exciting blog events from your home to mine!!

    Reply

  19. Yes, I am definitely one who does NOT have patience – not one ounce of it. I have to commend you, Peabody, for having patience – you truly have taught me that, as a baker, I need it. And hey, that Poteca Nut Roll turned out beautifully!! Just goes to show how rewarding having patience is :0)

    Reply

  20. To me this looks absolutely perfect! But I am one who has no patience for baking, measuring, letting dough rise, so I am completely in awe just looking at your photos.

    Reply

  24. Yep…patience in baking…I hear you on that one.Baking karma is a b…ch! The roll looks wonderful and I would have been happy with a slice of it,clumps or not!!

    Reply

  25. Wow! Slightly lumpy icing or not, that looks utterly divine. I’m now going to check my cupboards for pecans, this looks too yummy to miss. As the saying goes “good things come to those who wait”

    Reply

  26. I would lick my plate clean, lumpy icing and all. 🙂 And I totally know what you mean about sunbreaks! I saw one on my way to work and cherished those short minutes. Seattle sure makes taking pics so darn hard!

    Reply

  27. We are our own worst critics aren’t we.

    I would be more than happy to eat your mistakes, although I don’t see a single thing wrong that nut roll. Wow, that would be awesome in the morning.

    Reply

  28. I would have no problem overlooking the sugar lumps if I could have a slice of that delicious nut roll! Of course, since I’m not a patient person, all of my glazed baked goods have sugar lumps, so I’m used to them.

    Reply

  29. I have bursts of patience mixed with many more bursts of impatience… in my new place I don’t worry about trying to get sun for picture, but that’s because it will never happen so there’s no point, I’ve given up. If you feel like making another nut roll and sending it my way, I’m sure I could be patient enough to wait for it.

    Reply

  37. Dear Lord. These pictures are amazing. In fact, I must be sure my mom and sister aren’t reading over my shoulder right now, b/c if they saw this giant icing-covered confection, they’d want me to make THIS instead of the Swedish Bullar I’m making for Christmas morning.
    Okay I have to stop looking at this now or else I’ll change my mind too….yikes!

    Reply

  39. I can’t believe how incredible this looks… seriously. you may see globs of sugar, but all I see is the drools dripping onto my keyboard. I MUST make this one, and soon.

    P.S. you’re not the only one that starts baking at 11 🙂

    Reply

  42. Peabody, I am in the process of making this delcious treat, and although I’m up to my elbows in dough and gooey pecan filling, I am enjoying it so much! I LOVE your blog, recipes, and definitely your photos!

    Reply

  44. You mentioned that you already had Carolyn’s nut roll recipe that you liked. I guess it was a recipe you used before this one.

    Reply

  45. I made this recipe and the filling, after I raised it when it was in the roll, came out. What was my problem? I put a bit of water, under the pan in the oven for raising, but that should not have caused this problem. I was very upset because I wanted this for a really nice party and could not serve it. I ate it myself and did enjoy it, but I know it would have been wonderful with ALL the filling inside. Had to throw out at least half the filling because it burned.

    Reply

    • @Barb- Having not seen it I’m not totally sure what went wrong. Perhaps you rolled the dough too thin or your ends were not sealed enough?

      Reply

  47. Quick FYI : If you add the milk to the powdered sugar a little bit at a time, you don’t need to sift. Just add your vanilla extract, then a little milk, stirring like crazy, add a little more milk…etc. I never sift the sugar. I’m trying your recipe for Christmas brunch this year. It looks great!

    Reply

  48. How on earth is this the first time I’m seeing this potica recipe on your blog?? My grandmother taught us to make potica and it makes me happy whenever I see others making it too. But I totally agree, it’s definitely trying in patience! I had to have my dad help me the first time I made it because the dough was pissing me off when I tried to roll it up. He uses a floured old sheet and it works like a dream. I also have never had a glazed one, also love the round swirl. We usually cook it as one long log. Things to try next time!

    Reply

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