I’ve now shared this Povitica (Pov-ee-tee-zah) with numerous colleagues, family and friends who previously were unaware of such a scrumptious bread. When I was deciding which breads to make this month my husband requested babka, but the kind that is swirled and wrapped over itself. I kept thinking that his description did not match what I thought of as traditional Polish babka. It finally occurred to me that he meant povitica, which is similar to a version of babka.
Traditional Polish babka is actually made in a babka (bundt) pan and is more cake like than a bread. The kind most people are familiar with comes out with the zebra lines and swirls of a braided bread. A povitica is formed similarly, however typically in a long rope and either cut and twisted, or folded over itself in a U-shape and baked in a loaf pan. Usually chocolate, walnuts and raisins, or similar dried fruit is stuffed in the middle; helping to keep this on the bread side, rather than cake side of the line.
Late one night, I really wanted to make this bread. It can be a little irritating to roll back up, but the whole process is a huge stress relief. Eagerly, I searched my pantry for apricots to make an apricot, cream cheese, and cinnamon povitica, but it was not to be. We were unfortunately relieved of our apricots. Sad night. However, I was determined to have some swirly bread all the same. We recently purchased 7 bags of chocolate chips for $0.49/ each and broke open a bag for this subtly sweet chocolate bread.
Take-Home Tips: Don’t over stress about tears in your dough, although you should try to avoid. When the dough bakes the tears will not effect taste or bake, only visual appearance. If you are not a fan of raisins, that is alright, leave them out or ideally replace with nuts or other dried fruit. The thicker your filling, the more idealistic your swirls will be; meanwhile the thinner your dough and filling, the more narrow and blurred your swirls will appear. When rolling out the dough: if using a bed linen, flour it and use it to roll up the dough for even swirls; if straight on the counter, continue to replace the flour between the counter and the dough by lifting part of it and stuffing some under to keep from sticking. If you do not want a thin or long dough, roll the dough out then fold it over and roll to merge the layers before adding the filling.
Scoring: 8 of 10. This bread grows on you and is more enjoyable the more consumed. I prefer it room temp or chilled, but most people enjoy warmed with butter. It holds together well as a loaf/slice, however it was very chocolatey.
Food of the Month 