Sugar Free Easier Povitica (Chocolate & Walnut Swirl Bread)
A couple of years ago on The Great British Bake Off, the contestants were set a difficult technical bake called “Povitica“. It was an Eastern European sweet Christmastime bread with a chocolate and walnut paste swirl, and the dough had to be stretched as thin as possible to a ridiculously large rectangle and rolled with a bed sheet. I gave it a go, as I was baking my way through the technical challenges over on my personal blog that year. It was delicious, and not as difficult as I’d expected.
Still, despite how completely amazing it tasted (my husband raved about it for weeks), it was not going to be something I would be making often. And when we gave up sugar through the I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program, I figured it wouldn’t be something I’d be attempting again.
But then, this year, my husband asked if I would mind making one for his birthday back in November. I remembered how much he loved it, so I agreed, but I decided to make a sugar free version and to find a way to skip the faff and make it a much easier bake.
Turns out, if you are not baking for Paul Hollywood on British television competing against other brilliant bakers, it really doesn’t require the complicated stretching and rolling process we witnessed on TV. In fact, it’s surprisingly easy!
My three-year-old helped me out with this one. She enjoyed making the dough and filling and helping me to spread the paste and roll the bread. And although not stretching it out and using a bed sheet meant we got 3 swirls instead of 4, it still looked beautiful and tasted amazing, so no one noticed or cared!
So when trying to think of a fun New Year’s Day recipe, I couldn’t help but be tempted to make this again. I knew I could make something that looked and tasted impressive with little effort and hands on time, and everyone would be very very happy at the first breakfast of 2018!
I hope it will bring as big a smile to your own family as you ring in 2018.
Happy New Year everyone!
A sugar free version of an Eastern European sweet Christmastime bread made far easier and still just as tasty and impressive! Adapted from Paul Hollywood's povitica recipe here.
- 300 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour (or white spelt flour)
- 1 tbsp xylitol, optional
- 2 tsp active dried yeast
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 medium egg, beaten
- 150 ml (2/3 cup) warm milk
- 200 g (1 3/4 cups) walnuts
- 1 tsp sugar free vanilla extract
- 75 g (3/4 cup) xylitol
- 2 tbsp cacao or cocoa powder
- 4 tbsp (60g) unsalted butter
- 60 ml (4 tbsp) milk
- 1 medium egg yolk, beaten
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 medium egg white, for glazing
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Mix the flour and xylitol in a large bowl. Add the yeast and salt (Paul Hollywood recommends adding them to separate sides of the bowl to keep the salt from 'retarding the yeast'). Add the rest of the dough ingredients, mix well, and knead by hand or in a stand mixer for 6-10 mins (if using spelt flour, make it the full 10 mins), until the dough is soft and smooth. If it starts to look sticky, add a little more flour. If it's struggling to get smooth and looks dry after a few mins kneading, add a little more milk. Form a ball and allow to rise in a lightly oiled, covered bowl for at least 1 hour or until doubled in size.
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Make the filling by blitzing the walnuts, vanilla extract, xylitol and cacao powder together until the texture of ground almonds or flour. Melt the butter and milk together in a pan over low heat and pour into the food processor with the walnut powder. Add the egg yolk and pulse until it forms a slightly gritty paste.
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Roll out the dough on a floured surface as thin as you can (about 2mm is great) to form a large rectangle. Brush with the tablespoon of melted butter and then carefully spread the paste over the surface of the dough (if the paste is clumping and tearing the dough, add a little milk to thin it out and make it easier to spread). It doesn't have to be perfect - just get it spread over as much of the dough as you can. If it doesn't look very long, give the dough a (very!) gentle stretch.
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Starting with the wider end of the rectangle closest to you, roll the dough up like a Swiss roll. Gently lift it into a lightly greased 1kg (2lb) loaf tin and form a "U" shape in the bottom of the tin, then turn the rest of the dough to rest on top (if it is long enough, try to form another "U" on top of the dough - don't cut it, just keep snaking the dough round - but if you only have enough to stretch it over the top of the "U" below in one line, that's fine!).
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Cover the loaf tin (or place inside a plastic bag) and allow to rise for another hour. For the last 20-30 mins of rising time, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4.
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Brush the loaf with the egg white and bake for 45 mins - 1 hour, or until golden brown and making a hollow sound when you tap the base of the loaf. If it starts to get too dark at any point, cover the loaf with foil for the rest of the cooking time. Allow to cool before serving. Best enjoyed on the same day as baking, but will keep for another 2 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Can you omit the cocoa or replace it with something else?
Hi Kristin, I’m not sure what you could replace it with, so if you don’t like cocoa I would probably leave it out. You may need to use slightly less of the wet ingredients to compensate, but it could be alright just leaving it out – I haven’t tested it so not 100% sure. 🙂