Potica (walnut roll)

Name: Potica (walnut roll)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 4 h 30 min
Ingredients: 500 g all-purpose flour; 7 g dried yeast; 200 ml milk, lukewarm; 60 g sugar; 80 g butter, melted; 2 egg yolks; 1 egg; 1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated; ½ tsp salt; 400 g walnuts, finely ground; 150 ml milk, hot; 100 g honey; 80 g sugar; 40 g butter; 1 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 2 egg whites, whisked to soft peaks; 1 egg, beaten; 1 tbsp icing sugar (optional)

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Orehova potica

A rich yeasted dough rolled thin, spread with honeyed walnut filling, coiled into a ring tin and baked into a swirled festive loaf.

Potica (walnut roll) is a Slovenian cake, ready in about 4 hours 30 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, walnuts and honey. It serves 16 and is rated advanced to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep: 45 min
Cook: 1 h
Rest: 2 h 45 min
Total: 4 h 30 min
Serves: 16
Level: Advanced
Calories: 418

About this dish

Origin: Slovenia · Well documentedSimilar rolled nut cakes are made in Croatia (orahnjača) and across Central Europe.Also popular in CroatiaMore food from Slovenia
Dish: Dessert · Breakfast · Snack · Cakes · Breads & flatbreads
Cooking method: Oven-baked
Taste: sweet, nutty, aromatic / warmly spiced, buttery
Diet: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo)
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
Cook more with: All-purpose flour · Walnuts · Honey · Dried yeast · Milk · Sugar
Techniques: Baking · Kneading · Fermentation

Allergens

Contains: Milkfrom milk, butter
Contains: Eggsfrom egg yolk, egg, egg white
Contains: Tree nutsfrom walnuts
Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

418 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 115 g · recipe makes 16

Where the energy comes from

Protein 9%
Carbohydrate 40%
Fat 51%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	418 kcal	364 kcal
Protein	9.6 g	8.3 g
Carbohydrate	42.8 g	37.2 g
Net carbohydrate	40 g	34.8 g
Sugars	15.9 g	13.8 g
Added sugars	13.9 g	12.1 g
Fibre	2.7 g	2.4 g
Fat	24.6 g	21.4 g
Saturated fat	6.3 g	5.4 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	65 mg	56 mg
Sodium	149 mg	130 mg
Salt equivalent	0.4 g	0.3 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 202 mg
Calcium: 65 mg
Iron: 2.4 mg
Magnesium: 51 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 80 µg
Vitamin C: 1 mg
Vitamin D: 0.5 µg
Vitamin B12: 0.2 µg
Folate (DFE): 133 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: icing sugar.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Potica slices best the day after baking.

Common mistakes

Rolling the dough too thick gives few swirls; rolling the filling too thick makes the loaf split.

Storage

Keeps 5 days wrapped at room temperature; freezes well.

Variations

Pehtranova potica (Slovenia): Filled with tarragon and fresh cheese.
Makova potica (Slovenia): Filled with sweetened poppy seeds.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The body of the dish

To glaze

Egg, beaten1 piece · 50 g
Icing sugar (optional)1 tbsp · 7.4 g

Used in steps 1, 5, 6

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

Mix and knead · about 45 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h 30 min
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Final proof · about 45 min
Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.
Bake · about 1 h at 170 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
Cool · about 30 min
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
Start to finish: about 4 h 30 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
Ingredient	Role	Weight	Baker’s %
All-purpose flour	Flour	500 g	100%
Milk	Other liquid	206 g	41.2%
Butter	Fat	80 g	16%
Sugar	Sugar	60 g	12%
Egg	Egg	50 g	10%
Egg yolk	Egg	34 g	6.8%
Dried yeast	Yeast	7 g	1.4%
Salt	Salt	3 g	0.6%
Lemon zest	Other	2 g	0.4%

Total flour: 500 g
Hydration: —
With milk, eggs…: 46.7%
Wholegrain: 0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

Salt 0.6% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).
Sugar 12% — an enriched, sweet dough; rises more slowly and browns quickly.
Fat 16% — a rich, tender dough.

If something goes wrong

Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Spreads flat / no oven spring
Likely causes
- Over-proofed
- Weak shaping (no surface tension)
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much water for the flour
What to do
- Shorten the proof; bake when the poke springs back slowly
- Shape tightly so the skin is taut
- Preheat fully (30+ minutes; with a stone or Dutch oven, 45)
- Lower hydration or use bread flour
Collapsed or sunken middle
Likely causes
- Oven door opened too early
- Too much leavening or sugar
- Under-baked centre
- Over-proofed yeast dough
What to do
- Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
- Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
- Test the centre before removing
- Proof less
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Cracked or domed top
Likely causes
- Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
- Too much leavening
- Overmixed batter
What to do
- Lower the oven 10–15 °C
- Use the exact leavening amount
- Fold just until combined
Big holes or tunnels
Likely causes
- Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
- Air trapped while shaping bread
- Uneven proof
What to do
- Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
- Degas gently and shape tightly
- Proof covered in an even, warm place
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
Dry or crumbly
Likely causes
- Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
- Over-baked
- Too little fat or sugar
What to do
- Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
- Check 5 minutes early
- Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

Jota (sauerkraut and bean stew)
Slovenian · 1 h 35 min · 346 kcal
Kranjska klobasa with sauerkraut
Slovenian · 55 min · 526 kcal
Kanelbullar (Swedish cinnamon buns)
Swedish · 2 h 12 min · 202 kcal · Contains egg
Kıymalı pide
Turkish · 2 h · 699 kcal

Potica (walnut roll)

Ingredients

Dough

Filling

To glaze

Equipment

Method

About this dish

Allergens

Nutrition

Good to know