Grandma’s Povitica (Croatian Nut Roll)

Ingredients

• 0.25 cup warm water
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 0.75 cup lukewarm milk
• 0.25 cup white sugar
• 0.25 cup vegetable shortening (such as Crisco®)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3.5 cups all-purpose flour, or more as needed
• 0.5 cup brown sugar
• 0.25 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 0.25 cup milk
• 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 0.5 teaspoon lemon extract
• 2 cups finely chopped walnuts

Steps

1. Gather all ingredients.
2. Make bread dough: Combine warm water and yeast together in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast softens and forms a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir lukewarm milk, white sugar, shortening, egg, and salt into yeast mixture. Mix in flour until a soft, easy-to-handle dough forms.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and let stand for 10 minutes. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.
5. Place dough in a large, lightly-oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume or until a hole remains when dough is pressed, about 2 hours.
6. Punch down dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a ball and let dough rest for 15 minutes.
7. Make filling: Beat brown sugar, butter, and egg together in a bowl until creamy. Add milk, vanilla extract, and lemon extract; stir until smooth. Stir in walnuts until incorporated.
8. Roll dough on a large, floured cloth into a 20×30-inch rectangle. Spread walnut filling evenly over top of dough, spreading to the edges.
9. Roll up along the long edge like a jelly roll and pinch edges to seal. Coil roll into a snail shape.
10. Grease a 9x13x2-inch baking sheet. Place shaped dough on the prepared sheet and let rise until an impression remains when dough is gently pressed, about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
11. Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes.