On 11/9/2019 at 2:31 PM, Margaret Pilgrim said:I try to keep a tradition from my husband's family alive. I seem to be the last woman (alive) in his family who makes this bread, which I learned from his Austrian mother: poteca, walnut roll.
I grew up in a Croatian neighborhood in Kansas City (Strawberry Hill) and they have the same holiday bread but call it povitica.
PS I once lived in a rental house that had black walnut trees and I decided to make some povitica since the nuts were "free". It took months for those black walnut husks to dry out enough. They have to be removed before you can crack open the shells and that is a messy messy chore. I put them in a gunny sack and whacked then up side the tree and ran over them with my car. Just trying to do it by hand will turn your skin walnut brown until it decides to wear off. I finally got enough nuts meat to make the bread and ugh. I found out I didn't like black walnuts. They have quite a different taste than English walnuts. Another time, my uncle gave me a big bag of pecans and I made some povitica with those and that was wonderful.
