Revnicha (Croation Nut Bread)

Recipe from Laurie P.
Yield: 4 loaves

Yeast Bread:
1 Tblsp yeast or 1 pkg active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup melted butter
2 eggs at room temperature
1 cup lukewarm mashed potatoes
6 1/2 to 7 cups whole wheat flour or all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl.  Stir in sugar, salt, butter, eggs, potatoes and 4 cups of the flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.  (The dough will be soft.)  Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl; turn greased side up.  Cover tightly; refrigerate at least 8 hours.  (Dough can be kept up to 5 days in refrigerator at 45 degrees or below.)  Keep covered.

Filling:

(I like to make 4 individual bowls of filling rather than make one big bowl so each loaf has the same amount of filling.  The filling recipe is for ONE loaf of bread.  Make 4 bowls or 4x the recipe and ivied into fourths.)


Filling for ONE loaf:
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp lemon extract

Mix walnuts, sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and lemon extract.

Punch down dough and divide into 4 equal pieces.

Roll 1 piece of dough into a rectangle, 15 x 10 inches, on a lightly floured surface.  Spread 1 bowl of filling over rectangle to within 1 inch of the edges.

Roll up gently, beginning at one of the long sides.  Moisten the ends with water; pinch edges of dough into roll to seal.  Bend roll in half and place in a greased or parchment paper lined 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.  Cover; let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until bread is browned.  Remove from pan and place bread on a towel lined cooling rack.  Cover with a towel.  When cool, the bread may be wrapped in foil or plastic wrap. Refrigerate or freeze for best storage.