Pogača Recipes

TURKISH POGAçA

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm milk in a bowl. Let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
• Combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup water, vegetable oil, salt, and yeast mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment; knead until pliable and not too sticky. Add a little flour if too soft, or warm water if too hard. Cover with a wet cloth and let sit at room temperature for 45 to 50 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking tray with butter.
• Mix feta cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and chili powder together in a bowl until well combined.
• Knead dough for 2 minutes. Divide it into 12 equal portions, and roll each one into a ball. Use your hands or a rolling pin to flatten each ball into a 2- to 3-inch circle. Add a spoon of cheese filling in the middles and fold the edges upward like a bundle, pressing to secure. Place on the prepared baking try, folded-sides down. Brush with milk and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
• Bake on the top rack of the preheated oven until golden, 30 to 32 minutes.

POGACA (SERBIAN BREAD)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Dissolve yeast in warm water.
• Add sugar oil and egg.
• Gradually stir in flour until combined and soft dough forms.
• Knead in bowl for 1 minute.
• Place dough in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled.
• Roll on floured board into large, slightly flattened circle.
• Prick with fork all over.
• Brush top with oil or butter and let sit 20 minutes.
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

POGAčA

Steps:

• Heat the milk and add the butter. Cool to a warm temperature of 95 F (36 C).
• Add the yeast and sugar and mix until dissolved.
• Leave to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 15 minutes.
• Add the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer and dig a well in the center. Add the mixture of milk and yeast, sour cream, oil, lemon juice (or vinegar) and egg to the center of the well.
• Using the dough hook, knead at medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the salt and knead again for 5 minutes. Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rise for an hour in a warm place, away from drafts.
• On a lightly floured work surface, punch the dough and divide it into two pieces.
• Place each piece of dough in a greased pastry ring, about 5 inches (12 cm) in diameter and flatten by hand, or form two round loaves by hand of about 5 inches in diameter.
• Using a sharp knife, draw a cross on top of the dough.
• Allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 15 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 350 F (175 C).
• Bake both loaves for about 50 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and place the buns on a cooling rack.

TURKISH POGACA

Steps:

• Mix everything together except the egg yolk.
• Wait for 1 hour for batter to double.
• Make small rounds as big as half of your palm.
• Press it with your fingers to make it as big as your palm.
• Mix feta cheese and parsley.
• Put the mixture into these small rounds and close it and round it again.
• Place it on the oiled oven sheet.
• Brush all the batch with the egg yolk.
• Place it in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes in 350°F.
• Put poppyseed on the batch as desired.

SERBIAN "POGACHA" BREAD

Steps:

• Scald milk and add butter. Allow to cool to lukewarm. Add yeast and sugar and stir until dissolved.
• Measure 5 cups flour into work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add milk-yeast mixture, sour cream, oil, egg and salt. Mix well.
• Switch to dough hook and knead on medium-low for about 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Turn out into a large greased bowl. Flip dough over to grease both sides, cover and let rise until doubled.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Punch down dough and place in a 10-inch round greased pan with high sides (about 3 inches) or handshape into a 10-inch round and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Using a sharp knife or a "lame," slash top of dough three times. Some make an "X" on top. Bake about 1 hour or until instant-read thermometer registers 190 degrees. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

BELOKRANJSKA POGACA (BREAD, FOCACCIA)

Steps:

• Mix yeast with 1-2 teaspoons of honey and 0.1l lukewarm water and a teaspoon or two of flour. Wait untill it rises (about 10 minutes).
• Mix the risen yeast with flour and add 1-2 beaten eggs, salt and water as needed to make a nice medium firm silky textured dough (for special occasions water can be replaced with mixture of sour cream and milk - be careful that either water or cream/milk mixture isn't cold or hot). I also suggest that you dissolve the salt in a little water before adding.
• Leave it to rise in a warm place (but not too warm) for aprox. half an hour, sometimes more. If you add more oil or cream or eggs the time to rise the dough prolongs. As I make it it usually takes about 45 minutes.
• Put the risen dough on a floured surface and gently beat it to fit the baking plate. You should get a 1.5 -2 cm thick dough. If you have a smaller oven or baking plate it will probably make two pogaca breads. Traditionally it is round shaped, but you can adapt it to your baking plate.
• Take a knife and carve squares half deep into the dough.
• Dampen the surface with a mixture of 1 beaten egg and a tablespoon milk - use a brush.
• Sprinkle with salt and cumin.
• Leave it for up to 10 minutes if you want the bread to be a little bit higher or bake it immediately in the oven at 200C for about 20 - 30 minutes untill nice golden brown.
• On different occasions you can enrich the Belokranjska pogaca with cheese (sprinkle small dices on top instead of cumin) or some dry meat (smoked ham -- ). The pogaca is also sometimes made with onions which are cut in small, fried untill brown, cooled down then mixed into the dough (step 2).

POGACA (FETA DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the flour with baking soda in a bowl; set aside.
• Mix the canola oil, butter, yogurt, eggs, sour cream, sugar, and salt together in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients to form a soft dough. Knead and squeeze the dough in the bowl until it is no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. Stir the feta cheese, parsley, olive oil, and paprika together in a bowl with a fork to make a filling.
• Make each dumpling by pinching off about 2 1/2 tablespoons of dough; roll into a ball about 1 3/4 inches across between your hands, and press it into a flat circle 3 inches across on your palm. Spoon 1 scant tablespoon of filling into the center of the circle. Bring the edges of the circle together over the filling, and pinch them together to make a fat, round little stuffed dumpling. Set the dumplings onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, seam sides down. Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl, and brush the pogaca tops with the egg yolk. Sprinkle each with about 1/4 teaspoon of sesame seeds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are shiny, brown, and crackled, 20 to 30 minutes.