Pogača Food

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.

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.

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).

SIMIT POğAçA

Steps:

• Heat the milk in a heatproof bowl in the microwave or in a pan over a low heat until lukewarm. Add the yeast and sugar, then leave to stand for 15 mins until frothy. Tip the egg yolks, flour, butter and ½ tsp salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, and add the warm milk mixture. Knead for 10 mins - the dough should be tacky. Or, knead by hand for about 15 mins.
• Cover and leave to prove for at least 1-2 hrs until doubled in size, or chill overnight. If you're proving at room temperature, chill the dough for 30 mins after it has doubled to make it easier to work with.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Combine the olives, both the cheeses and the parsley, then set aside. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface into a large rectangle (about 46 x 30cm).
• Spread the pepper paste all over the dough. With a long side facing you, scatter the filling over the half of the rectangle that's closest to you, then fold the other half over that to enclose the filling. Gently roll out the dough again to help the filling stick to the dough, then cut the rectangle vertically into 20 x 2½cm strips. Working with one strip at a time, fold the strip loosely in half, then holding it at both ends, twist, then gently pull the loose ends through the loop.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 8 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Lay the simit on the sheet and brush with the beaten egg. Sprinkle over the sesame and nigella seeds, then leave to rest on the baking sheet for about 20 mins.
• Bake for 25-30 mins, or until golden brown. Leave to cool slightly on the sheet before serving.