Recipe of the week: Poğaça, stuffed Turkish bread rolls

I claim here that they are Turkish but, of course, pretty much every country in this region claims to own it: poğaça! You can buy these at every pastry shop or street vendor in Turkey, offering you many different options with fillings ranging from minced meat and potatoes to cheese and herbs. When made at home, the possibilities are endless, and they make a great snack. Considering that we are pretty much stuck at home anyway, it is time to give this classic a shot.

Ingredients

(yields about 50 pieces, half the amounts if you want less)

Dough

• 2 eggs
• 400 milliliters milk
• 200 milliliters water
• 200 milliliters oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cube yeast or two packets dry yeast
• 1 kilogram flour
• Sesame seeds and black cumin seeds as toppings (optional)

Filling

Fill it with whatever your heart – or in this case, your stomach – desires! Boiled potatoes with fried onions, feta cheese with parsley, olives, mushrooms with some small pieces of chicken or well-seasoned minced meat, the options are endless.

Instructions

Add the sugar, salt, a good portion of the flour, oil, dry yeast, milk and water in a bowl, also adding the one egg and an egg white last, and knead it. Gradually add flour until the dough doesn’t stick to your hands and the bowl anymore. Spread a bit of flour over the dough to prevent the dough from sticking to its cover and cover it with a wet cloth. It should not be dripping wet, only wet to the touch. Let it rest in a warm place for at least half an hour.

Once the dough has risen, knead it well. Break off walnut-size pieces of the dough and form them into flat ovals. Put a little bit of your filling in the middle and fold the edges carefully to prevent the filling from spilling out. When placing them on a baking sheet, make sure that the seam of the tiny rolls is on the bottom.

Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the leftover egg yolk and whisk it. Then brush the egg mixture over the poğaças and sprinkle some sesame or black cumin seeds on them. You can skip this step, but I'd say give it a try because you will taste the difference.

Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Tips

If you think you have baked too many in one go, just toss them into the freezer once they have cooled off. I always like to make a lot so that I have a breakfast go-to when I don’t have the time or just don’t feel like making a fresh batch.

Do not store them in the fridge because they dry out pretty fast. So as long as it isn’t abnormally hot in your house, they should be kept in an airtight container.

You can use your toppings to mark different fillings for your poğaças. For example, I decorate cheese ones with sesame, while I mark the ones filled with meat with black cumin seeds.

If the poğaça do go stale, you can warm them up and make them crispy by putting them in a toaster. I must say, sometimes those taste the best!