Bulgaria - Pogacha

Today is Bulgaria's Liberation Day, celebrating autonomy within the Bulgarian Empire in 1878.

A very common bread in Bulgaria and its Balkan neighbours is pogacha. The name may be the same but the results can differ widely. Every place makes its own version, or more than one variety, and so they come in all different textures and flavours across the country.

Some pogácsa are only two centimetres around and two centimetres high; others are much larger. Some have a crumbly scone-like consistency inside, while others are more tender like a fresh dinner roll or croissant. More specifically, in Hungary this snack food or meal item is typically 3 to 10 cm in diameter, though they range in size from the smaller, crispier scone-like "buttons" through to larger fluffier versions.

Pogača is sometimes served hot as an appetizer and/or bread. Hot pogača filled with sour cream (or curd and feta cheese in Turkey and Bulgaria) is considered a particularly delicious specialty.

Watch this video to see how a traditional cornet-pogacha is made. It is not quick so, obviously, more elaborate breads like this are often made for a special family occasions.

Almost all breads like this are made with a basic bun-dough recipe. Because of the additional fat and eggs, the dough is richer and easy to handle and, when baked, it has a fine light texture which makes it ideal for sweet festive breads.

Here is my recipe for the dough:

BASIC BUN DOUGH

approximately 2 1/2 to 3 cups plain white flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dry yeast

1 cup lukewarm water and milk, mixed

60g (1/4 cup) melted butter

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup castor sugar

Add the butter to the liquid, then egg, salt and sugar Mix well to combine. Add 1 cup of flour and the yeast and mix well. Leave covered in a warm place for 20-30 minutes until light. Now add enough more flour to make a soft dough and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a clean greased bowl, cover and leave for about an hour or until doubled.

Now use it in any number of bun and yeasted cake recipes.

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If you have never made this sort of dough, don't be intimidated. When I used to teach bread-making classes, I would put up a big sign somewhere in the room, saying 'Bread-making is EASY!' Because it is.

Try it! Then stand back for the compliments!! Trust me, there will be many.

* Bookmark this page as you will use this dough to make any of a wide range of sweet breads.

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