Home-Style Turkish 'Poğaça'

Poğaça- Turkish rolls
The Picture Pantry / Getty Images
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 50 mins
Servings: 20 servings

We love Turkish breakfast more than any other morning menu. One of our favorites is a soft, buttery breakfast roll called poğaça (poe-ah-CHA').

Poğaça has the tender texture of a baking powder biscuit, and is often stuffed with delectable fillings like black olives, olive paste, Feta, spiced ground beef, Turkish pastrami called pastırma (pah-stir-MAH'), a spicy Turkish sausage called sucuk (soo-JOOK') and mashed potato.

Bakeries all over the country prepare fresh poğaça daily for breakfast eaters on the go. Many home cooks also have their own recipes to serve at more leisurely family breakfasts and afternoon tea gatherings.

In recent years, it's become popular to add a mixture of fresh herbs like dill weed, oregano, and mint to the dough. This gives the rolls a wonderful, green color and the flavor of the herbs goes very well with cheese fillings.

Ingredients

For the Filling:

  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley, optional

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped mixed fresh herbs, optional

For the Dough:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, more as needed

  • 2 cups plain yogurt

  • 3/4 cup melted unsalted butter or margarine

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar

For Baking:

  • 2 large egg yolks

  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or black cumin seeds, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. First, prepare the filling. Crumble the feta or goat cheese with a fork. Add about 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley. If you're adding herbs to the dough, omit the parsley in the filling.

  2. In a large mixing bowl, starting with about 2 cups of flour, add the yogurt, melted butter, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Work the mixture together with your hands. Keep kneading the mixture and adding flour gradually until you have a smooth, firm dough about as firm as an earlobe.

  3. If you are using fresh herbs in the dough, knead them into the dough thoroughly. Decide what size you wish to make your rolls. For breakfast rolls, make balls of dough about the size of a small plum. For bite-sized poğaça, make the balls about the size of an apricot.

  4. Take a ball of dough and press it down on a lightly floured surface to flatten it. Put a small amount of your chosen filling in the center. Fold the circle in half over the filling so the edges come together and pinch them closed very gently. On a baking tray lined with grease-proof baking paper, place the poğaça seam side down and tuck the ends under gently as you go. Your roll should be an oval that is wider and rounder in the center and narrower at the ends. Repeat this with all the dough balls, leaving about 1 inch between each roll.

  5. With a pastry brush, coat the top of each roll with egg yolk. Sprinkle the sesame, poppy or black cumin seeds on top of each roll. Bake in a 350 F/175 C oven until the rolls puff up and the tops turn a golden brown.

  6. Serve the poğaça while still warm with fresh fruit preserves and honey.

Tip

  • You can make your poğaça as large or small as you wish. Bite-sized poğaça also go very well with tea and coffee and make great snacks.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
149 Calories
10g Fat
12g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 20
Amount per serving
Calories 149
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g 12%
Saturated Fat 5g 27%
Cholesterol 49mg 16%
Sodium 161mg 7%
Total Carbohydrate 12g 4%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 102mg 8%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 84mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)