Looking for a savory snack that you can give your kids after school? Try this cotton soft homemade Turkish pogaca recipe! Stuff these with cheese, olives or potatoes. All family members will be hooked with the smell when these are in oven.
We have several savory pastries in Turkish cuisine. We love them with our afternoon tea or as a snack after school/work. If you love them too, check out our simit recipe and gozleme too.
What is Turkish Pogaca?
Pogaca is a traditional savory pastry in Turkey and it is as popular as borek. You can find pogaca with different fillings such as feta cheese, kasar cheese, potatoes or olives. It is even possible to find it with no filling. Every home cook has their own style of pogaca recipe. They might be big or small in size in pastry shops, but I prefer making them small as they look cuter this way.
All pastry shops or bakeries here have these as their main products. People stop by these shops on the way to their work early in the morning because pogaca and simit are the best breakfast when you are in a hurry.
Students can find these even at school canteens, so if they can’t have breakfast at home, they have simit or pogaca with a cup of tea as a quick breakfast right before the class.
If you are at home, preparing a big Turkish style breakfast, pair this fluffy mini buns with some more Turkish foods like acuka spread and preserved green olives.
Expert Tips
The very first thing to know when making these super soft buns is that everything should be at room temperature. If the ingredients are cold, your buns won't get as soft as desired.
Also, we need two ingredients so that the buns can keep soft for up to a week: Yeast and mineral water. These two really help the fluffiness. On the other hand, don't worry if you can't find mineral water. Use still water instead.
Finally, you don't need a machine for this recipe. You can make it using your hands. It requires just a little bit kneading until the dough holds together.
How to make
Mix sugar and yeast with milk. Combine all the dough ingredients including this milk mixture and mix them well. You can add a little extra flour or mineral water if either of them is not enough. You should have a pliable and non-sticky dough. Cover it with a moist cloth and let it rest for 45 min. Meanwhile you can prepare the filling. Chop parsley and combine it with feta cheese.
Take a small piece from the dough and flatten it with your hands. You can do this on the counter. Put a teaspoon of crumbled feta cheese mixture on it and close it up folding the edges upwards like a bundle. Do the same for the rest of the dough. Place a parchment paper in a baking tray and place the pogacas on it. The folded side of pogacas should be at the bottom so that they keep their shape when baking.
Beat one egg yolk well and coat all the top of the pogacas with it using a brush. Sprinkle poppy seeds, sesame seeds or nigella seeds on each pogaca. Bake them about 30 minutes or until they get golden.
They smell so tempting when they are still warm that I can't wait until they are cool and always throw a few of them into my mouth. Oh my! That softness!
Other Turkish Pastries
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Turkish Pogaca Recipe
Turkish style super soft mini buns stuffed with cheese.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 40 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients
For its dough:
- 4 cups (480 grams) flour
- 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup warm milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup lukewarm water or mineral water, at room temperature
- ½ stick (50 grams) butter, softened
For its filling:
- Half bunch of parsley
- 1 and ½ cup feta cheese (you can use a mixture of your favorite cheeses)
For coating their top:
- 1 egg yolk
- Poppy seeds or nigella seeds
Instructions
-
Prepare the Dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
- Add in the milk, oil, water, and butter. Mix well either by hand or using a stand mixer until everything is combined.
- Knead the mixture for about 5 minutes until smooth.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it back in the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, followed by a kitchen towel.
- Allow the dough to rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.
-
Prepare the Filling:
- Finely chop the parsley.
- Mix the chopped parsley with the cheese. Set aside.
-
Shaping and Filling:
- After the dough has risen, uncover it and punch it down to release any air bubbles.
- Knead the dough either on a clean surface or within the bowl for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Take a small piece of the dough and flatten it either with your hands or on the counter.
- Place a tablespoon of the cheese and parsley mixture onto the center of the flattened dough.
- Fold the edges of the dough upwards, enclosing the filling, and form into a ball shape. Ensure the folded edges are on the bottom.
- Place the filled dough ball on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, ensuring there is an inch of space between each.
- Once all are shaped, cover them with a clean kitchen towel and let them rest for a second rise, which should take about 20-30 minutes.
-
Baking:
- Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F).
- Beat the egg yolk thoroughly.
- Using a brush, coat the top of each pogaca with the beaten egg yolk.
- Sprinkle nigella seeds over the top of each pogaca.
- Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes or until they turn golden in color.
-
Post-Baking:
- After baking, remove the pogacas from the oven.
- Cover them with a damp kitchen towel and let them rest for about 15 minutes.
Notes
- Yeast: Always ensure your yeast is fresh for optimal rising. Expired or old yeast can result in a dense dough. If using active dry yeast, consider proofing it first by dissolving it in warm (not hot) water with a pinch of sugar. It should become frothy in about 5-10 minutes.
- Dough Consistency: Aim for a soft and slightly sticky dough. If the dough is too dry, it won't rise well and will produce a dense pogaca. If it's too wet, add flour a little at a time.
- Rising Environment: Place your dough in a warm, draft-free place for rising. This could be in an off oven with the light on or near a warm spot in the kitchen. The ideal temperature for yeast to work is around 27°C (80°F). Ensure that the dough is covered to prevent a skin from forming on its surface.
- Filling: Don't over-stuff. While it's tempting to add a lot of filling, too much can cause the dough to tear or not seal properly, leading to leaks during baking.
- Shaping: Ensure that the sealed part is at the bottom to maintain the rounded shape of the pogaca.
- Egg Wash: The egg yolk gives the pogaca a shiny, golden finish. For a richer color, you can add a teaspoon of milk to the egg yolk.
- Baking: Monitor the pogacas toward the end of baking to ensure they don't overbrown.
- Storage: If not consuming immediately, store the pogacas in an airtight container to maintain their softness.
- Serving: Pogacas are best enjoyed warm. If you've stored them, consider reheating them slightly before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 86
- Sugar: 0.7 g
- Sodium: 127.9 mg
- Fat: 3.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.3 g
- Protein: 2.4 g
- Cholesterol: 13.8 mg
Alisa says
These are so delicious. I made them this morning for the first time and by the afternoon I had to make two more batches cos my family loved them so much. I made them quite large and used mild cheddar for the filling and it was great. Thank you for the recipe!
Yusuf says
Hi Alisa! So glad to hear that you and your family loved our pogaca recipe. Mild cheddar sounds like a great filling for it. Thanks for sharing your feedback!
Deirdre says
Fabulous recipe. Made them today. Excellent. May try filling them with soft mozzarella and basil for a different flavor. Especially for a get together with friends.
Hajera says
Hi
Thank you so much for this recipe I just made them and they are so sublime!
Zerrin says
Hi Hajera! I'm so glad you loved it.
Hannah says
I have tried lots of pogaca recipes but this is the best. So soft and tasty. Now my go to pogaca recipe. Thank you!
Zerrin says
Glad to hear that you loved it Hannah!
Lynn Cee says
Zerrin, thank you so much for sharing your recipes! I just made a test batch of your brilliantly simple but very successful pogaça (plural?) -- can't believe how beautiful and tasty they are! My place smells of freshly baked bread and toasted sesame seeds: delish!!
I'll be frank: I was a bit skeptical because your pogaça recipe is so much simpler than the others ... but I doubt those other recipes, with so many more steps and ingredients, could be an iota better than your 'fluffy' pogaça!
Cheers, kudos, brava, Zerrin!
& Greetings from Silicon Valley, California.
Zerrin says
Hi Lynn! I'm so happy to hear that you loved the recipe! Isn't it wonderful when the smell of baking pogaças(plural) fill in the whole house? What I love most about this recipe is that you can keep these cotton soft pogaças in an airtight container up to a week. If they don't disappear on the day they are baked 🙂
clare howden says
Hi,
Loved reading your recipe. I am going to try it today as my 8 year old British son loves pogaca and we are unable to buy them in the uk. Can you tell me please, in the UK we have two kinds of flour. We have different types of flour. We have plain flour with no raising agent, we also have self raising flour used for cakes with raising agent in it. Lastly we have strong flour for bread making. Can you advise which flour to use please?
Zerrin says
Hi Clare! I'm sorry for replying late. I was busy with my 3-year-old son.
Well, I have never used the flours in UK myself, so I don't want to mislead you. I use plain flour for everything here in Turkey. It is not a self rising flour. So probably plain flour in the UK is the same. I'd recommend you to use it. Hope you have a good result. Cheers from Turkey!
Ram sharma says
Really its very yummy &easy to bake.thanks.
Ram sharma says
Oh! Its so yammi soft and so easy to bake.cheese and parsley filling is good but I prefer to fill onion &potato with spice.thanks.
Paul says
I love poğaça and after mercimek çorbası it is my favourite Turkish breakfast food. Have used this recipe as my first attempt at making these and it works very well. I do have a couple of slight variations to add as options. I prefer to use nigella seeds rather than poppy seeds and for the filling I have been using rocket with the feta (since they go so well together) instead of parsley. I also add a dash of milk to the egg yolk which seems to baste them a little better and avoids the risk of them turning out too 'eggy'.
Selda says
Merhaba Zerrin,
ben almanyadan yaziyorum pogacalarin görüntüsü süüüper .... hemen denemek istiyorum ama bir kac sorum olcak cevaplarsan sevinirim.... mayayi sütle birlikte bekletmelimiyim yani maya sütde kabarmalimi ? birde hamuru ekmek hamuru gibi yogurmalimiýim ... cok tskler simdiden
Zerrin says
Selda hanım, instant maya oldugu için bekletmenize gerek yok. Hamuru ekmek hamuru kadar uzun yogurmanıza gerek yok ama elinize yapismayacak hale gelene kadar karistirip yogurun. Afiyet olsun!
peggy says
I have been making these for a few years now and when my Turkish mother in law has her ladies tea group over she asks me to make them every time. Its a shock that she has her foreign daughter in law make these. Her friends love them.
Zerrin says
Thanks for your comment Peggy! You must be proud of yourself! I'm sure your mother in law is proud of you too:) It's a great thing for Turkish moms to have a daughter in law good at cooking.
Zerrin says
Hi Nicole! The cup I use takes about 150g flour.
Angela says
Would you be so kind and confirm how much sugar vs salt, it seems to me 1 tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt can't be right for something savory? Would love to give your recipe a try.
Thank you for your time.
Angela
Zerrin says
Hi Angela,
The measurement is right. You know salt has a stronger flavor than sugar, so 1 tsp salt is enough. The cheese filling is also salty, so you don't need to add extra salt to it. Hope you will love it when you try.
Kim says
I don't like salty cheese and use potato filling for mine so I double up the salt in the dough
Zerrin says
I love potato filling in these buns. Thanks for sharing your experience here. For the potato filling, I saute onion in olive oil, add boiled and chopped potatoes and sprinkle some spices like chili, black pepper, dried mint and salt. Would love to hear how you prepare the potato filling.
Lydia says
Another great recipe! I used seltzer, which was simply carbonated water. Seemed to work fine. I don't understand the difference it would make vs. regular water. Doesn't yeast make carbon dioxide? Well, anyway, they were very nice. I parbaked some and will finish baking them in a day or two, and I expect they will be fine. I also will try freezing them sometime. I read about the person wanting to know if the dough could store in the fridge, and I don't know why it couldn't. She should experiment and share her results. What other things can these little balls be filled with? The feta and cheese was great, but I was a little stingy with the filling....thinking I'd run out and I ended up with a lot left over! Next time they'll be filled out more! I also used black nigella seeds because I had no poppy seeds. The dough was great. I didn't know which flour was better to use, so I used bread flour, and I found that I needed to add a bit more water, but the dough was wonderfully easy to work with. I think the other flour might make even lighter and fluffier pogacas.
tanja@tanjascookingcorner says
I love Poğaça, it is so similar to our Bosnian Pogača! Love your filling! A perfect snack! Yum!
Have a great day!
Tanja
Zerrin says
I guess we have some common foods in our cultures. Glad to hear that you love it!