Pogača

Pogača(Cyrillic:погача;Turkish:poğaça) is a type of bread baked in the ashes of the fireplace, and later in modern ovens. Found in the cuisines of theBalkans,Levant,TurkishandHungaryit can be leavened or unleavened, though the latter is considered more challenging to make.It is generally made fromwheatflour, butbarleyand sometimesryemay be added.It can be stuffed with potatoes, ground beef, olive, or cheese, and have grains and herbs like sesame, black nigella seed, or dried dill in the dough or sprinkled on top.
The word derives ultimately from theLatinpanis focacius, i.e. bread (panis) baked on the hearth or fireplace (focus), via theByzantine Greekπογάτσα (pogátsa), thence entering theSouth Slavic languagesaspogača/ погача.
A variant is known aspogačice(diminutive form), a type ofpuff pastryeaten inBosnia and Herzegovina,Bulgaria,Croatia,Kosovo,Montenegro,North Macedonia,Serbia,Slovenia, andTurkey(where it is calledpoğaça) with variations likekaraköy. It is calledpogatschenin Austria, andpagáčein Slovakia. It is known by similar names in other languages:pogácsa(Hungarian),pogace(Romanian),Greek:μπουγάτσα'bughátsa',Bulgarian,MacedonianandSerbian Cyrillic:погача,Albanian:pogaçe,Arabicبغاجة (baghajah).
Slovenian pogača is a regional dish fromWhite CarniolaandPrlekijathat is known locally under various names such as "belokranjska pogača", "ocvirkovca", "gerpa", "oprešak" and "postržjača". Rather than a stuffed savoury pastry, this dish is a type of traditionalflatbreadthat is typically topped withocvirki.
Different localities make slightly different varieties of pogača, and thus there is a wide variety of textures and flavors. Some may be just an inch in diameter; others are much larger. Others have a crumblyscone-like consistency inside, while others are more tender like a fresh dinner roll or croissant.
InHungaryit is considered to be a cultural specialty and aHungarikum. It evolved from small flat breads. Although the pastry was adopted from the Turks, many of its variations, such as the pork rind pogácsa (tepertős pogácsa), were born in Hungary and have been a popular dish since theMiddle Ages.Popular flavours include potato, cheese, pork crackling,tejföl,túró,juhtúró,Poppy seed(mákos pogácsa), paprika (paprikás pogácsa), pumpkin seed,ramsonand cabbage.
The cookbook of theHungarianPiarist monk Kristóf Simai, written inSelmecbányabetween 1795 and 1799, contains a wide variety of other pogácsas such as the honey pogácsa, butter pogácsa, spicy scones and chocolate scones.
In Hungaryboszorkánypogácsa(witches' pogácsa) is also popular, a small, sweet, usually blueberry- or peach- jam or vanilla filled biscuit.
InSyrianandTurkish cuisine,poğaçacan be filled withbeyaz peynir(white cheese), or other fillings like black olives, potatoes, onions or ground beef.
In Hungary it is found in most pastry shops and in subway stations. It is also an important part of Hungarian culture.Hamubasűlt Pogácsafor instance, a pogácsa made in the embers of open fires often appears in Hungarian folk tales, when the protagonist sets out on a journey carrying this one thing in his satchel. It is also the symbol of adulthood since a similar satchel (tarisznya) is given to graduates to set them on their journey in life. These are given during Graduation (Ballagás,literally: ambling) and they carry it with themselves the whole day.