Pogača

Pogača

Published on December 30, 2016 | In By
    • Prep Time
    • Minutes
    • Cook Time
    • Minutes
    • Difficulty Level

Pogača is a Serbian festive bread. It is usually made on celebrations such as “slava”, typically Serbian celebration of family saint protector, Christmas, Easter or sometimes New Year’s. Religiously speaking it symbolises the body of Christ, and it can be presented as token to the God. For the Christmas eve, the housewife would hide a coin in it, a custom that can be found across Europe- and the member who finds the coin should have the most prosperous year ahead. For “slava”, the family would take it to the church in the morning for blessing and sprinkle with red wine, symbolising Christ’s blood. This is a recipe of my Uni professor Julijana who shares the same passion for cooking and was generous to share her family secret. Thank you!

*Photo Aleksandar Gazibara

Ingredients

  • 650 gr. bread type flour
  • 11 gr. dry yeast
  • 1 egg
  • 75 ml. oil
  • 50 ml. Yogurt (room temperature)
  • 350 ml. Milk (room temperature)
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 table spoon salt 

  • 30 gr. melted unsalted butter
  • 1 egg for greasing 

  • baking pan of 25 cm in length

Instructions

  1. For decoration: Water Flour (enough to make a dough that is not sticky and is easy to shape)
  2. 
Preparation Mix the dry yeast and 1 1⁄2 teaspoon of sugar and in 200ml of warm milk and leave on the room temperature to start rising for about 10 minutes. *Make sure that the flour, milk and yoghurt are on the room temperature.
  3. Pour the flour in the deep bowl and gradually add all the ingredients. Knead till you achieve the smooth dough. Place in the oiled deep bowl, cover and let rise in warm place for one hour.
  4. Take out the dough when doubled in size and cut it in three pieces, two of the same size and one a bit smaller. First, bigger ball press lightly and place in the middle of the baking pan.
  5. From the other bigger ball shape the tetragonal dimensions 36x32 cm. Cut the edges to shape perfect tetragonal. Cut in 6 stripes 6cm wide. Brush with melted butter, roll and place around the big ball in the baking pan.
  6. The third a bit smaller ball shape into a circle of 30 cm in width and cut in 6 triangles. In every triangle, make sharp 4 cuts in the sharp part. Brush with butter and roll, first from the both sides and then from wider to thinner part. Place in between the rolls.
  7. From the leftover dough shape the small balls and distribute them evenly in the empty spaces. Cover the bread and once again leave to grow for another 30 minutes till doubled in size.
  8. Make the decorations. 
8. Brush the bread with beaten egg; place the decoration on the top.
  9. Brush the bread with beaten egg; place the decoration on the top.
  10. Bake in the preheated oven (180 degrees) for 35min or until the crust has become golden brown. Cool.
  • Servings : 5?
  • Ready in : 34 Minutes
  • Recipe Type :
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