Pogácsa and Whipped Cheese Dip

Hello everyone,

today I will guide you through the making progress of pogácsa and a fluffy, light and tasty feta dip.

It’s been on my mind for days how I should translate the Hungarian name into English, should I go with scone, or biscuit, but finally - since it's neither a scone nor a biscuit – I decided to stick with the original ‘pogácsa’.

It’s an easy to make, simple, yet truly variable and amazing savory bite that is known by everyone and can be found everywhere in Hungary. It is a typical welcome dish for guests before lunch, and it’s also a popular party snack.

It’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, best straight out of the oven. My favorite type is when quark is used for making the dough, yet there are other options, boiled and mashed potatoes or cracklings are also often added into the dough. Traditionally it is circular, after rolling the dough, cookie cutters of various sizes are used to form pogácsa, then the dough fallen off is re-knead, re-rolled and cut into circles again. Many times I take the faster lane and just slice the dough into rectangles. It tastes just as good.

Pogácsa is not just a national dish, it is a recurring element in Hungarian folk tales. Pogácsa baked in ashes is what the mother gives to his son who is about to leave for a journey along which he is to face many challenges (dragons spitting fire, mean kings, golden fish that can speak and the like). Based on the folk tales, there is also a tradition that high school graduates receive a piece of pogácsa in a haversack when saying good bye to their school and schoolmates.

Now that you know the story behind, let’s get started!

Ingredients:

For the pogácsa:

Dough:

• 4 g active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons milk (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 250 g very cold butter
• 70 g butter (to be melted)
• 150 g quark
• 100 g sheep’s quark*
• 100 g shredded cheese (any cheese you like – I used red cheddar)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 heaped teaspoon salt
• 100 g ramson (optional)

*Please note that sheep’s quark may be replaced by fresh soft goat cheese or may be omitted. In this case use quark instead. The key is to use 250 g quark altogether (the same amount as the butter and the flour). Quark may be replaced by ricotta, in this case I would add 2-3 more tablespoons of flour as ricotta is juicier than quark.

Topping:

• egg wash: 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon milk
• more shredded cheese
• sesame seeds

For the whipped cheese dip:

• 200 g feta cheese
• 150 g ricotta
• 100 g sour cream
• salt, pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry grated lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• salt, pepper, chili flakes
• 4-5 small bunches of thyme
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Tools:

• digital scale
• stand mixer
• cutting board
• sharp knife
• salad spinner
• various size bowls
• parchment paper
• rolling pin
• garlic press

Wash ramson thoroughly, dry (salad spinner comes in handy) and chop it into tiny bits.

Cut 250 g butter into small cubes and pop it into the freezer for a few minutes. The colder the butter the fluffier the dough will be.

Combine milk, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon flour and the dry yeast and let it sit until it gets foamy.

Please note that the milk should be lukewarm (if it's too hot it kills the yeast, if too cold, it would take the yeast a very long time to proof).

Sugar and flour helps to speed up the process, it's basically what the yeast feeds on.

Pour the flour into the mixing bowl, scatter the butter cubes and add salt. Mix with the paddle attachment until crumbly. Add quark, egg yolk, proofed yeast and switch to the dough hook. Mix until the dough comes together. Add 70 g (about 2/3 of the quantity in the list) shredded cheese and mix until fully combined (1 minute or so).

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured countertop, form it quickly into a disc, wrap it into a piece of parchment and place in the fridge for 1 hour.

Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it about 2-3 mm thin. Check regularly that there is enough flour underneath to prevent it from sticking to the surface.

Folding is how you get those beautiful layers. We are using melted butter, chopped ramson and shredded cheese to keep the layers apart.

Spread melted butter with a silicone brush on the rolled-out dough, scatter with shredded cheese and chopped ramson. Now, tri-fold, like an envelope. Fold the left side over, brush the top with butter and fold the right side on top. Now you have a relatively long rectange. Again, brush with melted butter, scatter some more cheese and ramson and trifold from the shorter side.

Wrap it again into the parchment and put it back into the fridge for 1 hour (or 20 minutes into the freezer if you're in a rush).

When the cooling time is over, repeat the folding process (roll- butter- cheese- ramson- trifold- butter- cheese- ramson- trifold) and put it back into the fridge for 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Roll the dough, this time to the height of a finger.

Apply egg wash, scatter with sesame seeds and the remaining shredded cheese.

Press the topping slightly into the dough with your fingers.

Cut the dough into the desired shape and size, no strict rules...

Line the pogácsa up (not too close, they grow while baking) on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden brown (15-18 minutes in my oven).

Cut feta into small cubes.

Place ricotta and sour cream into the mixing bowl and whisk on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

Add salt, pepper and lemon zest together with the feta and keep on whipping until the feta is broken down almost completely.

Pour the olive oil into a ramekin, press 1 clove of garlic through a garlic press (or chop it real fine) into the oil.

Place the ramekin into the microwave to heat it slightly (800 Watt, 1 minute) so that the garlic taste would diffuse more easily while losing its harshness. Add salt, pepper, thyme, runny honey and a twist of lemon, mix and let it stand for 15 minutes.

Pour the spiced olive oil over the cheese dip and serve pogácsa along with it. Enjoy!