Turkish Half-Round Pastries

Making the Dough
Originally uploaded by sustenation.

Half-Round Pastry is called “peynirli pogaca “ in Turkey. “Pogaca” is pronounced like “po-ah-cha”.

Ingredients

Dough
5+ 3/4 cups flour
1 dessertspoonful fresh yeast
½ cup lukewarm water
125 gr. margarine or butter (melted)
90 gr. corn oil
1+1/6 cups milk
1 cup yogurt
10 gr. baking powder
2 eggs
1 dessert spoon salt (2 teaspoons)

Filling
1 egg white
1,5 cups white cheese crumbled with a fork
½ bunch fresh parsley

Topping
2 egg yolks
1 dessert spoon corn oil
2 tablespoons black cumin or sesame seeds

Directions

Put the fresh yeast into a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast completely in ½ cup lukewarm water.

Put flour into a large bowl. Sprinkle salt and baking powder over flour. Make a pool in the centre.

Pour the yeast liquid, milk, yogurt, melted butter or margarine, ½ cup corn oil into the pool. Add 2 eggs. Mix the ingredients to form a dough. Place the dough on a working surface. If the dough is wet and sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is very firm, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time. Knead well until making a smooth dough.

When the dough is smooth, and earlobe-soft return it to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth or wrap the dough with plastic wrap, let it rest at room temperature for one hour.

Mix egg white, cheese and parsley in a bowl.

Divide the dough into balls, take each ball, flatten each into disc form (approximately 3 inches), take each piece seperately, put 1 dessert spoon of cheese & parsley mixture just below the centre of each disc and spread out and down, leave a slight border at the bottom and sides. Fold top of pastry over filling to form half-round pastries. Press the edges with your fingers or the tines of a fork.
Carefully transfer the halfrounds onto a greased baking tray.

In a small bowl, beat egg yolks and 1 dessert spoon of corn oil together and brush over the surface of each half-round. Sprinkle black cumin or sesame seeds over them.

Bake halfmoons in a preheated oven until the crust is lightly browned.

Serve with a cup of tea or coffee.

Have a good appetite!