Pogača



Pogača (Bosnian / Croatian) or pogacha (, Serbian: погача, poğaça, pogaçe) is a type of bread baked in the ashes of the fireplace, and later on in the oven, similar to focaccia, with which it shares the name (via Byzantine ), found in the cuisines of the Balkans, and Turkey. It can be leavened or unleavened, but only experienced cooks can make good quality unleavened pogača, while the pastry with yeast is easier to make. It is generally made from wheat flour, but barley and sometimes rye may be added. It can be stuffed with potatoes, ground beef, or cheese, and have grains and herbs like sesame, black sesame, dried dill in the dough or sprinkled on top.

Terminology
The word derives ultimately from the Latin panis focacius, i.e. bread (panis) baked on the hearth or fireplace (focus), via the Italian focaccia and, more directly, south Slavic languages (cf. pogača / погача).

It also called as pogačice (diminutive form), is a type of puff pastry eaten in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Turkey (where it is called poğaça) with variations like karaköy and kumru. It is called pogatschen in Austria, and pagáče in Slovakia.

The pastry
Every place makes its own version, or more than one variety, and so they come in all different textures and flavors. Some pogača are only one inch around and one inch high; others are much larger. Some have a crumbly scone-like consistency inside, while others are more tender like a fresh dinner roll or croissant.

A dozen different ingredients can be found either in the dough, sprinkled on top before baking, or both: medium-firm fresh cheeses, aged dry hard cheese(s), pork crackling (tepertő), cabbage, black pepper, hot or sweet paprika, garlic, red onion, caraway seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds or poppy seeds.

Pogača is sometimes served hot as an appetizer and/or bread. Hot pogača filled with sour cream (or curd and feta cheese in Turkey and Bulgaria) is considered a particularly delicious specialty.