Hungarian Cheese Pogacsa Recipe

I may be a little rusty, 6 months is rather a long time to be absent, but here goes.

Our church has this wonderful annual event called the "International Food and Culture Fest".  People sign up for a table, and bring food from their home country.  We have Indian, Italian, Mexican, German, Filipino, and of course, Hungarian.  :) This year we also invited Panamanian, Chilean and Indian dancers, which was really fun!

This year, Dan and I decided to make Hungarian biscuits called "pogacsa".  There are many different types; fruit-filled ones, meat-filled ones, but the most common ones are the cheese ones.

My Hungarian grandma's are the best.  Of course everyone thinks their grandma/mom make the best, but mine really does.

Unfortunately, I didn't have her recipe, but I found a really good one at relish.com.

Ingredients

Dough

1/2cup whole milk, heated to 110F to 115F 

1package active dry yeast (about 2 teaspoons)

1/2teaspoon sugar

4 cups all-purpose flour

5ounces finely shredded Gruyère cheese (we used smoked - it added a great dimension)

1tablespoon salt

2 eggs

14 tablespoons (1 3/4) sticks softened unsalted butter

1/2cup sour cream

Topping

1 egg yolk

2ounces finely grated Gruyère cheese or other cheese

Instructions

1. Combine milk, yeast and sugar and let stand until yeast is softened, about 10 minutes.
2. Combine flour, cheese, salt, eggs, butter, yeast mixture and sour cream in a large bowl. Mix on low speed until dough comes together. Beat on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes. The dough should be smooth and not sticky. 
3. Roll dough 1⁄2-inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Make a shallow cross-hatched pattern with the point of a sharp knife over the top of the dough and brush with egg yolk.
   
   Sprinkle cheese on top, and cut out rounds with a 1- to 1 1⁄2-inch cutter.
   
4. Arrange circles in rows on a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 1⁄4-inch apart. Put pan in a cold oven and set temperature to 400F. Bake about 25 minutes, until pogácsa are nicely browned on their tops and bottoms. Let cool completely and store airtight. Pogácsa may also be frozen up to 1 month. Thaw and reheat at 225F for 20 minutes.

Now, my pogacsas turned out a little denser than I would've liked them, but they tasted great, none the less.  

The yummy pogacsa on my beautiful Zsolnay Hungarian porcelain.

Dan bought some salami to go with it, and voila!

Szalami/Salami.

Apro pogacsa/Mini pogacsa.

Representing Hungary! (Only a real man can pull off a pink apron.)

Some Hungarian cook books, pictures, and of course yummy food.

My favorite view, the Budapest skyline.
That print was a wedding gift from my great uncle.

And so, for another year, we showed our Hungarian side!

As a bonus for making it through my post...

I may or may not have also done a Hungarian folk dance.
You're welcome.

What would you like to see me make next year?  Join the conversation!