It's time to try our hand at baking.
Today we are going to make Hungarian Pogacsa (po-gotcha). This is a flavorful biscuit that is good for another inch or two should you be looking to add to your waste line. I did some experimenting with online recipes before making my own (which we will be using).
The first thing you need to know is that any type of cooking that involves yeast is fairly similar to witchcraft. We've all seen our moms make homemade bread and it all looked so easy. The fact is that star alignment and ritual sacrifice may have been playing a role.
However, I have broken the code. So let's bake.
What you will need:
A giant bowl, like something you could put fruit in.
A small bowl, like something for cereal
A cheese grater with both small and large sized grates
A measuring cup
A wooden spoon
Some wax paper
A cookie sheet
A teaspoon
A small glass about 2 inches across at the top
Rolling pin
A small paint brush
4 cups of flour
1 cup of cottage cheese (warmed to room temperature)
1 cup of milk (warmed to room temperature)
1 stick of melted butter
1 cup of finely grated swiss cheese
1 cup of coarsely grated swiss cheese
1 rounded teaspoon of yeast
1 egg yoke and 2 egg yokes.
1 rounded teaspoon of sugar (powdered)
1/2 teaspoon of salt (at most)
Eye of newt (kidding)
Before you start, there are a couple of things you need to know about yeast. First of all, it's not a precise thing. For example, a teaspoon of yeast will be good for 2 cups of flour or 4 cups of flour. I spent a lot of time assuming I needed to have an exact amount. Secondly, Yeast is what you need to make the dough rise which in turn makes the bread fluffy. Yeast won't work if the temperature is too cold or too warm. So wherever the yeast is, try to keep is warmish. Finally, yeast is a living, single-celled organism that dies when exposed to salt. So go easy on the salt and don't add until its time to cook (by then the yeast has done its job).
With regards to egg yokes. To separate an egg yoke from the clear part. Break the egg in half and pour the yoke back and forth, allowing the clear part to overflow, preferably into the sink.
Warm up the milk in the microwave until it it just above room temperature. Not hot!
Put the milk in a small bowl with the sugar and the yeast. It will start to foam after a few minutes. This is just the yeast doing yeast type stuff.
In the giant bowl, add the flour, the cottage cheese and the melted butter. Stir with a big wooden spoon for a couple of minutes. Note that there is not really enough moisture here to absorb all of the flour. Don't worry about that.
After the milk/sugar/yeast has been mixed and set aside for 10 minutes, add it to the flour, along with one egg yoke and the finely grated Swiss cheese. Stir with the wooden spoon for two minutes. Then, set aside the spoon and mix this all with your hands. Continue to mix it until the dough takes on a shiny appearance and it stops sticking to your hands. I've noticed that sometimes the dough stays very sticky. When that happens, I add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it becomes merely "tacky." (tacky = just a little sticky).
Leave the dough in the giant bowl. Cover it with a sheet of wax paper and a dish cloth. Set it in a oven that is turned off but has the internal light turned on. This will make it slightly warm in the oven, but not too warm.
Wait two hours.
When you pull the bowl out of the oven, you should see that the dough is magically about twice the size it was when you put it in there. This is because the yeast has been forming little bubbles in the dough. If it has not "risen", try burning some incense and maybe chanting a little bit. The gods need to be suitably impressed or your yeast will not work.
Punch the dough with your fist. This will cause it to deflate a bit. Sprinkle on the salt and work it in with your hands for about 30 seconds. Set the covered dough back into the oven for 30 minutes.
Take the dough out of the oven and set the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Find a wide open space on your counter and sprinkle flour on it. Plop the dough onto the counter and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Fold in half twice and roll out again. Fold in half twice again and roll out again. You can do this a third time if you want to practice with your rolling pin.
Finally, roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick.
Take the cookie sheet and cover it with a sheet of wax paper.
Take the small glass, turn it upside down and use it as a cookie cutter. Cut out circular biscuits and place them on the cookie sheet.
In your small bowl, which you have rinsed out, place two egg yokes. Stir them with your small paint brush. Then, use the paint brush to spread the yokes across the tops of your biscuits.
Lastly, sprinkle the coarsely grated Swiss cheese across the tops of the biscuits.
Cook at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Eat and enjoy.
I know this seems like a lot of work but once you have all of the stuff ready to go, it takes a few minutes (not counting the time the dough is rising.)
Jim
Today we are going to make Hungarian Pogacsa (po-gotcha). This is a flavorful biscuit that is good for another inch or two should you be looking to add to your waste line. I did some experimenting with online recipes before making my own (which we will be using).
However, I have broken the code. So let's bake.
What you will need:
A giant bowl, like something you could put fruit in.
A small bowl, like something for cereal
A cheese grater with both small and large sized grates
A measuring cup
A wooden spoon
Some wax paper
A cookie sheet
A teaspoon
A small glass about 2 inches across at the top
Rolling pin
A small paint brush
4 cups of flour
1 cup of cottage cheese (warmed to room temperature)
1 cup of milk (warmed to room temperature)
1 stick of melted butter
1 cup of finely grated swiss cheese
1 cup of coarsely grated swiss cheese
1 rounded teaspoon of yeast
1 egg yoke and 2 egg yokes.
1 rounded teaspoon of sugar (powdered)
1/2 teaspoon of salt (at most)
Eye of newt (kidding)
Before you start, there are a couple of things you need to know about yeast. First of all, it's not a precise thing. For example, a teaspoon of yeast will be good for 2 cups of flour or 4 cups of flour. I spent a lot of time assuming I needed to have an exact amount. Secondly, Yeast is what you need to make the dough rise which in turn makes the bread fluffy. Yeast won't work if the temperature is too cold or too warm. So wherever the yeast is, try to keep is warmish. Finally, yeast is a living, single-celled organism that dies when exposed to salt. So go easy on the salt and don't add until its time to cook (by then the yeast has done its job).
With regards to egg yokes. To separate an egg yoke from the clear part. Break the egg in half and pour the yoke back and forth, allowing the clear part to overflow, preferably into the sink.
Warm up the milk in the microwave until it it just above room temperature. Not hot!
Put the milk in a small bowl with the sugar and the yeast. It will start to foam after a few minutes. This is just the yeast doing yeast type stuff.
In the giant bowl, add the flour, the cottage cheese and the melted butter. Stir with a big wooden spoon for a couple of minutes. Note that there is not really enough moisture here to absorb all of the flour. Don't worry about that.
After the milk/sugar/yeast has been mixed and set aside for 10 minutes, add it to the flour, along with one egg yoke and the finely grated Swiss cheese. Stir with the wooden spoon for two minutes. Then, set aside the spoon and mix this all with your hands. Continue to mix it until the dough takes on a shiny appearance and it stops sticking to your hands. I've noticed that sometimes the dough stays very sticky. When that happens, I add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it becomes merely "tacky." (tacky = just a little sticky).
Leave the dough in the giant bowl. Cover it with a sheet of wax paper and a dish cloth. Set it in a oven that is turned off but has the internal light turned on. This will make it slightly warm in the oven, but not too warm.
Wait two hours.
When you pull the bowl out of the oven, you should see that the dough is magically about twice the size it was when you put it in there. This is because the yeast has been forming little bubbles in the dough. If it has not "risen", try burning some incense and maybe chanting a little bit. The gods need to be suitably impressed or your yeast will not work.
Punch the dough with your fist. This will cause it to deflate a bit. Sprinkle on the salt and work it in with your hands for about 30 seconds. Set the covered dough back into the oven for 30 minutes.
Take the dough out of the oven and set the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Find a wide open space on your counter and sprinkle flour on it. Plop the dough onto the counter and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Fold in half twice and roll out again. Fold in half twice again and roll out again. You can do this a third time if you want to practice with your rolling pin.
Finally, roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick.
Take the cookie sheet and cover it with a sheet of wax paper.
Take the small glass, turn it upside down and use it as a cookie cutter. Cut out circular biscuits and place them on the cookie sheet.
In your small bowl, which you have rinsed out, place two egg yokes. Stir them with your small paint brush. Then, use the paint brush to spread the yokes across the tops of your biscuits.
Lastly, sprinkle the coarsely grated Swiss cheese across the tops of the biscuits.
Cook at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Eat and enjoy.
I know this seems like a lot of work but once you have all of the stuff ready to go, it takes a few minutes (not counting the time the dough is rising.)
Jim
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