Last weekend we killed a pig, and on that occasion I baked cottage cheese scones. Scones are inevitable element of the pig killing day in Hungary; if pálinka is the welcome drink, pogácsa can be called the welcome snack, which is served right after the arrival of the slaughtermen – scones can dampen well the pálinka’s effect.
The recipe calls for túró, which is quite dry and crumbly, not as creamy as the cottage cheese available in abroad. So, if your cottage cheese is too creamy and moist, you have to remove the whey first, otherwise the recipe won’t work. There is a simple practice to extract the whey: place a fine strainer over a bowl, put the cottage cheese into the sieve and let the whey drip in the bowl below for a couple of hours or overnight.
photo: zserbo.com
Ingredients:
- 500 g (~4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 100 g (~1/2 cup) lard
- 500 g (~2 1/4 cups) cottage cheese
- 100 ml (~ 1/2 cup) milk
- 25 g fresh yeast (2 1/2 tsp dry yeast)
- 2 level tbsp sour cream
- 1 egg
- 2-3 tsp salt
- pinch of sugar
- 1 egg for the egg wash
Dissolve yeast with a pinch of sugar in lukewarm milk.
Sift the flour in a bowl. Rub lard into the flour; add cottage cheese, sour cream, egg, salt and activated yeast, and knead into a pliable dough. The dough will be a bit sticky, but if you find it too tacky, add more flour. Cover the dough and in a lukewarm place let it double in size.
Preheat the oven to 220°C / 428°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Turn out the dough on a floured surface and roll it out 1 inch thick. With a small biscuit cutter (approx.∅ 1,5 inch) cut out the scones and place them on a baking sheet. Brush the scones with egg and let them rest for 15 minutes. Bake the scones for 15 minutes until light golden brown.
