There are plenty of tasty pogács recipes on the internet, but scones with cottage cheese spread are unique in their own way. I have recently learned this recipe from a Hungarian chef (Szoky konyhája). The dough of this pogácsa is layered with körözött, the well known Hungarian cheese spread. The scones are light and soft, and they taste fantastic.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 400 ml (~1 2/3 ) milk
- 50 g (~1 3/4 oz) fresh yeast (5 tsp dry yeast)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 kg (~8 cups) flour
- 250 g (~8 3/4 oz) lard
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp salt
- ground black pepper to taste
For the spread:
- 500 g (~1 lb + 1 2/3 oz) cottage cheese
- 170 g (~6 oz) sour cream
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1-2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground caraway seeds
- 1 tbsp sweet ground paprika
- ground black pepper to taste
For the egg wash:
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp sweet ground paprika
- pinch of salt
First make the dough. Dissolve yeast and sugar in tepid milk. Place flour in a mixing bowl and rub lard in it. Stir in salt and pepper, add eggs and activated yeast. Knead until smooth. Wrap the dough in cling film and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the cottage cheese spread. In a bowl mix together cottage cheese, sour cream, finely chopped onions, salt, pepper, paprika and ground caraway seeds. (Note: cottage cheese should be as dry as possible, so if your cottage cheese is soft and creamy, drain it before you make the körözött.) Chill until it’s used.
On a floured surface roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. (If you don’t have enough space, cut the dough in half and roll and spread the pieces one after the other.) Spread 3/4 of the cottage cheese on the dough evenly, then fold the dough as follows:
Spread the rest of the körözött on that long and narrow oblong, than fold the dough again (see below):
Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Roll it out 2 cm / 3/4 inch thick and score the top:
With a 4 cm / 1,5 inch cutter cut out the scones, and place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. To reroll the scraps, you will need to add some flour because the cottage cheese spread makes the dough sticky. Repeat the “reroll & cut” process until the dough runs out.
For the egg wash beat eggs, paprika and salt together, and brush the top of the scones. The scones will rise while the oven is being preheated to 210°C / 410°F. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.
