POGACHA WITH FETA AND SPINACH

Soft as a soul, melts in the mouth, people all over the Balkans went crazy for this beauty. Amazing pogacha recipe that looks good and tastes amazing.
You can curl it differently if you want another shape and look, especially if you're more experienced in preparing pogacha.



Ingredients:

For the dough:

• about 1 kg. flour
• 1 cube (40 g) fresh yeast
• 200 ml lukewarm water
• 300 ml yogurt
• 100 ml oil
• 1 whole egg + 2 yolks
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of sugar

For filling:

• 300 g crashed feta cheese
• 200 g spinach

For coating:

• 1 egg
• 20 g margarine

Preparation:

1. Wash spinach and boil for about 3 minutes in salt water. Slice it and grind it. Mix with the feta crumbs and if necessary add salt.
2. Mix the yeast with water, sugar and a spoonful of flour and leave it to activate.
3. Mix in flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast, yogurt, oil, eggs and then knead the soft dough. It is the best to mix with less flour and slowly add the required amount. The dough is nicer if you knead it longer.
4. Let it grow about 30 minutes.
5. Then knead again and split into three parts. Stretch each part in a circle larger than plate. Cover the baking pan with paper.
6. Add half filling on the first crust, then align the other crust, add filling and add the third one on top. Transfer in a round pan.
   
7. And now comes the interesting part of curling. Cut out the middle part with a donut cutter or larger glass. Then cut the whole pogacha in stripes like the Macedonian sun. Twist every stripe like a swirl. Make this fast because the dough will become softer as you wait more and harder to handle. In the end, take the circle in the middle and make a form as desired and return it. Of course, all decoration can be made according your desire and imagination.
   
8. Then rub with a beaten egg and place a little margarine everywhere.
9. Turn on the oven at 200 C degrees, let the pogacha grow a little. Bake for about 40 minutes. If it starts to burn on top, align the top with baking paper.
10. Enjoy! 

 Original recipe in Serbian language here