Poğaça by Ebru

In my culture, back home, ladies would often get together at each other’s houses. There was always food on the table for guests and friends. Items like Poğaça, Kısır, Börek and some dessert or the other was an absolute must. As an immigrant in a western country, I miss those times of community and togetherness.” Ebru wistfully looks back upon the life she left behind in Turkey, while baking Poğaça for our workshop. Food has the aromatic power to ignite memory and can be a portal through which immigrants can link bridges with the lives they once led in a different part of the world. “Whenever I make Poğaça, the smell of freshly baked pastry that fills every part of the house reminds me of those times. When friends would randomly invite each other over. Doors would always remain open. At any moment now, a guest would arrive, bringing freshly prepared food to share with you, while organizing weekly get togethers. I miss those special plates of food that we would prepare for each other. ~ Ebru

Ingredients

• 4-5 cups of flour

• ½ cup warm milk

• 1 packet instant yeast

• ½ cup of sugar

• (Mix ingredients and wait for 15 minutes)

• ½ cup of oil

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

• Crack one whole egg into the mixture

• Crack another egg on the side, keeping only the yolk which we will brush onto the Poğaça later

• Add salt and whisk

• Add the flour and knead until it reaches the “consistency of an earlobe” (we often use this description in Turkey)

• Lay a wet cloth over the bowl and ferment the dough for 30 mins

• After it is fermented, give the dough a shape of a pastry of your choice

• Let the pastries rest for 30-40 mins

• Apply egg yolk over the pastries and bake at 180/350 degrees for 35 mins

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