Pogacha
Ingredients: -300 ml warm milk -10 g sugar -1 teaspoon salt -500 g type 650 flour -2 teaspoons dry yeast / 21 g fresh yeast Others -50 g butter, melted and cooled -1 egg yolk or 1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon milk (lightly beaten) -sesame / poppy / seeds, etc -butter, for the tray
Grease a round baking tray with a diameter of about 23 cm with a thin layer of butter, including the sides, and line the bottom with parchment paper. This step is essential to prevent the dough from sticking, ensuring easy release after baking. Next, place the ingredients in the bread machine in the following order: warm milk in which you have dissolved the sugar and salt, sifted flour, and finally, the dry yeast. It is important to follow this order so that the yeast is activated correctly. If you are using fresh yeast, cream it with the sugar from the recipe and dissolve it in a little warm milk from the specified amount. Set the dough program and let the machine do its job.
If you do not have a bread machine, do not worry! Proceed as follows: rub the yeast with sugar, dissolve in half of the warm milk, then incorporate a few tablespoons of flour. Let the mixture rise covered to activate the yeast. Once it has risen, pour it over the remaining ingredients and knead a well-bound dough. If necessary, add a little more flour so that the dough does not remain sticky. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and continue kneading for another 10 minutes until you obtain an elastic and smooth dough.
Place it in a bowl greased with a little oil, cover it well, and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume. It is essential to be patient at this stage, as proper rising will determine the final texture of the bread. After the dough has risen, remove it to a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 13 balls. Flatten them with your hand or rolling pin into an oval shape, then dip each piece into the melted and cooled butter, ensuring they are coated on both sides. Drain them on the edge of the container to remove the excess butter.
Transfer the dough slices to the prepared tray in such a way that each previous slice is half covered by the next, creating a pleasant and uniform effect. Finally, the last 2 slices should be placed according to the usual pattern, but lift the first slice and place it underneath the last one. Let the dough covered for another 30 minutes to rise. Grease the surface with an egg yolk or a lightly beaten yolk with 1 tablespoon of milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or other preferred seeds.
Put the tray in the preheated oven, at high heat, for the first 25 minutes, then reduce the temperature to medium heat for the next 20 minutes. If you notice that the top of the bread has colored too intensely, cover it with parchment paper for the remainder of the baking time. Once the bread is ready, remove it from the oven and wait 5 minutes, then detach it from the mold and let it cool on a rack. This bread can be served warm, spread with butter, honey, or various jams, or cold, instead of regular bread. This recipe will delight your senses and add flavor to your meals!
