Flaky Cheese Puffs – Pogačice Recipe
Flaky Cheese Puffs, known as Pogačice, are delicate, buttery pastries filled with dry pressed cottage cheese. These golden, flaky rounds are perfect for serving as appetizers or snacks, featuring a tender crumb created through a unique folding and rolling technique that ensures layers of buttery goodness.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 72 servings
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Eastern European
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Dairy
- 3 sticks (1 ½ cups) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 package (about 8 ounces) dry pressed cottage cheese
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400˚F (200˚C) and position the rack in the middle to ensure even baking.
- Prepare the Dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and kosher salt. Add the cold butter and rub it into the flour mixture using your fingers until it resembles a shaggy dough with pea-sized butter pieces. Incorporate the dry pressed cottage cheese by hand, mixing gently until just combined, maintaining some texture for flakiness.
- Roll and Fold: Turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out into a ½-inch thick rectangle. Fold one-third of the dough from the left edge into the center, then fold the right third over it, like folding a letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat this folding process three more times to build buttery layers.
- Chill: Divide the folded dough into two equal portions and refrigerate them for at least 1 hour to firm up the butter and relax the dough.
- Shape the Puffs: Remove one portion of chilled dough and roll it out on a floured surface to a ½-inch thickness. Using a 1.5-inch round cookie cutter or the rim of a shot glass, cut out rounds and place them spaced apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake: Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake the cheese puffs for 20-25 minutes. Halfway through baking, rotate the baking sheet to promote even browning.
- Cool and Serve: Once the puffs are golden and flaky, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly on a wire rack before serving for optimal texture and flavor.
Notes
- Use cold butter and cottage cheese straight from the fridge for best dough texture and flakiness.
- Press any excess moisture from the cottage cheese by wrapping it in a clean towel, to prevent soggy dough.
- The folding technique is crucial for creating layers; be gentle but thorough with it.
- Store leftover cheese puffs in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or freeze for longer storage.
- Reheat gently in an oven or toaster oven to restore crispiness before serving.
Find it online: https://recipethrive.com/flaky-cheese-puffs-pogacice-recipe/
