
Scrumptious pogacas, savory pastry with cheese, olives and various fillings, displayed at a bakery in Istanbul
Delicious pogacas and pastries; a favorite Turkish breakfast or tea time treat
These delicious cheesy pogacas (poh-ah-cha) are a favorite breakfast or tea time treat in Turkey and we love them. They are easy to make at home; make your kitchen smell heavenly and they are very popular with children, as well as adults. Bakeries, street stalls sell freshly baked pogacas (plain, with white cheese, olives or with potato & cheese filling) in Turkey and with a glass of cay aside, they make a delicious and affordable breakfast or tea time treat.

My homemade peynirli pogaca, savory pastry with cheese and parsley; easy to make and delicious
My children adore pogaca and we made our peynirli pogaca, savory pastry with feta cheese together; they loved getting involved. My pogacas are rather chunky, like the ones you would get in bakeries in Turkey and one is enough per person. You can make smaller ones if you like. They are absolutely delicious straight from the oven, but they also keep well for a few days. The next day (if any left!), you can microwave them for 10 seconds or gently heat under the grill, so delicious. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
Here’s also my YouTube video on how to make pogaca:
Peynirli pogaca; Turkish savory treat with white cheese and parsley; great for breakfast or as a snack.I love the savoury pastries in Turkish cuisine and living abroad, greatly miss them; so pogacas, boreks, pide, gozleme frequently turns up at our table. You can find all these savoury Turkish pastries and many more at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland, Signed copies now 25 % off at this link, delivered worldwide, including the US.
Makes 11 pogacas
Preparation time: 20 min (+1 hour for dough to rise) Cooking time: 25- 30 minutes
For the dough:
7gr dry yeast (1 sachet)
425 gr / 3 ¼ cups all-purpose plain flour
5 ml / 1 tsp. salt
3 oz./ 1/3 cup plain (whole milk) yoghurt
1 egg, beaten
4 fl. oz. / ½ cup mild olive oil or sunflower oil
4 fl. oz . / ½ cup warm milk
For the filling:
5.3 oz./ 1 cup Turkish white cheese (or Greek feta cheese, if Turkish white cheese is not available) crumbled
15 gr/ 0.4 oz./½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
For the topping:
1 egg, beaten
Sesame seeds and nigella seeds to decorate
Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F
Combine the warm milk and dry yeast in a small bowl and mix well. Let it stand for 5 minutes so that it gets foamy.
Let the dough to rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes
In a large bowl, stir in the flour and salt and make a well in the middle. Add the yoghurt, mild olive oil (or sunflower oil) and the beaten egg to the flour mixture, in the middle. Stir in the foamy yeast mixture and knead well with your hands for a few minutes, until the dough comes together. Shape the dough like a ball, place in the large bowl and cover with a cling film. Let it rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.

Crumbled Turkish white cheese or Greek feta cheese and fresh parsley make a delicious filling
While the dough is rising, prepare your filling. In a medium size bowl, stir in the crumbled Turkish white cheese or Greek feta cheese and chopped parsley and mix well.
Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F and grease a baking tray.
Once the dough has risen, punch down and divide into 11 equal pieces, each about a size of a small tangerine. Roll each piece into a ball, and then flatten into a round flat circle with your fingertips, about 10 cm, 4” in diameter (you can make them smaller if you prefer). Place a spoonful of the filling mixture (take care not to overfill) at one side of the circle dough, leaving a little unfilled dough margin near the edges. Fold the circle to cover the filling to form a half moon shape. Make sure the dough covers the filling and meet the other end. Seal the two ends of the dough, pressing with your fingertips well. Place the stuffed dough on the greased tray and repeat this procedure with the rest of the dough pieces.

Pogacas, decorated with sesame & nigella seeds, ready to bake!
Place the prepared pogacas, stuffed dough pieces side by side on a greased tray. Brush them with the beaten egg and sprinkle with nigella and sesame seeds. Bake in the preheated oven on the middle rack for about 25 – 30 minutes, until they are golden brown at top.

Peynirli pogaca, Turkish savory pastry with cheese & parsley, ready to eat!
Serve warm; glass of Cay, Turkish tea goes really well with these delicious pogacas.

My homemade peynirli pogaca, savory pastry with cheese and parsley; easy to make and delicious
Afiyet olsun,
Ozlem
Mmmm…looks super delicious as always, Ozlem! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by Joy, hope these pogacas brought some delicious memories of Istanbul!:)
Teşekkürler Ozlem. I made these with white cheese and onions. They were so good I tried again with a chicken, bacon, and leek filling. So easy and so good!
Merhaba Andrew,
Thank you so much for your note – so happy to hear you enjoyed making pogaca : ) lovely variations of fillings too, Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem
Love the baked pastry goodness of these pogacas:) and how adorable that the kids helped make them, they really do enjoy being in the kitchen, making great food and amazing memories:) xxPeri.
Hi Peri, they really do, don’t they? And food helps us to re-connect with our roots, and this is especially important for children – they were happy to make their own pogaca : ) thank you so much for stopping by, Ozlem xx
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Özlem, One of the reasons I love your blog is that you reveal the secrets in the most common of Turkish dishes (poğaça is one of our favorite breakfast treats) but at the same dishes that I’d never have the nerve to try myself. Now I see that yes, I think I can do this.
Aşure is a dish I associate with our first moving into our building after we had just arrived in Turkey and our neighbor’s daughter came with a tray of dishes of it for the whole building. What a warm and delicious welcome. Thanks for reminding us!
Merhaba Jolee, I can not tell you how much your kind words means to me, thank you very much. Food help us make and share special memories, so happy if Asure brings happy memories back – and so glad if they inspire 🙂 Cok tesekkurler, selamlar, Ozlem
I love reading your blog–the recipes are inspiring. I plan on making these very soon and will let you know how they turn out.
Hi Tracy, very kind of you – thank you 🙂 I’d be delighted if the recipes inspire, so glad to hear it – hope you enjoy the pogacas 🙂
They turned out fabulously. Shared with friends, and they were loved them, too. Thanks!
Hi Tracy, so delighted to hear it, so glad you all enjoyed the pogacas, afiyet olsun!:)
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Ohhh, might have to have a try at making our own poğaça – the ones we buy never have enough filling in for us so the ones I make will probably burst everywhere! 😉 As for aşure, no doubt our neighbours will be knocking on the door with some soon enough…
Julia
Merhaba Julia, it’s really satisfactory to make your own pogacas, and as you say, you may indulge on the filling! there’s a danger of bursting them out though, as you say; mind you I love seeing the filling oozing out from a pastry, in moderation 🙂 glad you may have a go! Enjoy neighbours’ asure 🙂 Ozlem
aşure is a big favourite of ours here in the village – every year there are great cook-ins with huge cauldrons over fires in the gardens as this wonderful pudding is ‘brewed’. Then come the invites and we go the rounds and do the social bit. Before we leave we are loaded with jars and pots full to the brim – wonderful!
Ah, how wonderful Alan, Asure brings folks together true to its spirit, I loved hearing your Asure ritural in Okcular – how I wished to join you all! Such a delicious and bountiful dish and a joy to share, enjoy yours and thank you for this wonderful note!
I love the look of those pogacas – very, very appetising. And thanks for the advice on how to pronounce the name – I would definitely have got that wrong.
You are very welcome Phil, glad you enjoyed the pogaca post 🙂
hello Ozlem,
it’s been a while i’m doing some kind of turkish bread filled with feta cheese with spinach, and it’s always a success for me. Yesterday, i made again, but changing the fillings and i put the zucchini and feta cheese. With this recipe, i would like to try filling it up with minced meat and parsley… I would surely try this one too.
thanks a lot for sharing and you know i’m always here to follow you.
Merhaba Raky, many thanks for your kind words, really happy to hear you enjoy the recipes, so kind of you to let me know. Minced meat, onions and parsley makes a delicious filling, another one I think you’d enjoy very much. My best wishes, ozlem
Thank you Ozlem for sharing your recipes the pogacas I made where delicious.
Merhaba Sheniz, so glad to hear you enjoyed making pogacas, many thanks for sharing!
Merhaba Ozlem and happy New Year! What is the best way to store these? How long do they keep?
Thanks!
Merhaba Cali, happy new year to you too! Pogaca is great, you can keep them covered in a container in room temp for 3-4 days – though they dissappear much quickly!- hope you enjoy them.
Hi Ozlem im about to make these yummy breads again. Do they freeze well?
Merhaba Cali, they do freeze well; I would place them on a greased non stick baking tray and reheat at 180 C/ 350 F for about 10 minutes or so, enjoy!
Thanks Ozlem!!!
Hi Ozlem! They look so fluffy and irresistible! I have the bad habit of measuring everything with kitchen scales as most of the measure caps have different proportions – Australian ones are different than European or US.
Can you help me find the right conversion?
And do you think this dough is suitable for baking çiçek poğaça?
Wishing you a wonderful day,
Sophia
Dear Sophia, many thanks for your note, you may use this measurement chart if you like, hope it helps. I haven’t made cicek pogaca yet I am afraid, happy to share once I make it : ) best wishes, http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Hi, I made çiçek poğaça using this recipe today and they turned out beautifully first time round! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. I attend a German course in Switzerland and a woman brought some çiçek poğaça for us and since she cooks by sight rather than measurements I couldn’t really get a full recipe from her. This one is so easy, and they looked and tasted fantastic. My partner and his family are rather good cooks and usually have comments and “improvements” for my bakes, but this got a full round of approval…for the first time ever! Incidentally, there is now only one left!
Merhaba Khia, most kind, many thanks for your wonderful note – so glad, delighted that you enjoyed my pogaca recipe and got the approval from the family, no better compliment!:) My best wishes, Ozlem
After nar eksisi poğaça is the second recipe or yours that I follow. I have no words again… tebrikler! Olga from Greece
Merhaba Olga, many thanks for your kind note; really delighted to hear you’re enjoying the recipes, cok tesekkurler!:)
Hello Ozlem! My condolences to you and all the citizens of Turkey, our thoughts and prayers are with you.
I tried the lovely Gul Manti which turned out wonderful and tried this recipe however my Pogaca were not soft And fluffy but were harder. I think I made a mistake with the dough, maybe let it sit too long as it got oily and very elastic- any tips to make my next batch better?
Thank you
Merhaba Kulsoom, many thanks for your kind note; it is very heartbreaking indeed, my heart goes for home and all the innocent souls too, wishing for peace all around the world.. Very glad you enjoyed Gul Manti; re pogaca, my version is not the really soft and fluffy one, they have a nice crunch and bite to it. I would let the dough rise for about 1 hour in a warm spot, near an oven or in airing cupboard, hope this helps and you enjoy making pogaca. Afiyet olsun, Ozlem
Yes! I am so happy to have found this! We hosted a German-Turkish exchange student a couple years ago and she made this for us all the time! But, she couldn’t figure out how to translate the recipe to leave us and only ever called it “cheesy-bready thing”. We’re going to make this for breakfast tomorrow.
Merhaba Andrea, lovely to get your note – do hope you enjoy making pogaca, a favorite with us too – afiyet olsun! Ozlem
These sound exactly like a pyroski my grandmother used to make she was Czech even the cheese stuffing is the same I wonder if there is a Turkish connection some where or all over the world we have similier foods they are delicious!!!!
Merhaba dear Pat; you are absolutely right and I am sure we have a connection there; when the Ottoman Empire ruled, there were lots of ethnic groups withnin the Empire and lots of culinary treasures exchanged. For instance also Kapuska, Russian for cabbage and we have a meal called kapuska with chopped cabbage, minced meat, rice or bulgur – I love seeing this shared variation of food we have, my best wishes, Ozlem
Merhaba Özlem hanım, could I prepare the dough a day in advance and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator? Çok teşekkürler!
Merhaba Davut, thank you for stopping by – I haven’t tried this way but worth a try – you will need to bring the dough to room temp and it may help rise too – would love to hear how you get on! Selamlar, ozlem
Im sorry but this recipe tastes nothing like the buttery delicious poğaça made here in turkey… I was so excited because they look great but the taste is nothing like how they are here. Fortunately i didnt make a large batch.
Merhaba dear Hatice, many thanks for stopping by and your kind note; I am sorry this recipe didn’t deliver for you; you are right it is not as buttery as the ones at home – purposefully too, as we try to cut back on butter in my household for health reasons-. How lucky you are that you can enjoy fresh pogaca in Turkey. I live abroad and this version of pogaca certainly delivers for us, especially for my children and many folks. Many thanks again for your time and my best wishes, Ozlem
Thanks for this recipe, I always come back to it when I make pogaca! I lived in Istanbul for three years and miss it every day. It’s small comforts like this that help me feel less “homesick” for Istanbul. Much love to you.
Merhaba dear Amanda, thank you so much for your kind note; glad you enjoyed pogaca and it brings happy memories of Istanbul – living abroad, I know what you mean.
Just to let you know, my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table is now available on amazon (kindle for US) , and signed hardback copies available at this link and delivered worldwide, if interested – with over 90 authentic recipes, stunning photos and stories from my homeland :
https://www.gbpublishing.co.uk/ozlemsturkishtable
thank you for your kind note again, best wishes, cok sevgiler, Ozlem
My boyfriend is from Istanbul and I have been returning to your site over and over to recreate some of the foods he grew up with, so thank you for giving me a tool to connect with his family and childhood!
So delighted to hear it Charlotte, elinize saglik! I am sure your efforts is greatly appreciated, Afiyet Olsun, Ozlem
Merhaba Ozlem, these pogaca are delicious.. I’m in the uk and my partner is Turkish from Istanbul.
She tells me I could have been Turkish in a previous life as I make these better than her
I love your website, full of delicious recipes. Keep up the good work, love from the uk
Merhaba Jason, thank you so much for your kind note, so delighted you are enjoying my recipes – and bravo to you, elinize saglik!
Afiyet Olsun, Ozlem
Many thanks for the link to my pogaca recipe, glad you enjoyed it!:)
Many thanks for the link, your piroshki looks great!