Peynirli poğaça (cheese-filled pastries)
Contains egg (no meat or fish)
Peynirli poğaça
Tender, crumbly little half-moon pastries made with yoghurt and oil and filled with white cheese and parsley. A Turkish breakfast and tea-time favourite that comes together without yeast.
Peynirli poğaça (cheese-filled pastries) is a Turkish pastry from Türkiye, ready in about 55 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and feta. It serves 16 and is rated easy to cook.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Serves
- 16
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 200
Ingredients
For the filling
For the glaze
Method
Step 1
Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 180 °C and line a tray. Mix the cheese and parsley (opens in a new tab) for the filling.
Step 2
Whisk the yoghurt (opens in a new tab), oil, melted butter (opens in a new tab), egg white (opens in a new tab), salt and sugar (opens in a new tab). Mix the baking powder (opens in a new tab) into the flour and add it gradually, kneading briefly, until you have a very soft dough that just stops sticking to your hands — stop as soon as it comes together.
How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels Step 3
Divide into 16 balls. Flatten each to a 9 cm round, add a heaped teaspoon of filling, fold into a half-moon and press the edge to seal. Place seam-side down or flat on the tray, 3 cm apart.
- 15 min
Step 4
Brush with the beaten yolk, sprinkle with seeds and bake 22–25 minutes until golden on top and underneath.
- 25 min
- 180°C
- Pastry brush (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels
About this dish
- Origin
- Türkiye · Well documentedRelated soft breads (pogácsa, pogača) are found across the Balkans and Hungary.More food from Türkiye
- Dish
- Breakfast · Snack · Pastries · Finger food
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked
- Taste
- salty, savoury, buttery
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · Low-carbWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb - Good for
- Freezer-friendly · Portable / lunchbox · Make-ahead
- Cook more with
- All-purpose flour · Feta · Yogurt · Butter · Egg white · Baking powder
Allergens
- Contains: Milkfrom yogurt, butter, feta
- Contains: Eggsfrom egg white, egg yolk
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
- Contains, can be adapted: Sesamefrom sesame seeds
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
200 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 55 g · recipe makes 16
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 9%
- Carbohydrate 41%
- Fat 50%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 200 kcal | 364 kcal |
| Protein | 4.6 g | 8.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 20.4 g | 37 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 19.6 g | 35.7 g |
| Sugars | 0.7 g | 1.3 g |
| Added sugars | 0.3 g | 0.5 g |
| Fibre | 0.7 g | 1.3 g |
| Fat | 11.1 g | 20.2 g |
| Saturated fat | 3.7 g | 6.8 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 28 mg | 50 mg |
| Sodium | 347 mg | 632 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.9 g | 1.6 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 55 mg
- Calcium
- 100 mg
- Iron
- 1.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 9 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 43 µg
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg
- Vitamin D
- —
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 79 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Optional ingredients are not included: nigella seeds, sesame seeds.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- The dough should feel like soft playdough; it firms up slightly as it rests.
Common mistakes
- Overworking the dough makes the pastries tough instead of crumbly-soft.
Serve with
- Serve warm with black tea, tomatoes, cucumber and olives.
Storage
- Airtight at room temperature for 1 day, refrigerated 3 days; freeze baked or unbaked up to 2 months.
Reheating
- Warm at 170 °C for 6–8 minutes.
Variations
- Patatesli poğaça: Fill with mashed potato, onion and chilli flakes.
- Mayalı poğaça: A yeasted version: replace the baking powder with 7 g instant yeast and prove until doubled.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- All-purpose flour400 g
- Yogurt125 g
- Butter, melted and cooled50 g
- Egg white1 piece · 33 g
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 30 min
Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.
Bake · about 25 min at 180 °C
Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.
Cool · about 5 min
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
- Start to finish: about 1 h. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
If something goes wrong
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Crust too hard or thick
Likely causes
- Baked too long at too low a temperature
- No steam at the start
What to do
- Bake hotter for a shorter time
- Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
- Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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