Pogácsa: The Hungarian Miracle Scone

By Burrows - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/

This post is based on the article Megtaláltuk a legfoszlósabb pogácsa módszerét by Ács Bori published in Telex.

In the origin story of the humble Hungarian scone called the pogácsa, a young man who set out on a long journey was given a bag of unleavened biscuits, baked in ash, by his mother to keep him from hunger and to offer to strangers who could help him. As such, the pogácsa came to represent nutrition, currency, and luck, and is thus present as a snack at most Hungarian ceremonies, from weddings to house parties.

The bready treat is also featured in many folk traditions. For instance, on the Name Day of Luca, a coin is hidden in a batch of pogácsa, and the one who discovers it is said to experience good luck for the year. Conversely, feathers, and the speed in which they burn down in a baking pogácsa, were once said to determine who was at risk of dying.

In reality, pogácsa shares lineage with flatbreads like focaccia (similar in sound), and are among the world’s oldest recorded bread recipes. It is surmised that the founding conquerers of the Carpathian Basin and Hungary sustained themselves on breads such as these: unleavened, baked in ash.

But just as Hungary has evolved, so has the pogácsa. What we call pogácsa today stands in stark contrast to the scones of our ancestors. No longer a flatbread, it rises in the oven, and is made with more decadent ingredients like butter and lard, not to mention eggs. The dough in modern pogácsa ferments and rises with yeast. In the days of yore, cheese pogácsa were not an option, while they are now a standard. Modern recipes are in fact quite diverse, and can include sour cream, skim milk, etc. Unlike early pogácsa found in Transylvania, which might be sweetened with honey or sweet poppy, the pogácsa we know in Budapest is always savoury, and innovations come in the form of adding cracklings, cottage cheese, and other tasty delicacies.

If you are reading from abroad, and wondering why the pogácsa is not known to you—why this compact little scone with so much flavor and history is not world famous—the answer is simple: the pogácsa does not lend itself to industrial production. Most pogácsa in Hungary are baked—with love—at home, or in corner bakeries. Like with most simple, but perfect foods, it is the sum of its ingredients: great butter and cheese, folded by hand. A pogácsa is as particular as a personality. What’s good for one, is not good for all.

Have you tried pogácsa? Do you like them big and fluffy, or small and bite-sized?

Below find a pogacsa-baking demonstration in English.

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