Katmer Pogaca (Layered Turkish Pastry)

Crispy outside, soft and layered inside: Peri's famous yeast dough rolled thin, buttered, folded, and pan-fried

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Yield: Makes 15Prep: 40 minCook: 30 minSource: perininsihirlimutfagi (Peri'nin Sihirli Mutfagi)-Katmer Pogaca (Layered Turkish Pastry)

Dough

IngredientEnglish1x2x3x4x
Flour7 cups (700-800 g; 200-ml cup measure)750 g1.5 kg2.25 kg3 kg
Milk1 glass (200 ml), lukewarm200 mL400 mL600 mL800 mL
Water1 glass (200 ml), lukewarm200 mL400 mL600 mL800 mL
Plain Yogurt1 tea glass (125 ml)125 mL250 mL375 mL500 mL
Vegetable Oil1 tea glass (125 ml)125 mL250 mL375 mL500 mL
Egg11 piece2 piece3 piece4 piece
Instant Dry Yeast1 packet (10 g)10 g20 g30 g40 g
Sugar1 tbsp12 g24 g36 g48 g
Salt1 tsp6 g12 g18 g24 g

Layer Brush

IngredientEnglish1x2x3x4x
Butter150 g, melted150 g300 g450 g600 g
Vegetable Oil1 tea glass (125 ml)125 mL250 mL375 mL500 mL

For the Top (oven version)

IngredientEnglish1x2x3x4x
Yolkfor the oven version; the video's pan version skips the wash1 egg yolk1 piece2 piece3 piece4 piece
Milk1 tbsp15 mL30 mL45 mL60 mL
Sesame SeedsFor sprinkling

Pantry swaps

OriginalSwap1Swap2Swap3Swap4Swap5
Flour1 cup plus 3 tablespoons cake flour (not advised for cookies or quick breads)1 cup self-rising flour (omit baking powder and salt from recipe). Reader suggestion: 5/8 cup potato flour1-1/4 cups rye flour or coarsely ground whole-grain flour1 cup cornmeal
1111.251
Milk1/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk plus 3/4 cup water1/2 cup evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup water3/4 cup 2 percent milk plus 1/4 cup half-and-half
10.3330.50.75
Plain Yogurt1 cup sour cream (thicker; less tart) or buttermilk (thinner; use in baking, dressings, sauces)
11
Egg2 yolks plus 1 tablespoon cold water3 tablespoons vegetable oil plus 1 tablespoon water (for baking)3 tablespoons mayonnaise (for cakes)2 1/2 tablespoons of powdered egg substitute plus 2 1/2 tablespoons water, or 1/4 cup liquid egg substitutehalf a banana mashed with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Instant Dry Yeast1 package (1/4 ounce) or 1 scant tablespoon active dried yeast
Sugar1 cup firmly packed brown sugar1-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar (makes baked goods less crisp)1 cup superfine sugar
111.751
Butter1 cup margarine1 cup shortening plus 1/2 teaspoon salt7/8 cup vegetable oil plus 1/2 teaspoon salt1 cup shortening7/8 cup vegetable oil
1110.87510.875
Sesame SeedsGround sesame
11

Method

Dough

  1. In a large bowl, whisk the lukewarm milk, lukewarm water, yogurt, oil, egg, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the flour gradually and knead into a soft, smooth dough. The creator lists 700-800 g of flour; start at 700 g and add more only if the dough stays sticky.
  2. Divide the dough into 10 equal balls. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.

Layer and fold

  1. Melt the butter and stir in the vegetable oil for brushing.
  2. Roll each ball out very thin – it opens easily. Brush the sheet generously with the butter-oil mix.
  3. Stack two buttered sheets on top of each other and pull the edges outward to make a square.
  4. Cut the square into 6 parts and fold each as in the video, then place two folded pieces inside each other, so every 2 balls yield 3 pieces. Squeeze the ends and press them inward to seal.
  5. Cover the pieces and let them rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Cook

  1. Gently roll each risen piece out. Heat a lightly buttered pan over medium heat.
  2. Cook the katmer until golden underneath, brush the top with the butter-oil mix, flip, and cook until golden and cooked through. Keep the finished ones warm under a towel while cooking the rest.
  3. Serve warm and tear the layers apart – that is the whole point.

Notes

Servings: 15 (one katmer per serving). Per serving: 417 kcal, 7 g protein, 40 g carbs, 25 g fat, 1.4 g fiber. Macros are estimates summed from USDA per-100 g values (all-purpose flour, whole milk, whole-milk yogurt, vegetable oil, egg, butter, sesame); the creator does not state macros. The 125 ml of brushing oil is counted in full even though part stays in the pan.

Quantities: exact from the creator’s published recipe for this dish (her Instagram caption, translated from Turkish; this is the recipe that made her famous). The reel itself shows no on-screen amounts – the rolling, buttering, folding, resting, and cooking steps in the video match her written method exactly, so the two sources agree. The creator’s cup measure (“su bardagi”) is 200 ml; the cup conversions use that.

Cooking method: the reel cooks the katmer in a buttered pan on the stovetop with no egg wash. The creator’s written version instead bakes the risen pieces in a 180 C fan oven until golden, brushed with egg yolk mixed with milk and sprinkled with sesame. Same dough, two ways to cook it; this post follows the video.

Variations from the creator’s own caption: add walnuts to make kete, or fold crumbled white cheese (beyaz peynir) into each piece before the final roll to make cheese pogaca. No quantity is given for either filling, so neither is in the ingredient table. The video’s final frames show the katmer being torn apart; one frame shows a stretchy, cheese-like pull, which matches the cheese option.

Source: perininsihirlimutfagi (Peri’nin Sihirli Mutfagi), “Katmer Pogaca” (Facebook reel). https://www.facebook.com/reel/1357965789783521


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