I first tried this bread when I was in sleepy little hamlet of Komiža on the Dalmatian island of Vis, and while I loved it then, I kinda loved making it more. For those of you who don’t know, pogača is a type of flat bread that you can have plain or filled.
On Vis island there are two of these stuffed/filled breads available – one from Vis Town (yes, the town and the island have the same name – original!) which has no tomatoes, the other (this one) from Komiža has tomatoes. I figure if you can choose to have tomatoes, then go with the tomato recipe. Regardless of which one you eat, this bread is the everyday snack of the island. Cut up into squares or triangles it’s the snack that you run up from the beach to eat or the after-drinking-I-need-to-eat-something treat.
It’s also great for a Sunday afternoon snack or for a picnic, but I do prefer it warm rather than completely cold.
This was my first time using dried yeast. I’ve had so many problems with normal yeast that I tried this one because it seemed a lot easier…and it was! No need for extra time and warm milk etc, this was fast and simple and it rose really well which I loved. So instant dry yeast gets my tick of approval.
I highly recommend this recipe, although with the anchovies and olives it can get a bit too salty. You could maybe half the amount of olives used? But I love the salt (ha! Croatian background)
Ingredients:
- 600g plain flour
- One (1) tsp salt
- Seven (7) grams instant dry yeast
- 150 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 350 ml warm water
- Two (2) medium onions, finely diced
- 50 ml red wine
- 700g tomatoes, finely diced
- One (1) tsp pepper
- One (1) tsp dried oregano
- 80g tinned anchovy fillets (drained)
- 60g sliced, deseeded black olives (or any olive you like)
- 20g capers
Method:
- Mix flour, salt, yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in 50ml of the oil and some of the water. Mix with your hands then add more water until a dough forms and there’s no water left.
- Knead the formed dough for about five minutes. Sprinkle a little flour into the bowl, pop the dough in, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place until it doubles in size.
- Sauté the onions in the rest of the oil over medium heat until they are translucent NOT brown. It should take just under 10 minutes.
- Pour in the red wine and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Add chopped tomatoes, pepper, oregano and let it all simmer for half an hour, stirring until thick.
- After thirty minutes remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grab a 30cm non-stick round baking dish.
- Divide the dough into two, one piece slightly larger than the other.
- Roll out the larger piece of dough into a round shape that’s big enough for the baking dish and can hang over the sides by an inch (2.5cms).
- Put the rolled dough into the dish and spread the tomato mixture over top. Arrange the anchovies, olives and capers over the tomato mixture.
- Roll the other piece of dough into a round shape that covers the filling. Take the overhang dough and twist it or tuck around the lower piece to make a casing.
- Prick the top with a fork and brush with a bit of olive oil
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden. Sprinkle with oregano. Cut into triangles and serve warm.
I feel like this is a great recipe served cold for a picnic, or served warm straight out of the oven with a crisp leafy green salad.
Let me know if you tried it and how it went!
Dobar Tek! Zivjeli! (Bon Appétit! Cheers and let’s live!)
The Croatian Kitchen 