Yeast-free Poğaça – Cheese Filled Turkish Rolls
These are my yeast-free Poğaça - cheese filled Turkish rolls. Quicker to make than my yeast-based Poğaça recipe, these are great for breakfast or as a savoury snack & perfect for Ramadan as can be made ahead too.
Yeast-free Poğaça – Cheese Filled Turkish Rolls
Quicker Alternative To Yeast Rolls
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What Are Yeast-free Poğaça?
To start off, Poğaça (pronounced paw-acha), are Turkish cheese stuffed rolls. Stuffed with filling such as Turkish white cheese and spinach or flat leaf parsley, these are filled before baking so make a ready-made meal or snack on their own.
Typically made from a yeast-based dough, this here is my yeast-free version.
Classic Poğaça can be round like a bread roll or an oval shape & I like to do the yeast-free Poğaça an oval shape. (*Read more about Poğaça on my Quicker Poğaça recipe)
My Experience In Turkish recipes
Being married to a Turk for over 25 years, and being someone who likes to learn, I taught myself how to make a lot of Turkish bakes.
Over the years I have perfected my husband’s favourites that his mother used to make. So you will find traditional Turkish recipes. While there will be slight variations from region to region, these are authentic recipes, the way they are made in the villages. And I say this, as sites such as Taste Of Home & The Spruce Eats are rarely traditional, (even though that’s the title they give them). Often with ingredients that they would never be made from, even if original ingredients are not available. In which case they should not be giving them the title of ‘traditional’ or ‘authentic’. But I digress…
Why Make Yeast-free Poğaça?
Simple & Quick
These Poğaça are yeast-free rolls, saving you the time of kneading and 2 periods of proving. Therefore, reducing the total time by about 2 hours.
Makes Quite A Lot
The recipe makes 16 Poğaça, but you can easily double or reduce the recipe and make 32, or 8.
Vegetarian
Turkish Poğaça are always meat-free and so vegetarian.
My Turkish experiences
As mentioned above, I am married to a Turk & giving you my 25 years of experiences of Turkish foods.
Detailed Instructions
As always, my recipes are detailed, heavily detailed in fact, for your success. Nothing worse than spending money & time making something that is not written well or well tested. If you have baking experience however, you can skip to the Recipe card below, which is an abbreviated version of the recipe & includes ingredient amounts.
Jump to Recipe Jump to VideoWhen To Make?
Make yeast-free version of Poğaça, anytime, for breakfast, lunch or as a savoury snack. Perfect for Ramadan, when it can be made before eating time, or even the night before.
Ingredient Notes
My yeast-free Poğaça rolls, are made from the following basic ingredients.
For The Dough:
- Yoghurt
- Egg yolk
- Whole Eggs
- Melted Butter
- Oil
- Salt & Sugar
- Cider Vinegar
- Flour
- Baking Powder*
For The Filling:
- Soft White Cheese*
- OR Mature/Aged Cheddar
- Spinach
For The Topping:
- Egg whites (from eggs above)
- Nigella Seeds*
- Sesame Seeds
**see notes below
Yoghurt
You can use any thick-set plain/natural yoghurt, such as Greek-style and low-fat version works too.
Oil
Extra Virgin Olice Oil is used, but Olive Oil, or any other neutral tasting oil will work.
Eggs
Whole eggs, as well as egg yolk are used in the dough. The egg-white is not wasted but, and instead used for an egg wash. Make sure these eggs are at room temperature if you store yours in the fridge.
Flour
Plain (All Purpose) flour is used, with the addition of baking powder. You can however use UK Self-raising flour, and omit the baking powder.
Cider Vinegar
Cider vinegar is in the Poğaça dough, but you can also use things such as white wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, regular vinegar or even lemon juice.
Spinach
A lot of spinach is used here, but flat leaf parsley can also be substituted for an authentic Turkish filling for Poğaça.
Cheese
Turkish soft white cheese (Peynir) is classic & can even be sourced in the UK & US in some large supermarkets, foreign food stores or online. Softer and creamier than Greek Feta, there are many kinds of Turkish cheeses. Some you might find are – Çökelek Peynir, Lor Peyniri, and some will say ‘Böreklik’ or ‘Kahvaltilik’ & come in large tins/cans.
A untraditional alternative filling is when I used mature, or even extra mature, Scottish cheese. This is aged/sharp cheddar with great flavour and I enjoy sometimes with finely chopped onion.
Toppings
The Poğaça is topped with seeds, after an egg-wash glaze is applied. Typical toppings are Çörek Otu (pronounced chew-rek o-too), and basically Nigella Seeds. Sesame seeds are also a good option or combination to add.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Prepare The Dough
1.Start by melting the butter and leaving to the side for a minute.
2. Add the egg yolk, whole eggs, yoghurt, oil, salt, sugar, cider vinegar & melted butter to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to mix together till a liquid batter. **Don’t worry if there are some lumps. Alternatively, you can add one ingredient at a time, mixing in-between each addition.
3. Mix the baking powder into the flour & gradually add to the wet mixture. I added using a ladle, so about 1 cup worth of flour at a time, mixing in-between. Add enough flour to bring the mixture into a manageable dough. It will be very soft and almost silky feeling due to the yoghurt and oil. Note that the dough will not be smooth, and that is fine, as long as you can mould a piece of dough into a ball. (See video & Photos 1 & 2 for reference).
4. Paper-line & flour dust a work area, with a chopping board underneath, before turning out the dough. Knead into a round disc & cut in half with a floured knife.
5. Take half the dough and form into a disc and half again. Take one half, form into a disc and cut into 4 triangles.
6. Repeat with the remaining small half and make another 4 triangles of dough. Then repeat with the remaining half dough from the start, to make another 8 pieces of dough, finishing with a total of 16 pieces.
7. Flour coat your palms and roll one piece of dough into a small ball. Watch my video for the pulling tucking motion I use. Then leave to rest on flour dusted paper.
Prepare The Filling
1. Meanwhile prepare the filling. The traditional Turkish filling is spinach and Turkish white cheese. Called Peynir (pay-near), you can buy in the UK, US and Canada in foreign foods shops and sometimes in the big supermarkets. Similar to a soft Feta but creamier, I often also make mature Scottish cheese (Aged cheddar) & fine onion Poğaça, for myself.
2. Wash the spinach, leave to blot dry on kitchen paper/paper towels and then use scissors or a herb chopper to roughly cut/chop the spinach. **Make sure as dry as possible. Then mix the cheese & spinach together in a medium bowl.
Form & Fill The Poğaça
1. Paper-line 2 baking sheets/baking trays & turn on the oven to pre-heat to: 200°c/180°c fan oven/400°f/Gas Mark 6.
2. Flour dust a small piece of baking/parchment paper & flour coat your palms. Take one ball of dough, place on the paper and press down on the dough with your palms.
3. Press down to open out the dough, to make about the width of a female palm (so about 4″/10cm wide). No need for a rolling pin & make sure not too thin & with no holes.
4. Use your index finger to press down along the edge and thin the dough at the ends only. You want thinned edges about 1 fingertip wide. This prevents having too thick a join.
5. Take about 1-1.5 heaped tbsp worth of the spinach-cheese mixture and place in the centre of the dough, making a rough horizontal line of filling. Make sure to not pass where the thinned out edge is.
6. Close the roll by lifting the top & bottom area & joining in the middle by squeezing the dough together & making a horizontal line. Pinch sealing closed like it was pastry. See the video and Photo collage 4.
7. Turn the roll over, that will be an oval shape, and gently rock it back and forth. This will help smooth the join. You can thin the ends too to make more oval if needed.
8. Gently lift onto prepared baking tray/sheet. Mix the remaining egg white* with ** milk in a small bowl and brush onto the Poğaça. Being sure to cover the top and sides for a good colour. Sprinkle on your seeds of choice –Çörek Otu (Nigella Seeds) are classic and sesame seeds are good too.
9.Repeat with the remaining balls of dough. Alternatively, you can spread out 4 or more balls of dough, then fill all 4, before sealing them, and finally egg-wash and seed all 4.
**Note the dough will spring back a little while waiting (if you were to spread all 16 out at one time), & just need a little patting out again.
Baking The Poğaça
1. Place in the centre of the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 – 20 minutes until nice & golden and risen. Turn them over after about 15 minutes and let bake on the bottoms, till an equally golden tone, brushing on remaining egg-wash is needed. This can take about 3 -4 minutes. Some filling might leak, so don’t worry about it.
2. Place on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes before removing the baking tray/sheet. Then leave to cool on the rack till able to eat or cool enough to store.
Serving & Storing
1.Serve the yeast-free Poğaça a little warm or room temperature.
2. Enjoy like the Turks with some hot tea (çay – ch-eye) . You can enjoy for breakfast or lunch and perhaps serve alongside some olives.
3. Store the filled rolls in food bags in a bread bin or in a metal cake or cookie tin for up to 4 days. You can reheat for 1-2 minutes in the oven or air-fryer. For best results, do not store in the fridge, as condensation can make the rolls go soggy.
Other Turkish recipes
Check out my other Turkish recipes I have perfected over the years. Classic Poğaça, (the yeast-based stuffed cheese rolls), Lahmacun, (meat topped thin Turkish pizza, made on the stove top). Ramazan Pidesi (Pide bread for Ramadan), Pide Pizza, some Börek – Turkish Cheese & Spinach Pastry or Turkish savoury biscuits (tuzlu kurabiye). *All photos in this order mentioned above.
Other Yeast-free Breads
Don’t want the hassle or time to make yeast-based breads? Try yeast-free cheesy bread that can be made in 30 minutes & in the air fryer. Tear-&-share cheese scones are also good and quick to make. Turkish Lahmacun is also yeast-free and a no-bake.
Recipe Card
Yeast-free Turkish Poğaça (cheese stuffed rolls)
Equipment
- Digital scales or measuring cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Large mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Spatula or Wooden Spoon
- Baking/parchment paper
- Knife & chopping board
- Brush
- Small Bowl
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 250 ml Yoghurt (8½ fl oz, 1 cup, thick-set plain/natural*)
- 125 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil (½ cup, 4¼ fl oz, see note*)
- 2 tbsp Cider Vinegar (see notes*)
- ½ tsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 Eggs (medium/large UK, large/extra large US)
- 1 Egg yolk
- 30 grams Butter (1 oz, ¼ cup, melted)
- 565 grams Plain Flour (20 oz, 4½ cups, All Purpose flour, see notes*)
- 2½ tsp Baking Powder (omit if using UK Self-raising)
For The Filling:
- 250 grams Turkish White Cheese (Peynir) (8¾ oz, see notes*)
- 125 grams Spinach (4½ oz, ½ bag, can use more*)
For The Topping:
- 1 Egg white (from above)
- 1-2 tsp Milk (or oil)
- Seeds (Çörek Otu /Nigela Seeds, Sesame Seeds etc)
Instructions
Prepare The Dough:
- Melt the 30 grams Butter and leave to the side. Add 1 Egg yolk, 2 Eggs, 250 ml Yoghurt, the 125 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the 2 tbsp Cider Vinegar, the ½ tsp Sugar & 2 tsp Salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together and then add in the melted butter. Alternatively, add one ingredient at a time, mixing in-between each addition.
- Mix the 2½ tsp Baking Powder in with the 565 grams Plain Flour, then gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. About a ladle/1 cup at a time, mixing well, until you have a manageable dough. It will have a soft feel but not be smooth like bread dough. You have added enough flour when you can mould a small piece into a ball. (See the video or process photos before this card for reference).
- Flour dust some baking/parchment paper, on top of a chopping board & turn out the dough. Form into a disc & cut in half with a floured large knife. Take half the dough, form into a disc and cut in half again. Form that half into a disc and cut 4 triangles. Repeat with the other small half and make another 4 pieces. Repeat the process again with remainingg dough until you have 16 triangles of dough, about the same size.
- Flour your palms and form one piece of dough into a small ball. See my video for my method. Repeat with the remaining 15 pieces of dough & then leave to rest while you prepare the filling.
Prepare The Filling:
- Wash and blot dry the 125 grams Spinach & roughly chop. Make sure as dry as possible. Same with the 250 grams Turkish White Cheese (Peynir) if using – some have a lot of liquid and need that squeezed off. The harder the cheese however, the less moisture there will be. Once ready, mix the cheese and spinach together.
Form The Rolls:
- Prepare 2 baking sheets/baking trays with baking/parchment paper & preheat oven to: 200°c/180°c fan oven/400°f/Gas Mark 6. Flour a small piece of paper and take one ball of dough, placing on the paper & opening out with your hands. No need for a rolling pin. Pat out to about palm width (4"/10cm) & then thin the edge by about a finger width.
- Take about 1-1½ heaped tbsp of filling and place in the centre, making a line of filling, but leaving a gap at the ends. Close the rolls by bringing together the top and bottom of the dough, meeting in the centre and pinching closed. You should have an oval shape. Turn the roll over and rock back & forth to smooth the join. Mix the remaining 1 Egg white with 1-2 tsp Milk & brush on the roll before topping with Seeds (optional). Place on the prepared tray & repeat with the rest.
Bake The Poğaça Rolls:
- Place in the centre of the oven & bake for 15-20 minutes until a deep golden colour & risen. Turn them over after about 15 minutes and brush on any remaining egg wash, then bake for another 3 – 4 minutes till coloured.
- Allow to cool still on the tray, but over a cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing the tray. Then leave to cool enough to eat.
Serving & Storing:
- Serve the yeast-free Poğaça a little warm or eat at room temperature. Classically enjoyed with Turkish tea (çay – pronounced ch-eye).
- I don’t recommend placing in the fridge as it can cause condensation. Store in food bags and even in cake or cookie tins, somewhere not too warm & they will be fine for up to 4 days.
Video
Notes
Eggs – make sure at room temperature. Left-over egg white is used for an egg-wash when mixed with a little milk or even oil.
Flour – Plain (All Purpose) flour listed in the recipe, but I have made using UK Self-raising flour before too. Just make sure not to include the baking powder, if using Self-raising. Also, the amount of flour used is approximate. You might need a little less or a little more.
Cheese – soft white Turkish cheese used (Peynir, read more before this recipe card), but you can use Feta if need be or a mature cheese (sharp cheddar) & chopped onion. Grate the cheddar & mould into a sausage or oblong shape, shorter than the width of rolled out dough. Seal really well.
Spinach – – be sure to wash & well dry the spinach to avoid too much moisture, or use flat leaf parsley. About 1/2 a bag of spinach is used but you can use more.
Toppings – Çörek Otu, Turkish name for Nigella Seeds, is classic, as well as sesame seeds (but are optional).
Recipe Yield – 16 rolls, oval & about 4″/10cm long. The recipe can be halved or increased.
Sweet Version – I am working on a sweet version, so be sure to check back.
For the original, yeast-based version, see my Quicker Poğaça rolls recipe.
More Turkish recipes can be found on the website – Lahmacun (meat topped no bake Turkish flatbread). Ramazan Pidesi (Turkish bread), Börek – Turkish Cheese & Spinach Pastry or Cheese Pide (Turkish-style pizza).
Try my other yeast-free 30 Minute Cheesy Bread that can be made in the air fryer.
Nutritional Information – I am not a qualified nutritionist and all values are approximate. These are based on 1 serving, of 1 Poğaça roll, using ingredients listed & for Turkish white cheese, zero fat Greek-style yoghurt & with a yield of 16 rolls. Make bigger or smaller rolls, and these values will change. All vlaues calculated via MyFitnessPal.com.
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Caro x
Yeast-free Poğaça – Cheese Filled Turkish Rolls
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Caroline’s Easy Baking Lessons
This is my favourite of the Turkish rolls to make, because its much quicker than the yeast version, and you still make lots.