Burgonyás pogácsa

Ingredients

• 15¾ ozpotatoesfloury, boiled and mashed or grated, fully cooled
• 1¼ lbflourplus extra for rolling out
• 7 ozbuttercold, for the dough and for brushing while folding; margarine works too
• 2 tspsaltfor the dough, a little for sprinkling
• 1 ozfresh yeastor 1 sachet instant yeast
• 2eggone for the dough, one beaten for brushing
• 1 tspsugarto activate the yeast
• 1 tbspsesame seedsfor sprinkling, ideally toasted
• 1 tspcarawayground in the dough or whole for sprinkling
• ¾ cupsour creamfor a more tender dough (optional)
• ½ cupmilklukewarm, to activate the yeast (optional)
• 1¼ cupsCreamlukewarm, instead of milk to activate the yeast (optional)
• ⅔ cupsunflower oiladded to the dough (optional)
• 1 tspblack pepperground, in the dough (optional)
• 1 tbspflaxseedfor sprinkling (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the potatoesCook the floury potatoes, then mash or grate them and let them cool completely; warm potatoes would melt the butter in the dough.
2. Activate the yeastDissolve the yeast with the sugar in lukewarm milk, or lukewarm cooking cream if you prefer, and leave it for a few minutes until it starts to bubble.
3. Rub in flour, potatoes and butterMix the flour with the salt, add the cooled potatoes and some of the cold butter (keep the rest for brushing while folding; if you skip brushing, add all the butter here), and rub everything together with your fingertips into fine crumbs; if you like, this is also the moment to add ground caraway, black pepper or a splash of sunflower oil.
4. Knead and rest the doughAdd the activated yeast, one egg and the sour cream if using, knead everything into a smooth, elastic dough, then cover and leave to rest for 30 to 60 minutes.
5. Roll, fold and turn the doughRoll the dough out on a floured surface, brush it with the remaining butter if you like, fold it in thirds, give it a quarter turn and let it rest briefly; repeat this two or three times.
6. Cut out and preheat the ovenFinally, roll the dough out to about a finger's thickness and cut out rounds, or cut it into cubes or sticks, and meanwhile preheat the oven to 180–430 °F.
7. Arrange, glaze and topArrange the pogácsa on a baking sheet lined with parchment, score the tops in a criss-cross pattern if you like, brush them with the second, beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds, whole caraway, flaxseed or a little salt.
8. Bake until golden and coolBake in the preheated oven for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on size, until golden brown, then leave them to cool on a wire rack.

Tips and variations

For a heartier version, use wholemeal flour and season the dough with oil, ground caraway and black pepper. In a hurry? Skip the folding: let the dough rest just once and cut it straight into cubes. Leave out the yeast altogether and you get a short potato-and-butter dough that works nicely for thin sticks or little pogácsa. Cheese on top instead of seeds is lovely too, and you can also bake the potatoes in their skins instead of boiling them. They're at their best still slightly warm, straight off the rack.