By Nik, founder of 東歐嚴選｜kefir.link and former chef · Updated 2 November 2026
Poğaça are the small savoury buns sold fresh in Turkish bakeries for breakfast, golden on top and studded with salty white cheese and fresh dill. Kefir takes the place of yogurt in the dough and brings a gentle tang that suits the cheese. With baking powder instead of yeast, the buns go from bowl to oven with no rising time.
A breakfast bun with a glass of tea
Turkish bakeries and street stalls sell poğaça fresh from the oven, plain or filled with white cheese, olives, or potato and cheese. People eat them at breakfast or with afternoon tea, beside sliced tomato, cucumber, olives and a little jam. The name is traced to the Italian focaccia, a small piece of dough once baked in the ashes of a hearth. Every household has its own version, with or without yeast.
Kefir, vinegar and baking powder do the lifting
Yeasted poğaça are soft like bread rolls, while baking-powder poğaça are more crumbly, closer to a scone. Baking powder holds both an acid and an alkaline part, and double-acting powder releases gas twice: once when wet and again in the oven. Kefir is thick and tangy, so it moistens the dough generously without turning it into a batter. The splash of vinegar cannot be tasted after baking, but it helps the buns rise, keeps the centres from staying doughy and gives a shorter, crisper bite.
Too much flour makes poğaça dry and hard. Long kneading develops gluten and makes them bready. Stop adding flour as soon as the dough holds together and no longer sticks to your hands.
Choosing the cheese and herbs
In Turkey the crumbly, salty cheese that visitors call feta is simply white cheese, and Greek feta is the closest match outside Turkey. Choose a firm cheese and pour off any brine, because a wet, fatty cheese can melt, leak out of the dough and burn on the tray. Dry the washed dill and parsley completely, since wet herbs loosen the dough. Sesame seeds, black nigella seeds or dried dill can be sprinkled on top or mixed into the dough.
Turkish herb kefir buns
Ingredients
For the dough
- 100 ml plain milk kefir Use unsweetened kefir.
- 100 ml sunflower oil
- 2 eggs Save one yolk for brushing; the remaining whole egg and white go into the dough.
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 90 g Turkish white cheese Use firm cheese, drain any brine and crumble. Feta can replace Turkish white cheese.
- 30 g fresh dill Wash, dry thoroughly and chop finely.
- 15 g flat-leaf parsley Use the leaves, washed, dried and finely chopped.
- 400 g all-purpose flour Add gradually; about 300–350 g is usually enough. Stop when the dough is soft and no longer sticky.
- 2 tsp baking powder
For the topping
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds Optional.
You will need
- Oven
- Large baking tray
- Baking paper
- Mixing bowl
- Kitchen scale and measuring spoons
- Measuring jug
- Knife and chopping board
- Spatula
- Pastry brush
- Wire rack
- Food thermometer
Instructions
Make and bake the buns
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), using top and bottom heat with the fan off.
- Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Separate one egg, reserving the yolk in a small bowl for brushing and putting the white and the other whole egg in the mixing bowl.
- Mix the kefir, oil, sugar, salt, vinegar, crumbled cheese and chopped herbs into the eggs until evenly combined.
- Stir all the baking powder evenly into the mixture.
- Immediately work in the flour a little at a time, mixing gently just until the dough holds together and no longer sticks to your hands; you may not need all the flour.
- Shape the dough into about 40 small, walnut-sized balls, placing them on the lined tray with space between them.
- Brush the tops with the reserved egg yolk and finish with sesame seeds, if using.
- Bake on the middle rack for about 25 minutes, until the tops and undersides are golden and the centres are cooked through.
- Transfer the buns to a wire rack to cool slightly before eating.
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