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Scones · Spring & Summer

Hungarian Wild Garlic Scones

Recipe by Nigel Clease Kitchen-tested
Scones 4 min read

Traditional Hungarian wild garlic pogácsa: savoury, flaky bites somewhere between a cheese straw and a soft scone.

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Hungarian Wild Garlic Scones – preparation step 1
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Hungarian wild garlic scones or “pogácsa” as they are known (pronounced pow-gach-a) are a cross between a savoury scone and a cheese straw. They originate from Hungary and are traditionally served with drinks.

The great thing I love about these scones is that they are so versatile and by using different fillings you have many different flavours. Check out some ideas in the variations section of this page.

This recipe is easy if you have made bread before and it doesn’t require long to prove.

Wild garlic is not as pungent as garlic cloves and when cooked it has a delicate and sweeter taste. It is a relative of the chive family and grows wild in damp woodlands. It has so many uses, I personally love to make soups or add it to scrambled eggs or quiches and it’s great for pasta dishes and stir-fries.

RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS

  • EASE: easy.
  • TASTE: soft savoury scones filled with a sweet onion taste and topped with tasty cheddar cheese.
  • TEXTURE: flaky, crisp scones on the outside with a soft centre and crusty cheddar top.
  • QUANTITY: 40 pieces
  • TIME: 58 minutes, including 30 minutes proving.

INGREDIENTS

For this Hungarian wild garlic scones recipe, all you need are these ingredients:

  • Wild garlic 
  • Strong bread flour or all-purpose (BL80)
  • Fast-action dried yeast
  • Sea salt
  • Eggs
  • Milk
  • Butter or lard
  • Grated Cheddar cheese
  • Salt – I highly recommend adding salt to your doughs and pastry. Salt helps balance out the sweetness and richness. It also elevates the other ingredients, bringing out the best characteristics of any recipe. I recommend using sea salt, Maldon Sea salt flakes or Cornish sea salt.

WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?

These scones can be made with different fillings to give more variety.

Here are a few topping suggestions:

  • Traditional Hungarian flavours: bacon, cooked cabbage
  • My alternative suggestions: pesto, sundried tomato, chives, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

EQUIPMENT SUGGESTIONS

  • Large mixing bowl – I recommend the 29 cm Mason Cash cream earthenware mixing bowl because it is sturdy, chip-resistant and has a generous four-litre capacity, making it ideal for everything from cake batters to bread doughs. It is also microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe. You can find this bowl and more of my favourite kitchen tools in my Amazon Baking Essentials collection.
  • Rolling pin – I love this rolling pin! The removable guide rings make it much easier to roll biscuit dough, pizza dough and flatbreads to an even thickness, giving you consistent results every time.
  • Wire Cooling Rack -I recommend this 40 × 25 cm cooling rack because it is ideal for cooling cakes, biscuits and other freshly baked treats. I find it so useful that I have a couple of them, especially when baking several batches at once. You can find it and more of my favourite baking equipment in my Amazon Baking Essentials collection.

Nutrition

Serving: one Hungarian Wild Garlic Scone

73.08 kcal
CALORIES · 4% DV
2.45 g
TOTAL FAT · 4% DV
9.61 g
CARBOHYDRATES · 4% DV
0.42 g
SUGARS · 0% DV
2.45 g
PROTEIN · 5% DV
113.9 mg
SODIUM · 6% DV
0.35 g
FIBRE · 1% DV

% Daily Values based on a 2,000-calorie diet

Nutrition information is provided as an estimate and may vary depending on the ingredients and portion size used.

STORAGE AND FREEZING

I find storing these pogácsa in a tin is best. Best eaten on the day of baking but will keep for 2-3 days.

Freezing: I love that these can be frozen and just be popped in the oven for 10 minutes when required.

Hungarian Wild Garlic Scones – preparation step 6
Hungarian Wild Garlic Scones – preparation step 7
Hungarian Wild Garlic Scones – preparation step 2
Hungarian Wild Garlic Scones – preparation step 1

Hungarian Wild Garlic scones (Pogácsa)

Preparation:20 minutes
Baking:12 minutes
Proving:30 minutes
Total:1 hour 2 minutes
Servings: 40
These wild garlic pogácsa (pronounced pow-gach-a) are a cross between a savoury scone and a cheese straw. They originate from Hungary and are traditionally served with drinks.
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INGREDIENTS LIST
 

  • 80 g wild garlic (20 leaves)
  • 500 g white bread flour (BL80 high gluten flour)
  • 17 g fresh yeast (5 g fast-action dried yeast)
  • 2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 medium egg (50g total)
  • 280 ml milk
  • 60 g butter or lard (room temperature)

Topping

  • 1 medium egg
  • 80 g grated Cheddar cheese

Preparation
 

  • Yeast: Warm 250 ml of the milk to body temperature and dissolve the yeast in it, stirring to ensure there are no lumps. Leave aside for 5 minutes.
  • Wild garlic: Wash and finely chop the wild garlic.
  • Prepare the dough: Into a large mixing bowl or a food mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the flour and the salt. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the egg and the yeasty milk mixture, then mix the ingredients slowly together.
  • Gradually add the remaining milk (you may not need it all), until all the flour leaves the side of the bowl and you have a soft dough. If you are doing this by hand, you may want to wet your hands to stop the dough from sticking too much to them.
  • Continue to work the dough for a couple of minutes to work the gluten and you are left with a silky-smooth dough.
  • Line a baking tray with baking paper of a silicone mat and set it aside.
  • Lightly oil your work surface and roll the dough out into a 30×40 cm rectangle.
  • Brush the dough with the butter or lard until it is coated all over the top.
  • Scatter the chopped wild garlic over the top until well covered and then roll the dough up into a sausage shape.
  • Now fold the two ends of the sausage into the middle and turn over the dough.
  • Place into an oiled bowl for 15 minutes to rest.
  • Shaping: Lightly oil your work surface again and roll the dough out until it is about 2-2.5 cm thick.
    Hungarian Wild Garlic Scones – preparation step 3
  • Using a small cookie cutter (I used a 4 cm size) cut out rounds of dough and place them onto your baking tray. If you don’t have a cutter, you can simply cut the rectangle up into small squares instead, they will still look and taste great.
  • Proving: Leave the baking tray on the side covered with a damp cloth for 15-20 minutes to let them prove. If you room is at a low temperature, they may take a little longer to rise.
    Hungarian Wild Garlic Scones – preparation step 4
  • Preheating: Preheat the oven to 200°C fan / 425°F / Gas 7.
  • Topping: Mix the egg and brush each pogácsa with a little, then place a little cheese on the top of each one.
    Hungarian Wild Garlic Scones – preparation step 5
  • Baking: Bake for 10-12 minutes until they are a nice golden brown.
  • Once cooked remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack

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