Babos pogácsa

Hailing from Sopron, babos pogácsa or babpogácsa is a variety of Hungarian pogácsa, a small, round, savory pastry with beans incorporated in the dough. This pogácsa is typically made with a combination of flour, cooked and mashed beans, lard or another type of fat (such as butter or margarine), sour cream, eggs, baking powder, salt, and pepper.

The dough is usually shaped into round portions, which are then brushed with egg yolks and (optionally) sprinkled with grated cheese, sesame seeds, or sunflower seeds before they’re baked until golden brown. The pastries are also commonly studded with a cooked bean in the top’s center before baking, while some versions call for decorating the pastry’s surface with a special pattern.

Bean pogácsa is believed to be one of the bean-based specialties of Sopron’s famous poncichters (a corruption of the German word for bean growers, Bohnenzüchter) -traditional winegrowers- who used to grow beans between their vineyards.

Hungarians usually enjoy these bean-based pastries as savory snacks, accompanied by a glass of wine on the side.