Ukrainian Garlic Bread Recipe
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Ready to cook Eastern European? Pick up a copy of Mamushka, Ukraine-born chef Olia Hercules's ode to cuisine from Kiev to Kazakhstan, and every stop along the way. It's not all potatoes and beets, though, it's pampushki, too — the best freshly baked garlic bread you've ever had.
The word pampushka can be used to describe a gorgeous plump woman and is one of my favorite words. Pam-poo-shka! These pampushki are traditionally served with red borscht. In Ukraine, we would use regular garlic, so if you can't find wet (new) garlic, it will still be delicious. I have used wild garlic and its flowers.
Ukrainian Garlic Bread Recipe
Prep Time
45
minutes
Cook Time
40
minutes
Servings
8
rolls
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon fresh yeast
- 2 ounces warm water
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- Scant 1 cup strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 1/2 tablespoons wet (new) or regular garlic
- 3 tablespoons sunflower oil, plus extra for oiling
- Lightly beaten duck (or chicken's) egg, to glaze
- fine sea salt
- Half a bunch of parsley
Directions
- First make a "sponge," which is a type of yeasty starter. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the measurement water (make sure it's blood temperature — hot water would kill the yeast!). Add half of the flour and mix roughly. Cover with clingfilm and leave to proof in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next morning, add the rest of the flour and 1/2 tablespoon of fine sea salt to the starter and knead on a well-floured work surface until the dough is smooth and comes away from your hands easily.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape into round buns. Put them side by side in an oiled round ovenproof dish or a 9 1/2-inch round cake tin, cover and let them prove again, this time in a warm place, until doubled in size. They will join together just like hot cross buns do.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F. To make the basting oil, simply stir the crushed garlic through the oil with a small pinch of sea salt and let it infuse.
- When the pampushki look plump and ready, brush them generously with some beaten egg to glaze and bake them in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until they form a glistening golden crust. Take them out and baste them with the garlic oil. Serve immediately.