Ingredients:
1 liter 2.5% kefir
75 grams fresh yeast (1 ½ small squares)
150 grams margarine, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
7 ½ cups flour, divided
2 eggs
3 tablespoons smetana
12 tablespoons (¾ cup) sunflower oil, divided
1 egg and 2 tablespoons of water, beaten together
for egg wash
Directions:
Bring kefir
to room temperature in the oven, microwave or just by leaving it out for
several hours. Crumble yeast into large bowl of kefir and beat with a whisk or fork. Add sugar, salt and 1 ½ cups
flour and beat well. Cover with a clean towel and let sit for 1 hour in a warm
place.
Add 2 eggs, melted margarine and smetana. Beat well. Add 3 cups
additional flour and beat with a spoon until smooth. Add 3 more cups of flour
and fold in with your hands. Pour 3 tablespoons of oil on your hands and into
the bowl, and knead the dough for 3 minutes. Pour 2 additional tablespoons of
oil on your hands and into the bowl and knead the dough an additional 2
minutes. Cover again with a towel and let rise 20 minutes.
Pour 2 tablespoons of oil on your hands and into the
bowl and knead for 5 minutes. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Pour 2 tablespoons
more of oil on your hands and into the bowl and knead one minute. Cover and let
rise 20 minutes more.
Oil your hands, a clean working surface and baking
sheet with the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Knead the dough for 1 minute and
turn out onto the working surface. Squeeze small bun-size pieces of dough from
the large piece of dough. Form into balls with your hands. Put on the oiled
baking sheet, then repeat with remaining dough. Allow the buns to touch each
other on the baking sheets, as they can be pulled apart after baking. Brush
with egg wash and bake in a 300C oven until golden brown. This is the hottest
temperature before broiling in a Ukrainian oven, and if there is no broiler,
then it is the hottest. When the rolls are done, remove from oven and cover
with a towel until ready to eat. Serve with a bowl containing 1 cup of water, 1
tablespoon sunflower oil, a pinch of salt and 10 garlic cloves cut in half. Pampushki are a traditional
accompaniment to borshch. Yields
40-48 pampushki.
Bon Appetit!
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