Vatrushka

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 200 mlwarm milk
• 80 gbutter, softened
• 70 gsugar
• 1egg
• 8 ginstant yeast
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspvanilla

Filling

• 500 gtvorog, dry curd cheese
• 1egg yolk
• 70 gsugar
• 1 tbspsemolina or cornflour
• 1 tspvanilla
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 50 graisins, optional

To finish

• 1egg, beaten
• icing sugar
• sour cream, to serve

To serve

• warm, with tea

Directions

1. Mix it with the yolk, sugar, vanilla and zest. Stir in a spoonful of semolina or cornflour. It absorbs the moisture the curd releases as it bakes, which is what stops the filling weeping and sinking.
2. Let the filling stand 15 minutes so the semolina swells. Add raisins if you like, soaked and drained. Now the dough, which is a soft enriched one. Warm the milk to blood heat and mix with the yeast and a spoonful of sugar.
3. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and vanilla, add the milk and egg, and knead 5 minutes. Work in the softened butter a piece at a time and knead 10 minutes more.
4. Add the butter after the gluten has begun to form, which is the rule for any enriched dough. Prove for about 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled. Divide into 10 pieces and roll each into a tight ball.
5. Set them well apart on lined trays and flatten them slightly. Prove them for a further 30 minutes. Press a deep, wide well into the centre of each bun with the base of a glass or your fingers. Press right down almost to the tray and make it wide, leaving only a rim of about 1.5 cm. Make it deeper and wider than seems sensible.
6. Fill them properly, level with the rim, since the filling is the point rather than a decoration. Brush only the dough rim with beaten egg, keeping it off the filling. Now bake at 190°C (375°F) for 18 to 20 minutes.
7. Cool them slightly on a wire rack. Serve them warm or at room temperature, with tea. They keep two days and are best on the day they are baked.

Technique

• The name comes from vatra, the hearth fire.
• Savoury versions with potato or salted curd are also made.
• Sochniki are the folded relative.

Substitutions

• Dry quark or well-drained ricotta in place of tvorog.
• Cornflour in place of semolina in the filling.

Variations

• With raisins in the filling.
• Savoury, filled with potato.
• Made large, as one sharing bun.

History

An old East Slavic bake whose name comes from vatra, the hearth fire.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vatrushka?

Vatrushka is a bread & pastry from Russia: round bun with a well of sweetened tvorog curd in the centre. An old East Slavic bake whose name comes from vatra, the hearth fire.

How long does Vatrushka take to make?

Vatrushka takes 40 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 10 buns. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Vatrushka?

Yes, within limits. Dry quark or well-drained ricotta in place of tvorog. Cornflour in place of semolina in the filling.

What is the most important thing to get right in Vatrushka?

Fill them properly, level with the rim, since the filling is the point rather than a decoration. Brush only the dough rim with beaten egg, keeping it off the filling. Now bake at 190°C (375°F) for 18 to 20 minutes.