PAMPUSHKY (UKRAINIAN GARLIC BUNS)

SOURCE: OLIA HERCULES. MAMUSHKA: RECIPES FROM UKRAINE AND EASTERN EUROPE.

By unanimity, a bowl of red Borsch in Ukraine needs a loaf of Pampushka as a chaperon to the dining table. After all, Ukrainian language assigns a masculine noun for the beet soup, whereas the gender for the plump and fluffy garlic buns, which also translates to a gorgeous plus-sized woman, takes on a feminine term. A freshly baked Pampushky always finishes with a coat of garlic oil slathered onto the hot surface of the bread to quickly cook and assuage the strong bite of raw garlic into savory goodness. Garlic lovers will certainly unite for the want of Pampushky.

Ingredients

1 cake/15 grams fresh yeast OR 2 1/4 teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast

1 teaspoon/4 grams sugar

1 cup/240 mL warm water about 110°F/40°C

1/2 cup/120 mL sunflower oil

2 1/2 cups/375 grams plus more bread flour OR unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon/8 grams salt, preferably fine sea salt

1 1/2 tablespoons/20 grams crushed garlic

3 tablespoons/11 grams finely chopped parsley, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results

1 egg, lightly beaten

Specific Equipment

Large mixing bowl

Wooden spoon or spatula

Plastic wrap

Ovenproof dish OR round cake pan with a diameter of 7.5 inches/19 cm

Small bowl

Pastry brush

Serves 8

Instructions

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl filled with the warm water. Stir in 1/4 cup/60 mL sunflower oil and 1 1/4 cups/150 grams flour with a woodern spoon or spatula. Cover the bowl with a sheet of plastic wrap and chill inside a refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours, preferably overnight or until the yeast has proofed with a sponge-like body.

2. Return the spongy yeast to room temperature and stir in the rest of the flour and salt until well-blended. Knead the dough on a well-floured work surface until the dough has smoothened and lost its stickiness.

3. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and shape each portion into round buns. Arrange the dough portions side by side in an ovenproof dish or cake pan well-greased with 1 tablespoon/15 mL sunflower oil. Cover the cake pan with a sheet of plastic wrap and let dough rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. Preheat oven to 450°F/220°C.

5. Stir the garlic, a small pinch of salt, and parsley in 3 tablespoons/45 mL sunflower oil until well-blended. Set the mixture aside to let the garlic and parsley infuse into the oil.

6. Brush the dough generously with the egg to glaze. Bake the dough for 20 to 25 minutes or until the bread has formed a glossy golden crust.

7. Remove the bread from the oven and slather the bread immediately with generous brushes of the garlic-parsley-infused oil. Transfer the bread to a serving platter.