Russian Doughnuts Recipes

RUSSIAN DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Mix farmer's cheese, flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together in a bowl until a sticky dough forms.
• Roll dough into 1-inch balls with wet hands to prevent sticking.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or heavy saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). The oil should be hot but not smoking. It is ready for frying if you see little air bubbles around a wooden spoon placed in the oil.
• Fry a batch of the dough balls in the hot oil until golden, about 2 minutes. Place doughnuts on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Repeat with remaining dough. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

RUSSIAN DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Mix farmer's cheese, flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together in a bowl until a sticky dough forms.
• Roll dough into 1-inch balls with wet hands to prevent sticking.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or heavy saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). The oil should be hot but not smoking. It is ready for frying if you see little air bubbles around a wooden spoon placed in the oil.
• Fry a batch of the dough balls in the hot oil until golden, about 2 minutes. Place doughnuts on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
• Note: If you want your doughnuts to have a smoother surface, press the cheese through a sieve before adding to the mixture.

KOLOBKI (RUSSIAN COTTAGE CHEESE DONUTS)

Steps:

• Combine first 7 ingredients to form a very thick batter.
• (Original recipe calls for 1/2c flour and crumbs, but even with double the flour mine was too sticky to roll.).
• Heat oil in a wide frying pan.
• (According to Good Eats, more oil is better since the oil is absorbed when oil temp drops, which happens when too much cold stuff is added to not enough oil. I used enough to fill the pan with 1/3 of an inch).
• Use a tea-spoon to quickly scoop and drop dough balls. Since the batter is pretty thick, use your finger to make the drop.
• Alternatively, form balls roughly 1" in diameter, then drop into oil.
• Do not crowd the pan or drop so many that you won't be able to flip them comfortably.
• Fry past golden-brown, about 90 sec. Adjust oil temp if needed.
• Flip using 2 forks.
• Fry the other side.
• Carefully lift each Kolobok out onto racks lined with paper towels, sprinkle with powdered sugar.
• Repeat until batter runs out, and serve whatever hasn't been stolen from the plate. Top with sour cream or possibly syrup/jams? Should keep well overnight.

RUSSIAN YEAST DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine lukewarm milk and 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl and stir to dissolve sugar. Mix 3 tablespoons flour with fresh yeast in a small bowl and add to milk mixture. Let rest in a warm place until mixture is frothy, 15 to 30 minutes.
• Beat 3 eggs and 3 tablespoons sugar together in a small bowl. Add to the yeast mixture; stir in melted butter. Add 8 cups flour and salt. Mix until well combined and a soft dough forms; no kneading is necessary.
• Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• Punch down dough. Cover and let rise until doubled in volume once again, about 40 minutes.
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces, or according to your preferred pirozhki recipe, and form into rolls. Place rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet. Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and glaze rolls with the beaten egg. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
• Uncover and bake rolls in the preheated oven until golden, about 15 minutes.