Garlic Pampushki (Garlic Dinner Rolls)
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We LOVE bread. There were two things we asked our wedding caterer to stock up on; potatoes and BREAD! What kind of Ukrainian wedding runs out of bread? After all, Ukraine is known as the breadbasket of Europe.
Guess who was born in Ukraine? Meeee!! Ignore me, please. I think it’s these garlic pampushki (pahm-poosh-kee) going to my head. Thanks for sharing in the excitement with me. I would pass you a pampushka if you were right here in front of me (extra garlicky).
Before we serve up the bread recipe, I want to spend a little time with a lesson on bread and why it’s good for you. Bread has taken too much flak over the years especially with all the newfangled diets out there. I want you to see beyond the “carbs”.
Lesson 1: Which grains should I eat? Choose whole grains when possible and buy organic if you can. This includes whole wheat bread, whole grain bread, quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat. Which ones should I avoid? I was going to say white bread, but I don’t think I could ever say no to Costco’s artisan bread, so lets just call it moderation. According to the USDA, try to make at least half of your grains whole grains.
Lesson 2: Grains are Good and tasty: Food pyramid anyone? According the the USDA , grains should make up 1/4 of your diet because they are good for you. The important thing is to choose the right grains (see point #3). Whole grains have many of the essential nutrients our bodies need including vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Don’t worry, we won’t have the fiber discussion again (but know that I am always happy to talk about the importance of fiber for digestion and “regulation” (I’m doing it again; It’s the Nurse in me!).
Lesson 3: Your brain needs grains: What? Your brain needs carbohydrates?? Did you know carbs turn into glucose to give your brain energy? So, choosing a low/no carb diet can starve your brain of the energy it needs. Not to mention grains have B vitamins that are important for your brain to function at its best and stay healthy over time. Check out this site: GrainsForYourBrain.org. It features videos from Dr’s, Professors and Researchers. Oh and I spotted some great recipes posted there by chefs and moms.
Lesson 4: Eat grains smartly: In the end, eat your grains responsibly and share all this good info with the people you love 🙂
Onto the Recipe…
Ingredients for Garlic Pampushki:
2 1/4 cups luke warm water
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast (Red Star brand)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour *measured correctly
3/4 cup rye flour (if you don’t have rye, sub with whole wheat flour) *measured correctly
3/4 cup better for bread flour
plus 2 1/2 cups better for bread flour
2 Tbsp canola oil plus more to grease the counter and pan
*Watch our easy video tutorial on how to measure correctly
Ingredients for the topping:
4 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp water
6-8 oz bacon into small strips
4 Tbsp olive oil
How To Make Garlic Pampushki (Dinner Rolls):
1. In a large kitchen aid mixer bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups warm water (about 100˚F), 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 Tbsp salt; stir to dissolve.
2. Sift the 3/4 cup wheat flour, 3/4 cup rye flour and 3/4 cup better for bread flour with 2 tsp yeast into the salted water. Do not discard anything left in the sifter (it’s the good stuff!); toss it into the batter. Whisk together until well blended. Let it rise in a warm room uncovered for 2 hours, stirring the batter about once every hour. It will be bubbly.
3. Using the dough hook attachment add 1/2 cup all-purpose flour until well blended, scraping down the bowl if needed. Blend in the rest of your flour (2 cups) a heaping Tbsp at a time, letting the dough dissolve the flour in between each spoon (this takes about 20 min).
4. Once all the flour is incorporated, add 2 Tbsp canola oil. Let mix for an additional 20 more minutes or until dough is no longer sticking to your bowl. Note: after you add the oil it will look like it’s coming off the walls and then it will appear to get stickier, then towards the end of your 20 minutes, it will actually stop sticking to the walls as it mixes.
Just let it do it’s thing and everything will work out ;). If it’s still really sticking to the bowl around the 20 min mark, add another heaping Tbsp of better for bread flour. Remove dough hook and Let it rise in the bowl, uncovered, until double in volume (45 min)
5. Grease your bread pans, counter and fingers a little with the canola oil and transfer the dough onto the oiled counter. Pinch the dough in the center to form two sections with your hands. Divide each section again and again, and again until you have a total of 30 rolls. Grease your rimmed baking dishes lightly with oil.
Place dough balls onto each pan about 1/2″ apart into each prepared pan and let it rise on the counter or outside if it’s warm until 2 1/2 times in volume (about 1 1/2 hours – note: it rises faster if its in a warm place ~100˚F). Bake at 360˚F for 30 minutes or until rolls are golden.
6. While the rolls are baking, make your garlic mix: press 4 cloves of garlic into a small bowl and mix with 1 tsp salt and 2 Tbsp water. Chop your bacon into small strips, then saute on a dry skillet until golden brown.
Transfer bacon and the garlic mixture into a large silver bowl, stir in 4 Tbsp olive oil and toss the rolls with the garlic and bacon until your rolls are shiny. Leave the rolls in the bowl and keep it uncovered until the rolls are cooled down. These are crisp on the outside and so so soft on the inside. You’ll love them! The next day, try making sandwiches out of them.
How do you get your family to eat more healthy grains?
Garlic Pampushki, Bread is Good for You

Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups luke warm water
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup rye flour, if you don't have rye, sub with whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup better for bread flour
- plus 2 1/2 cups better for bread flour
- 2 Tbsp canola oil plus more to grease the counter and pan
Instructions
- In a large kitchen aid mixer bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups warm water (about 100˚F), 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 Tbsp salt; stir to dissolve.
- Sift the 3/4 cup wheat flour, 3/4 cup rye flour and 3/4 cup better for bread flour with 2 tsp yeast into the salted water. Do not discard anything left in the sifter (it's the good stuff!); toss it into the batter. Whisk together until well blended. Let it rise in a warm room uncovered for 2 hours, stirring the batter about once every hour. It will be bubbly.
- Using the dough hook attachment add 1/2 cup all-purpose flour until well blended, scraping down the bowl if needed. Blend in the rest of your flour (2 cups) a heaping Tbsp at a time, letting the dough dissolve the flour in between each spoon (this takes about 20 min).
- Once all the flour is incorporated, add 2 Tbsp canola oil. Let mix for an additional 20 more minutes or until dough is no longer sticking to your bowl. Note: after you add the oil it will look like it's coming off the walls and then it will appear to get stickier, then towards the end of your 20 minutes, it will actually stop sticking to the walls as it mixes. Just let it do it's thing and everything will work out ;). If it's still really sticking to the bowl around the 20 min mark, add another heaping Tbsp of better for bread flour. Remove dough hook and Let it rise in the bowl, uncovered, until double in volume (45 min)
- Grease your bread pans, counter and fingers a little with the canola oil and transfer the dough onto the oiled counter
- Pinch the dough in the center to form two sections with your hands. Divide each section again and again, and again until you have a total of 30 rolls. Grease your rimmed baking dishes lightly with oil. Place dough balls onto each pan about 1/2" apart into each prepared pan and let it rise on the counter or outside if it's warm until 2 1/2 times in volume (about 1 1/2 hours - note: it rises faster if its in a warm place ~100˚F). Bake at 360˚F for 30 minutes or until rolls are golden.
- While the rolls are baking, make your garlic mix: press 4 cloves of garlic into a small bowl and mix with 1 tsp salt and 2 Tbsp water. Chop your bacon into small strips, then saute on a dry skillet until golden brown.
- Transfer bacon and the garlic mixture into a large silver bowl, stir in 4 Tbsp olive oil and toss the rolls with the garlic and bacon until your rolls are shiny. Leave the rolls in the bowl and keep it uncovered until the rolls are cooled down. These rolls are crisp on the outside and so so soft on the inside. You'll love them! The next day, try making sandwiches out of them.
Privet, Natashenka!
I love! your kitchen!
Pampushki s chesnokom:
from your portal:
Ingredients
1) 2 1/4 cups luke warm water
2) 1/2 Tbsp salt
3) 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
4) 2 tsp active dry yeast
5) 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
6) 3/4 cup rye flour if you don’t have rye, sub with whole wheat flour
7)??? 3/4 cup better for bread flour
8)??? plus 2 1/2 cups better for bread flour
2 Tbsp canola oil plus more to grease the counter and pan
Can you please explain step 7 and 8; – 2 1/2 cups better… did u mean butter? if it s butter, which one?
thx
Boris
Hi Boris, that is not a typo. That is a bread type calls “Better for Bread Flour.”
Hi Natasha, can you make these with sourdough instead of a yeast? I am gluten sensitive but noticed that the long soughdough fermentation makes the wheat protein easier to digest. Thank you.
I didn’t realize that about sourdough – that’s great to know! I haven’t tried these with a sourdough but I think that could work!
Hi Natasha, thank you for your website, I use it all of the time! So easy to use and recipes are always reliable. I also am a nurse, and I agree with you 100% about whole grains. 🙂 wanted to recommend this to you, have you ever seen Forks over Knives? If you haven’t, watch Forks over Knives, and Forks over Knives extended Interview, and the Engine 2 Diet. These go into some depth about the dark side of USDA… I know these can be found on netflix. The nurse in you will absolutely love these documentaries, I know I did. Let me know what you think.
Thank you so much for your suggestions!! I’ll have to check it out 🙂
Quick question, can I cut the Recipe in half?
Yes. It can be done. The recipe does take a good amount of waiting time so I just make the full batch because it seems more “worth it” ;).
Thank you so much
Natasha,
I’m hoping to make this recipe for my husband (who is Ukrainian) bc he says he loves to eat pampushki with borsch. I’ve used your website to make a few different dishes and he always really enjoys them! My problem is that I don’t have a KitchenAide Mixer. I imagine it is possible to make these rolls without one but not sure how?! Any ideas?
Thanks!!
You can either use a bread maker to make the dough or blend in the flour with a spatula, adding just enough flour so it doesn’t stick to your hands and then knead the dough by hand. The KitchenAid just saves time and is easier, but it’s not absolutely necessary. Let me know how you like it 🙂
Hi! I want to try those. Usually we freeze all our bread (my husband makes amazing rye and whole wheat bread with pecans and crunberries, 4 loafs at once, freeze after cooling and slicing). Can I freese those pampushki? Thank you!
I don’t know if they’d freeze well after the topping goes on; the bacon, and garlic mixture might be unpleasant when you thaw, but I think they would freeze nicely without the topping; maybe just brush them lightly with olive oil, let them cool to room temp and then freeze.
Just a suggestion. You can freeze them once baked and cooled. Once you’re ready to enjoy them, just thaw, warm them in the oven and toss in the freshly made garlic and bacon mixture. That’s what I would do. 😋 I’ll have to try these very soon. They sound so delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing your tip with us! 🙂
Once all the flour was incorporated, I added 2 Tbsp canola oil and let mix for an additional 20 more minutes, so the dough would not stick to the bowl. Well after the 20 minute mark it was still sticky. So, I added another tablespoon of better for bread flour and it was still sticking to the bowl. Anything I did, it was still sticky. So I just gave up and let it double in volume. When they came out the oven they were really hard and not soft in the inside, they were hard as a brick. Would I make this again? Probably not.
Hi Tanya, I’ve been using this same recipe for years with very fluffy and great results every time. It’s based in the bread loaves recipe that I have posted. I’m happy to help you troubleshoot. The most important question is what kind of flour did you use and did you follow all of the rising times in the instructions?
We eat cereal frequently, so that helps
tweeted
https://twitter.com/MelindaJoy926/status/383635971196993536
I try to swap out wheat flour in recipes that all for white flour. I also only buy whole grain breads and cereals.
That looks so good! We regularly eat oatmeal for breakfast and I only buy whole wheat breads that have lots of extra yummy whole grains and seeds; I would love to start baking my own bread though.
So who won the 100 giveaway? Just wondering
Once Blogher makes this announcement, I will post it here 🙂 The winner will be notified soon!
Tweet link: https://twitter.com/shala_darkstone/status/381405115527098368
I get my daughter to eat more healthy grains by making her chocolate chip muffins with whole wheat flour. She devours them!
https://twitter.com/thomasmurphy40/status/380425064069361664
we eat whole grain bread.
https://twitter.com/aes529/status/380383095532167168
I buy whole grain pasta!
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/MsTofuFairy/status/380382505695580160
We love to eat granola and oatmeal in the cooler months and during hotter months we get it from whole grain pastas and side dishes like quinoa!
Tweet – https://twitter.com/willitara/status/380357866873307136
https://twitter.com/electricstar/status/380162549385134080
We eat a lot of oatmeal, granola & whole grain cereal.
Whole wheat cereals are an easy way to get whole grains, but I must say I agree with your husband. I love home made white yeasty bread.
Love this recepie! Just tried it, so delicious. Instead of bacon, we did seasome seeds and added parsley and basil on top… 😉 we have an autistic son, so switched the family to organic flour, buckwheat, corn, potato flour a while back… It helps a lot for my boys when the dishes Look delicious 😉 thanks for your wonderful blog.
Tweeted at https://twitter.com/KDFF/status/379266906466705408
We use a lot of whole grains in our household. Favorite? Anything made with the flour that I grind as I need it, especially whole wheat bread
We eat whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta.
I use whole wheat flour when I bake bread.
Now I don’t know if this is healthy or not but I let my boys eat grilled cheese on “whole wheat, or whole grain” bread. I don’t add butter on my bread like its known for. This a way of getting some of their whole grain.
tweeted https://twitter.com/neiddy_ruiz/status/378520230676275200
When grocery shopping I choose cereals, pasta, rice and bread made with whole grains and I like to incorporate them in dishes my family loves
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/378387201769234433
amy [at] utry [dot] it
I get my family to eat more healthy grains by preparing whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and whole wheat bread for them. It’s a nice way to get more fiber and nutrients! 🙂 Can’t wait to try your recipe! Looks delicious.
amy [at] utry [dot] it
i tweeted here: https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/378340954639319040
we eat a lot of oatmeal for breakfast
My husband loves wheat pasta, brown rice and he only eats whole wheat or rye bread 🙂 For myself i always have a cup of oatmeal in the morning…so for us its not a problem at all
My stubborn Serbian husband has no problem eating bread (rolls with ajvar and feta daily) but he has shockingly high cholesterol for a 28 yr old so in turn for him trading breakfasts of eggs and cheese for oatmeal and fruit I make Sarma on Sundays. (Sometimes I make a ‘cheat’ version in casserole form instead of rolls, so much faster!) It’s an easy trade that makes me feel better about his diet and has become a fun way for us to celebrate our heritage.
My husband will eat anything I put on the table, which includes the healthy grains 🙂
i started making whole wheat waffles.
One thing at a time 🙂
I still want to learn how to make Russian whole wheat bread. Yum!
oat meal in the morning…
getting my family to eat grains is no problem – it’s getting them to eat whole grains that’s a bit harder. homemade bread is always a big seller, and if i use white wheat flour instead of red wheat, they gobble it up just fine! i substitute at least 1/2 the flour in most recipes with whole wheat. i’ll have to experiment to see how much i could add to these delicious-looking rolls. i made your potato pampushki the other day, and we loved them. i left the skins on the potatoes to add a little more fiber and nutrition, and my family didn’t mind at all. of course, if you fill something with cheese, or add bacon to it, it’s suddenly easier to get even teenage boys to eat it 🙂
We eat lots of grains. It’s not a problem in our family. I receive your emails.
I follow your emails. We eat healthy and add extra grains wherever I can.
Tweet
https://twitter.com/clc408/status/377405782569918464
I have switched to whole wheat bread crumbs instead of regular in my cooking.
I just make recipes that my family likes, which just happen to include grains as party of the recipe!
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
Incorporating wheat into my family diet is not a problem for me
We live off of rye/whole wear breads.
tweeted https://twitter.com/pittsy82/status/377116709854789632
We eat a lot of grain cereals for breakfast every morning!
I don’t have that problem, but you could sneak grains into your cooking and baking.
I make a a lot of grains in the rice cooler as a side, buckwheat, brown and black rice quinoa, cous cous and a bunch more. Our toddler loves them!!
I add grains to muffins and breads.
I try to incorporate healthy grains in my cooking. Also, eating oatmeal has been a blessing as well, it’s healthy and yummy with some fruits!!
We like to eat oatmeal
I buy whole grain cereals.
https://twitter.com/susan1215/status/376409409775075328
I get my family to eat whole grains by making sandwiches out of whole wheat bread and oatmeal in the mornings for breakfast.
Our family eats lots of grains with no problem.
tweeted https://twitter.com/pryfamily5/status/376291709472083968 pryfamily5@gmail.com
by baking my own whole grain breads
pryfamily5@gmail.com
I put the grains into the salad. Just boil them until soft(or half soft, depending on preference) and keep them in the fridge until ready. That way the salad can be a good meal for anytime even for a breakfast, providing enough calories until next meal comes.
Our family loves grains. I subscribe to your emails.
My family loves buckwheat and oatmeal!! 🙂 I love making buckwheat with your mushroom gravy. So yummy!! We also usually buy whole wheat bread. Thanks for another idea to sneak grains in. 🙂 love your recipes lol I get so excited when I see you post another recipe!! I love trying out new things and hearing my satisfied husband brag about my cooking!! 😉 When I got married a year ago, I had no idea how to even cook! By following a few cooking blogs I am learning quickly! Thanks 🙂
tweet–https://twitter.com/WildOrchid985/status/375676959474212864
I get grains in my diet by eating a large bowl of steel cut oats for breakfast. I love them, especially in the fall!
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
I bake with whole white wheat flour. Good for you and better tasting (I think) than regular whole wheat.
Our family doesn’t have this problem. We eat lots of grains. I subscribe to your emails.
we usually buy whole wheat bread, and eat oatmeal or usually buy cereal that has grains in them… This pampushki I love them!!!! my mama use to always make them!!!!
We eat whole wheat bread and have oatmeal for breakfast.
I add flax seed, bulgur, or wheat germ to almost everything.
I follow you through emails.
We buy wheat bread or multigrain breads with at least 2g of fiber per serving. I enjoy oatmeal and buckweat.
we try to eat whole grain bread and cereal. I once tried to make whole grain noodles but my husband didnt like it.
We don’t seem to have that problem at all. I add flax seed, wheat germ to many things while cooking and baking.
-https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/374706584573587456
We have oatmeal with fresh blueberries
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
https://twitter.com/HappyTina0115/status/374642256306647040
i make grain bagel or bread
To get my family to eat more healthy grains, i get Organic Dave’s killer bread at Costco it has 21 whole grains. Also whole grain Cheerios, I always add bananas, strawberries, blueberries even sliced peaches what ever fruit I have at home and my kids love it. My family also enjoys oatmeal.
I buy a lot of different whole grains cereals for breakfast.
We have baked oatmeal with blueberries. We also eat a good amount of rice. I like to add flax seed to a salad.
My family doesn’t have that problem. I use wheat germ often in meatloaves, burgers, etc.
I’m gluten-free, so we don’t eat many grains; when we do, we go for organic ones like buckwheat and brown rice.
I tweeted https://mobile.twitter.com/AtheistNoMore/status/374365735797014529
We like frosted mini wheats and I hide whole grain noodles in spaghetti sauce!
oatmeal/ whole grain breads….
My little family LOVES buckwheat and anything while grain. (So far) PTL!
We eat more grains eating oatmeal kasha for kids every morning, and instead of buying the cheap white bread we buy the whole grain dark with 7 nuts. They sell it at Costco and winco.
Tweeted
https://twitter.com/mummytotwoboys1/status/374208590208192512
We enjoy grains by adding them to muffin and quick bread recipes. We also like to eat brown rice and whole grains
Eat most vegetables and fruit with their skins on.
Eating more whole grains is easy – add CHOCOLATE!
Here’s a link to my tweet: https://twitter.com/LifesDeepColors/status/374000086751002624
One thing I noticed about my family that helps us all eat healthier: I make a sample list of foods that can be cooked for meals and include a variety of whole grains in it. Each member chooses his or her favorite foods and I add them to the menu. That way I know my family will eat healthy and enjoy it, too.
I try to incorporate a whole grain item into every meal: whole grain breads, brown rice and oatmeal especially.
We mill our whole wheat flour at home and I use the flour in most of my baking like making whole wheat bread and I add some to cookie dough and pizza dough.
We buy healthy breads for sandwiches. Flax seed is added to almost all my cooking.
I posted a tweet: https://twitter.com/AnnaZed/status/373682340502831104
Oh I sneak the whole grains in every way you can think of; pancakes, muffins, pasta even cakes, but bread is the main rout – and so good!
My family has always eaten what I put on the table, so it’s easy to control what they eat and how healthy the meals are,so all depend on me.
We eat buckwheat brown rice, and whole wheat bread.
Switched to oatmeals at breakfast with fruits!!
How do I get your family to eat more healthy grains? I bake banana bread with whole wheat only, it tastes better than ever!
We really dont eat alot of whole grains. 🙁
We eat oatmeal and sometimes i make oatmeal cookies or pancakes, my grils love it:)
I make my kiddos peanut butter sandwiches Or eat wheat bread with a bowl of hot soup.
Sprinkle wheat germ or flax seeds on my oatmeal every morning.
My family is very conscientious of what we eat and feed our kids. My kids love buckwheat (kasha with padleva). My husband also lost a lot of weight by watching not how much carbs he eats but which ones he eats. I always try to buy organic when I can. A trick I also found when I’m baking for the kids is to sneak in flax seed, chia seeds and whole wheat flour when its something not especially healthy (chocolate chip cookies for example) and they don’t even know the difference.
we have oatmeal for breakfast and i make my own whole wheat bread
I buy organic whole wheat bread, pasta, buckwheat…love this recipie and will def try it!!!!
i make my own bread and we love buckwheat!
We eat alot of kasha or hrechka , also wheat bread with soup , sandwiches and more !!
I tweeted.
https://twitter.com/Cinbat03/status/373236623007174656
I love baking bread using whole grains.
tweet
https://twitter.com/1amypugmire/status/373226793597022208
I love to put it into my breads, oatmeal and pancakes that way the kids have no idea. They love all of those things!