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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.
tweet–https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/372834775666393089
We get our whole grains from whole grain cereal.
I am Ukrainian, so bread is a big deal! Our favorite bread is the dark round bread that was sold in Ukrainian stores. We eat all types bread, no surprise there. So making the family eat grains is no problem.
The way my mom does it is she sneaks a little whole wheat flour into bread other recipes. So half is white flour, the other is wheat……We barely taste the difference!Lol
*Side-note*
I asked my mom if they ever made pampushki back in Russia and she says”That’s a food? No way! We used to call all the chubby babies that name!”
I serve warm whole wheat rolls with butter, and make whole grain waffles or pancakes on the weekends, served with fruit. Those are my favorite ways to get the family to eat healthy grains.
Luckily, 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….rarely a complaint either!
My husband is the one who wants me to start incorporating whole wheat or rye flour in the breads that I bake. I’m just a hard sell, I love fresh white bread. But I’ll have to try your garlic pampushki for the next family gathering. We eat buckwheat, oatmeal (trader joe’s has amazing steel cut oats that the entire family likes), I like to add quinoa to my soups now too.
It’s no problem in our family. We love them and it’s just part of everyday cooking and baking.
One of the things I do is add oats/ flax seed to kotleti.
https://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/372786777565569024
I like to make quinoa or buckwheat salad with fresh veggies
Love the idea of tossing bulochki in garlic butter. I feed my family with whole wheat cous cous, quinoa, buck wheat, organic rolled oats. Making my own bread too.
We eat oatmeal in the mornings and my kids love it!
I usually get my family to eat more grains by buying “killers bread” which has whole grains of all sorts, and add sweet strawberry jam on top and drink with tea.
Thank You so much for posting all these recipes! They are all amazing!!! Your Chicken Plov is a new staple in my house (I sub brown rice, of course).
I get my family to eat whole grains whenever possible. I always switch out white rice for Brown and regular pasta for Whole Wheat. We eat lots of Quinoa and Israeli Couscous. The most difficult in my household is trying to limit the amount of potatoes eaten. My husband is a serious addict.
I add whole wheat flour to the bread I bake.
We pretty much eat only whole grain and whole wheat. we love the 100% whole wheat organic pasta from Costco. 🙂 (even my toddlers too). i love everything from quinoa to wild rice to steel cut oats. and costco has this really good pasta made from quinoa and wild rice. you just have to get your taste buds used to eating whole wheat.:)
We eat a lot of oatmeal, whole wheat bread, and quinoa.
In my husband’s country, they pretty much eat rice everyday all day, so I try switching to brown rice when I can.
The way I make my family eat grains is by making our normal food but change the white grains for the whole wheat. I have made whole wheat pizza dough and I add whole wheat flour to bread.