Shanezhki (шанежки)

Shanezhki (шанежки), also known as Shanga, Shangi (Шаньги), Shaneshki, are a Northern Russian yeast bun enjoyed from Karelia to the Urals and Siberia. Usually topped with mashed potato or Tvorog (cottage cheese, quark). It's a savory snack that everyone will love.

You'll love Shanezhki (Шаньги) because they're an authentic Russian recipe from babushka from the Urals. Not to be confused with Vatrushka buns which are a sweet cheese bun which look similar. The difference from Vatrushki and Shanezhki is that these are savory and smeared with topping (compared to filled) and these are often made with potato.

Ingredients

Yeast Dough

• Flour - All Purpose Flour or Baking Flour
• Milk
• Salt
• Sugar
• Instant Dry Yeast
• Egg
• Melted Butter
• Egg Wash - egg and sour cream

Potato Filling

• Potatoes - boiled then mashed
• Butter
• Egg
• Sour Cream (Smetana)
• Salt

Tvorog Filling

• Tvorog - Quark, Cottage Cheese or Farmer's Cheese
• Egg
• Sour Cream (Smetana)
• Salt

Egg Wash

• 2 Eggs
• Sour Cream

How to Make Shanezhki

Yeast Dough

1. Pour yeast, sugar, salt, and ½ of the lukewarm milk in a bowl. Whisk together and mix in 2 tablespoons of flour. Allow to sit for 15 minutes until it starts to bubble and foam, seeing the yeast is activated.
2. In a larger bowl, add the flour, egg, remaining milk and melted butter. Pour in the yeast mix and combine all together until it forms a dough ball. Knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. 
3. Place back into an oiled bowl, cover loosely with cling wrap and a kitchen towel. Place in a warm place until it rises, about 1 ½ hours.
4. Punch down dough to remove air, gently knead again before using.
5. To prepare egg wash, whisk together eggs and sour cream until combined. Set aside until ready to use.

Potato Filling

1. Peel the potatoes and place in a pot. Cover the potatoes will water and cook for about 20 minutes, or until they are tender.
2. Drain the potatoes and place into a mixing bowl. Add butter, egg, sour cream, and salt.Using a masher, mix potatoes until whipped. Allow to cool, now it's ready to use.

Tvorog Cheese Filling

1. Mix together Tvorog Cheese, egg, salt and sour cream until combined. Now it's ready to use.

Making Shanezhki

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C (fan forced).
2. When the dough is ready, cut into 12-14 even pieces. Using your palms, roll each piece into a round ball. Place on parchment paper on a baking tray.
3. Flatten each ball into a round patty, (about 4-5") with a small indent in the middle. 
4. Spread 1 tablespoon of Potato filling or Tvorog filling in the centre of the dough circle, without touching the edges. Allow to rise for 15 minutes.
5. Brush Shanezhki with the egg wash and place into pre-heated oven.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Optional: to make it even tastier, immediately after removing from oven brush with melted butter.

Shanezhki Variations

• Grated Cheese - mix in your favorited grated hard cheese into the Tvorog or Potato mix ( Cheddar, Emmental, Parmesan or Suluguni)
• Mushrooms - sautée mushrooms and mix into potato mixture
• Fresh Herbs - diced fresh herbs and mix into the filling or sprinkle before serving. Try parsley, dill or green onions
• Onions and Garlic - sauté onions or add roasted garlic to your potato or cheese filling
• Sugar - to balance out the salt, add one teaspoon of sugar to your cheese filling - remember this is a savory recipe, not sweet

Recipe Tips and FAQs

• Sweet and Savory - divide the Tvorog Cheese in half to make two versions, one salty and the other sweet. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar to make a sweet treat
• Rye Flour - often made with traditional rye flour, or mix 50:50 with Rye flour and All Purpose Flour
• Smear with Butter - for even tastier Shangi, after taking it out of the oven, smear with melted butter before serving
• Eat it Hot - best enjoyed right out of the oven, or re-heat before serving

Tvorog Substitute

Tvorog can sometimes be hard to find, and has several variations and names. Here are some suggestions;

• Farmer's Cheese - an easy homemade cheese that's budget friendly
• Quark - a European soft cheese interchangeable with Tvorog
• Ricotta - has similar texture and has a mild flavor to Tvorog
• Cottage Cheese - can be a good substitute, might need to be strained or squeezed through cheesecloth before use

Egg Wash

This egg was is made by whisking eggs and sour cream together. Instead of sour cream, you can substitute with heavy cream. The egg wash requires dairy fat to prevent cracking while it cooks.

Storage

• Fridge - place in an airtight container and enjoy with 3 days
• Freezer - place in a Ziploc bag, squeeze out the air and enjoy within 2 months

Russian Baking You'll Love

• Apricot Jam Pie
• Vatrushka Cheese Pie
• Hvorost Roses
• Sharlotka Apple Cake
• Pryaniki Honey Cookies
• Cheese Blini Casserole
• Cabbage Stuffed Piroshki

Try baking something completely different with this Russian, Mari, Udmurt and Komi cuisine. Perfect as a snack, for breakfast or like a savory Danish with a cup of tea. With this easy, no-fail yeast dough recipe, choose your favorite topping and bake away! Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!

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