Vatrushka {Russian sweet bread}

Instructions

Make vatrushka´s dough.

1. Dissolve the dried yeast in a small part of milk, set aside.
2. In the bowl of the stand mixer add the flour along with the milk except for the part with the dissolved yeast, the egg and the salt. Knead at low speed until a moderately homogeneous dough is obtained.
3. Add the sugar and knead until it is fully integrated.
4. Pour the milk mixture with yeast and knead until homogenized.
5. Stop the stand mixer and add the butter little by little. I recommend adding it in two parts. We will let it fully integrate into the dough before adding the next batch.
6. Once we have added all the butter, knead until obtaining a good gluten development. The dough should be elastic and not break. It will take us about 10-12 minutes.
7. Grease a bowl, place the dough inside and let rise until it almost triples its volume. Depending on the temperature can take 2-4 hours. In my case it was 2 hours and 30 minutes at 85ºF.

Make sweet cheese filling.

1. In a bowl mix the mascarpone cheese along with the egg, sugar, flour and salt.
2. We must obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture.
3. Cover with film and reserve until needed.

Shape the vatrushkas.

1. Transfer the dough on a clean surface and without any flour. Degas gently.
2. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and preshape into a boule. Remember that if you get dough pieces, we must place them in the center of the piece before preshaping so that they remain inside.
   
3. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper, leaving space between them as they will grow during the rise and bake, cover with a cotton cloth and let stand for 10 minutes to lose the tension.
   
4. To prevent the dough from drying out excessively, spray the buns lightly with water.
5. Flatten each piece with the hand and, with the help of a glass, make a hollow in the center. Do not be afraid to press.
   
6. Fill the hollows with the cheese mixture but do not overdo or overflow during baking.
7. Spray again lightly with water, cover the buns with film and let rise until they almost double their size. In my case they were 1 hour at 86ºF.

Bake.

1. Preheat oven to 390ºF.
2. Brush the edges with beaten egg with salt and bake, at half height, for 14 minutes. Remember that the inside temperature reaches 86-194ºF the cooking is finished.
3. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly (preferably) or completely over a rack.
   

Notes

• Always take into account the absorption capacity of the flour that you use. The dough should remain slightly sticky to the touch, not dry. When you integrate the moist ingredients, observe how the dough behaves as you knead it.
• If you use fresh yeast instead of dry, remember that the proportion of this is 1 :3 (dry : fresh).
• The original recipe is made with cottage cheese, which is more dense. You can use this instead of mascarpone if you wish. The result with mascarpone cheese is much softer and creamier, but also a more fluid texture is obtained when filling the buns.
  
• In the ingredients list you will see that I specify that for both filling and brushing we need 1/2 egg. Use a whole egg, beat it and divide it into 2 parts for use in both processes.
• It is a dough that tends to dry out a lot during the shape and rest / rise time. It is important that you spray lightly with water to prevent the surface from drying.

• These buns are at their best on the very day we bake them. Warmed are a real delicacy. But they are well preserved for the next 3-4 days in an airtight container.

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• Breakfast
• Mascarpone cheese