AI-generated image
Shangi
Shangi (шаньги): round open Siberian buns topped with mashed potato and sour cream
RussianFrom the Urals across to Siberia, shangi turn up on Sunday breakfast tables, at village markets and in the lunch bags of fishermen and hunters. They are flat rounds of soft yeast dough topped, not filled, with a thick swirl of buttery mashed potato beaten with egg, then brushed with sour cream so the top bakes into golden, slightly crisp peaks. Eat them warm with tea, milk or a bowl of mushroom soup. Older northern versions used barley dough or a millet topping, and sweet shangi carry tvorog instead. The usual slip is spreading the potato right to the edge; leave a rim so the dough rises around it like a frame. Chef's tip: brush the baked shangi with melted butter and stack them in a covered pot for ten minutes, which keeps them soft the way Siberians like them.
- Total time
- 115 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup whole milklukewarm
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 16 oz plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ⅜ oz unsalted buttermelted
For the topping
- 1 ½ lb floury potatoespeeled and halved
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ⅜ oz butter
- ¼ cup whole milkhot
- 1 egg
- 3 ½ oz sour cream
- 1 oz buttermelted
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (6)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Stir the ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast and 1 tbsp caster sugar into the warm 1 cup whole milk and leave for 10 minutes, until foamy.
10 minStep 2: Add the 16 oz plain flour, 1 tsp salt and 1 ⅜ oz unsalted butter and knead for 8 minutes into a soft, smooth dough. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour, until doubled.
68 minStep 3: Meanwhile boil the 1 ½ lb floury potatoes in salted water (½ tsp salt) for about 20 minutes, until tender. Drain and mash with the 1 ⅜ oz butter and ¼ cup whole milk, cool for 10 minutes, then beat in the 1 egg.
32 minStep 4: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Divide the dough into 12, roll each into a ball and flatten into a 10 cm round on lined trays.
10 minStep 5: Spread a thick layer of potato on each round, leaving a 1 cm rim, and swirl the top with a spoon. Leave to prove for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 6: Brush the potato with the 3 ½ oz sour cream and bake for 20–25 minutes, until the dough is golden and the potato peaks are browned.
25 minStep 7: Brush with the 1 oz butter and stack in a covered pot or under a towel for 10 minutes before serving warm.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does shangi take?
- About 115 minutes in total: 80 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cake
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Reform torta
Belgrade pastry shops have sold reform torta since the early twentieth century, and it is still the cake Serbian families bring out for birthdays, weddings and the slava. Three thin layers of walnut meringue, crisp at the edge and chewy inside, are stacked with a dense chocolate butter cream made with egg yolks cooked over steam until thick. It is very rich, so cut thin slices and serve with strong coffee. The usual slip is beating the butter into a chocolate mixture that is still warm, which melts it and splits the cream; let it cool to room temperature first. Chef's tip: assemble the cake the day before; overnight in the fridge the meringue softens a little and the cake slices cleanly with a hot knife.
Ma'amoul
Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.