Skip to content

Shangi

Shangi (шаньги): round open Siberian buns topped with mashed potato and sour cream

From 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
One step at a time, big text, timers, read-aloud. Your screen stays on.

Ingredients

Serves12

For the dough

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

Fresh ingredients (6)

Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.

Method

0/7 done
  1. Step 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 min
  2. Step 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 min
  3. Step 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 min
  4. Step 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 min
  5. Step 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 min
  6. Step 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 min
  7. Step 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.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

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.

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.

150 minBalkanBaking
by KrazyBadal 1 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Moist banana bread

The blacker the bananas, the better the loaf. This one is mixed in a single bowl with melted butter and a little brown sugar, so it's soft, deeply banana-y and keeps well for days.

by KrazyBadal 0 views