Pampushky, Ukrainian Garlic Bread

This pampushky recipe is a classic Ukrainian garlic bread that is typically served with borscht but goes well with almost any soup or stew.

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Lately I’ve been obsessed with baking breads from around the world. These include recipes like my Italian tomato focaccia made with a small boiled potato, traditional Bavarian pretzels dipped in lye, and Swedish cardamom buns to the less conventional mash-ups that I bake like my pretzel shakshuka. So, it’s no surprise that I have Ukraine on my mind and wanted to bake a traditional Ukrainian bread, which led me to making this pampushky recipe, a Ukrainian garlic bread.

It’s not a difficult bread to make, and its garlicky herby spice will have you reaching for another one after you finish your first one. Though it is typically served with a bowl of borscht soup, which is a beet soup, I found this bread goes well with nearly every soup and stew I make, from my easy-to-make chili, to Guinness beef stew to my Italian wedding soup.

What is Pampushky?

Pampushky, sometimes spelled pampuski, is the plural form of pampushka and is the word for a Ukrainian yeast-risen bun or donut. In fact, sweet pampushky are fried, much like American donuts or polish Packzi. But the version of the pampushky I have here are a baked savory Ukraine garlic bread that I discovered in the cookbook Mamushka, recipes from Ukraine and Beyond by Olia Hercules, a Ukrainian-British food writer (<– affiliate link).

Olia Hercules tells how the word pampushky can also be used to describe a beautiful plump woman. And that description also fits these plump gorgeous bread rolls that come out of the oven. Once the bread is done baking, a garlic and parsley infused sunflower oil is brushed over the hot bread. The smell is warm comfort for anyone in the house.

How do you make pampushky?

This pampushky bread starts with making a sponge, which is sort of like a preferment. This sound technical but it’s not. It just requires you to combine the yeast with warm water and a little bit of sugar to feed the yeast. Once the yeast starts to bubble (this is calling proofing, because you are proving that the yeast is still alive) you add in half the flour of the dough. Mix it all up to create a thick batter, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it overnight.

The sponge will rise overnight, and slowly grow. The purpose of the sponge is to increase the strength of the dough, get a more consistent hydration of the flour, and give you a more complex depth of flavor due to the fermentation and growth of the yeast. The sponge will appear “stringy” and sticky once it’s rested, indicating that the gluten in the flour has grown.

Once the sponge has rested overnight, you knead in the rest of the flour, along with some salt. Then brush some sunflower oil in an ovenproof pan and make 8 balls of dough. Arrange them in a circle, with one in the middle, cover with plastic wrap again, and then let it rise until the dough balls have doubled in size and are touching each other.

Brush with an egg wash and bake! While the bread is baking, make a garlic oil by chopping green garlic (or regular garlic) and flat-leaf parsley and mixing it with sunflower oil. When the bread is done baking, immediately brush the hot bread with the garlic oil, infusing it with the sharp earthy herby oil. Sprinkle some salt on top and serve.

Can you skip the sponge step?

Yes, you can skip the sponge step of this recipe, just keep in mind the resulting bread will not have a complex a flavor. Just proof the yeast in the warm water. Once the water has bubbly foam on top, add all the flour, knead the dough, and let it rise until double in size, about 1 hour. Then proceed with the recipe as directed. 

What is green garlic?

Olia Hercules calls for wet garlic in her recipe, which is often called green garlic. It is young garlic that is picked early in the season and can you be found at farmers markets and specialty grocery stores. It looks a bit like thick green onions/scallions or thin skinny leeks. The bottom of green garlic is a little more bulbous. Later season green garlic has an even more bulbous bottom, looking more like small garlic heads. Once you’ve cut and discarded the root end, the entire green garlic, including the green top part, can be used in the recipe.

The taste is a more mild, less harsh garlic flavor, with herbal notes. If you can track it down, I highly recommend it for this recipe (and basically for anything you use garlic in, the season for it is very short). But if you can’t find it, don’t worry. Just use regular fresh garlic cloves and chop more parsley to compensate. I have notes in the recipe on how to substitute out regular garlic cloves for the green garlic.

If you wish, you can also substitute out the parsley for another green herb like dill or use spring onion or green onion/scallions for the green garlic. Obviously the flavor profile will shift and be different if you do, but it will still be delicious.

Why sunflower oil?

You can totally use butter or another neutral-flavored oil in this recipe. But sunflowers are the national Ukrainian flower and symbol of peace for them. So it’s only natural that sunflower oil would be used in this recipe for this Ukrainian garlic bread.

How do you store this bread?

This bread is best served immediately. But you can store this bread in an airtight container or ziplock bag overnight at room temperature. Refresh it in a toaster oven or regular oven at 300°F for 5 to 10 minutes until it is warm.

For longer storage, freeze the bread in a freezer Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Just thaw by placing the frozen bread directly in a 300°F toaster oven or regular oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until warm.

If you like this pampushky recipe, check out some of these other yeasted breads:

• Garlic Knots
• Parker House Rolls
• Potato Rolls
• Easy Pizza Dough
• Herb Parmesan Wool Roll Bread
• Chocolate Hot Cross Buns
• Homemade Soft Rye Pretzels
• Soft Beer Pretzels Twists
• Cinnamon Rolls
• Fig Rosemary Focaccia with Honey Lemon
• Semla, Swedish Cardamom Almond Buns