Lithuanian Sweet Cheese Buns With Farmers Cheese Filling
If you’ve never had Bandelės Su Varške, you’re in for a treat—a soft, brioche-like pastry dough stuffed with creamy, slightly tangy cheese filling. These fluffy sweet buns are basically the rockstars of Lithuanian baking, loved by everyone from school kids to grandparents. One bite of these sweet cheese buns, and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them.
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 250 g (2 cups) strong bread flour
- 135 ml (½ cup + 2 tbsp) milk plus extra for brushing
- 30 g (2½ tbsp) granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk medium
- 25 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter softened
- 7 g (2 tsp) instant yeast fast-action yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
For The Filling
- 3 tablespoon jam
- 250 g (8.6 oz) farmer's cheese
- 30 g (2½ tbsp) sugar
- 2 tablespoon sour cream or creme fraiche
- 1 egg yolk
Instructions
- Pour the milk into a small saucepan, add the butter, and heat gently until the butter melts. Then leave it to cool down to just warmer than room temperature.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
- Pour in the milk mixture, add the egg yolks and, fitted with a dough hook attachment, run the mixer for 10-12 minutes, until the dough starts gathering around the hook, looks shiny, and feels soft and elastic. It's not a stiff dough, but don't be tempted to add more flour.
- Scoop the dough into a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and leave it in a warm spot to rise for 1-1.5 hours until it doubles in volume.
- In the meantime, mix the farmer's cheese, sugar, sour cream and egg yolks in a large bowl. Use a fork or a potato masher to combine everything (the mixture may still look a little grainy depending on the type of farmer's cheese you used).
- Once proofed, divide the dough into 5 equal pieces and shape them into balls.
- Place the balls on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure to leave plenty of space in between.
- Using a large spoon, press the middle of the ball dough to create a bowl.
- Spread 1 teaspoon of jam in the groove, then spoon the farmer's cheese filling on top.
- Leave the filled buns in a warm spot to proof again for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Brush the sides of the buns with a little milk, and place them in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Leave the buns to cool down for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool down completely.