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Plushche or Plushke

This sweet bun is pronounced ploosh-tche in Low German or ploosh-ke in High German, which is the German I grew up with. My mom-in-law speaks the Low German to me and I answer in the High German. That’s how we have communicated for over 30 years and although we hardly notice it, it would sound funny to someone listening. Since she was born in Russia, experienced the same hardships as my grandparents did and is 40 years older than I am, she has often been more of on Oma image to me. She loves calling and seeing what I’m doing. When she found out I was making Plushke, she was in heaven! She asked me if I was having “yast” (guests). Obviously she would have made these for guests. I didn’t even try to explain why I was really making them. So, here’s to all of our blogland “yast’, a recipe that, when I bit into them reminded me of being a child and dipping by bun in sugar. This is my Mom’s recipe.

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups milk
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 8 cups flour
  • 2 tablespoons yeast
filling:
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • ¾ cup sugar
Method:
  1. Scald milk and butter and salt. Cool slightly with a few ice cubes if using instant (fast acting) yeast, or to ‘warm’ if using traditional yeast. (If using traditional yeast, mix with a 2 Tbsp sugar, then ½ cup warm water to dissolve – let stand 10 min) I’ve found that instant yeast (which you just add to the flour) is more forgiving when it comes to hot liquids, whereas regular/traditional yeast can be killed if the liquids are too hot.
  2. Beat eggs and sugar well in large mixing bowl or dough machine bowl.
  3. Slowly stir in milk and butter, then regular yeast mixture or instant yeast mixed with 1 cup flour, continue adding flour, one cup at a time. Using a dough hook makes this easy. Knead until dough is smooth and holds together nicely.
  4. Transfer to larger bowl and cover loosely with tea towel and plastic.
  5. Let rise 1 hour.
Shaping
  1. Now, my mom used to cut little squares and do a crossover thing with little cuts so that it looked like a flower, but you can do whatever you want. What I did: Divide the dough into 4 parts. 
  2. Pat each part into a circle on floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll out a bit larger than a dinner plate. 
  3. Spread each circle with 1 tablespoon melted butter and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Cut into 12 wedges.
  4. Roll wedges up starting from the outside. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
  5. Cover and let rise 1 hour. Bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes.
Icing:
  • 2 cups icing sugar, 
  • 1 tablespoon soft margarine
  •  milk to make an easy spread
Oma would have thinly covered the whole bun. I like to play with icing, so I did a drizzly spread.


Addendum: I found out that plyushki is a Russian pastry, which makes sense when I consider that my mom-in-law lived in Siberia

20 comments:

  1. Yummy! I think us Russians would call and pronounce these lovelies "pishky"
    Thanks for this version of the recipe. I like how they are rolled...

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  2. Dass seht Wunderbar. Schmeck gut, ya? My grandmothers parents came from Russia. Unfortunately I never knew them. I must try this recipe. Danke.

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  3. These look wonderful Anneliese!Haven't heard this word before..I reocognize the type of roll though.

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  4. THANK YOU!
    Just this past week I bought some of these in a small bake shop some Mennonite ladies opened in Tupelo. I had never seen them before and didn't know what they were called.

    They looked exactly like these. And delicious ;o)

    Deanna

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  5. Oh Anneliese....these look so yummy and pretty too. You make everything look so easy to do.

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  6. this really looks similar to butter horns. what a simple yet lovely bun to dip in coffee.
    i would love to sit at your kitchen table surrounded by all the MGCC and dunk them into my coffee!

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  7. Ladies, Your blog is beautiful. What wonderful recipes and stories. Thank you for sharing. I'll be back often. God bless.

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  8. Oh they look so so good. .I would love to whip up a batch right now. . .but I'll have to wait until things slow down.
    I love how Ellen pronouces them a bit differently. I often wonder how much our grandparents learned from the Russian people and how much they learned from our people.

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  9. What a wonderful recipe and picture. My mom grew up in Russia but she has never made these. She has made butterhorn rolls,but they do not have the butter sugar filling.Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  10. Thanks for posting this recipe, my mom always made these for Easter. I really enjoy eating these but I never got the recipe from her. My family will be very happy if I would make them for our Easter gathering.
    It is a must.
    They look so good.

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  11. I love sweet breads! YUMMY! Would be nice on a cold night like tonight!

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  12. Yum...wish I was in your neighborhood.I love your blog I feel like I learn something every time I read it.....Barb

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  13. These look wonderful! Funny thing...but I've never heard of them. I just looked them up in my Mennonite Food and Folkways 'textbook'...and there they were. It says they were a popular food in the Chaco area of Paraguay.

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  14. These look wonderful! Love that she asked if you were getting yast, that is always an occassion for fresh baking! :)

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  15. Oh they look so yummy Anneliese.
    Like my sis Betty r said, haven't heard this word before, but will definitely be trying this recipe!!
    Thank you

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  16. Good morning~~ all my Great Grandparents (Baba and Gdeed) came from Ukraine. I grew up listening to my grandparents and parents speak Ukrainian and we have words like your guest that we say the way the older generation would say them. I love your blog.

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  17. MMMmmmm. I need to bake bread today so perhaps I'll give this Plushke recipe a try.

    Jody

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  18. Ellen probably made a typo. Russian pronounce this as "Plyushki"

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  19. So this makes four dozen! Lovely! But do they freeze well?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, they freeze well. Allow icing to harden or ice later. Put in sealed containers or bags and thaw one to two hours before serving.

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