What Is Pampushky? Ukrainian Garlic Rolls, and the Dressing

You baked the rolls, let them cool, brushed the garlic dressing over them —
and it sat on the surface in oily patches instead of going in. The recipe was fine;
the timing was not.

Pampushky are dressed hot

The bread has to absorb the dressing, and it will only do that straight out of the oven
while the crumb is still open and steaming. Pour it over within a minute or two
of taking them out — pour, not brush, and generously.

Cold rolls repel it. That is the single difference between pampushky and
garlic bread with a coating.

What the dressing is

Not a butter glaze and not cooked:

4–6 cloves of garlic, crushed rather than chopped
3–4 tbsp sunflower oil — unrefined for the traditional taste
2 tbsp water, sometimes a spoonful of the borscht liquid
Salt and chopped dill

Mix and let it stand ten minutes before using. The garlic stays raw:
frying it makes the sauce sweet and mild, which is not what this is.

And what the rolls are

Small, soft yeast rolls, baked touching each other in a round tin so they fuse and pull
apart in the hand. A plain lean dough — flour, water or milk, yeast, a little sugar,
salt and oil — proofed twice, the second time in the tin until the balls are visibly puffed
and touching.

Moderate oven, around 180 °C for 20–25 minutes, until just golden.
If your pampushky have a crisp crust they have been baked too long or too hot:
soft is correct here.

What they are for

Borscht. The pairing is close to obligatory in Ukraine, and the garlic dressing
exists to be eaten with the soup rather than on its own.

Keeping them

They are best within the hour. Beyond that, covered at room temperature for a day —
or freeze them undressed and add the garlic after reheating,
since raw garlic does not survive
freezing well.

The sweet ones are a different dish

Confusingly, “pampushky” also names a sweet yeast doughnut filled with poppy seed or jam,
fried rather than baked. With borscht it is always the garlic kind.