How to Make Delicious Sweet Curd Cheese & Raisin Buns

This is another classic Eastern European treat. Curd cheese is a very common ingredient in daily consumption as well as baking both in sweet and savoury applications. Sometimes called cottage cheese, curd cheese is not quite like the local cottage cheese that is made here in the UK. Cottage cheese can be quite runny while curd cheese is quite dry and crumbly.

You will definitely need the crumbly kind for this recipe. Your local Eastern European shop is pretty much guaranteed to stock it. I get mine from the Easter European foods section in my local supermarket.

You can modify this recipe by using other dried fruits for the filling and by grating in some lemon or orange zest. You can add spices like cinnamon or mixed spice.  If you want to make a savoury version you can ditch the sugar and vanilla and replace the raisins with crispy bacon pieces and perhaps add some chopped dill to the filling too.

This recipe makes 6 decently sized buns. To make more simply multiply all the ingredients.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the dough –

100g (3.5oz) milk

1 egg (50g; 1.75oz)

25g (0.9oz) butter

20g (0.7oz) sugar

5g (0.21oz) salt

3g (0.1oz) instant dry yeast or 3.6g (0.13oz) active dry yeast or 9g (0.32oz) fresh yeast

250g (8.8oz) white bread flour

For the filling –

250g (8.8oz) curd cheese

1 egg white

25g (0.9oz) sugar

40g (1.4oz) raisins

5g (0.21oz) vanilla paste

For glazing –

1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon of milk

To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.

The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration. 

If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.

If you are curious about why the dough contains butter, egg, and sugar, click the links to learn more about the effects those ingredients have on bread dough.

Method

1. Make the filling. Combine the egg white, sugar, raisins, and vanilla paste. Mix well. Add the curd cheese and mix to a paste. Transfer to a piping bag or leave in the bowl on the side for later.
2. Make the dough. Combine the milk, yeast, salt, sugar, egg, and butter. Mix well. Add the bread flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature around 24C (75F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust fermentation time accordingly.
3. Cover and ferment for 1 hour.
4. Fold.
5. Ferment for 1 hour.
6. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Shape into balls and place on a non-stick paper lined baking tray.
7. Cover and proof for 1 hour.
8. Stretch the dough balls to create a shape with a thick edge and a well with a thin membrane of dough in the middle.
9. Glaze with the egg and milk mix. Pipe or spoon the filling into the dough. Spread it and smooth it out with a spatula or a spoon.
10. Bake at 160C (320F) fan on or 180C (355F) fan off for 25 minutes.

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.

Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.