I use to love these little tea bread when I was a child and I still love them today. I buy them often in a Russian grocery store near by but always had a desire to bake them myself. Sushki are slightly sweet crunchy round pastries/cookies which are served with tea or eaten as a snack. They look like mini bagels but they are very dry and crispy. They are fun to make, actually, our whole family was making them – that is why our sushki look all different-)) It’s ok, we had some good time. I like them with poppy seeds, but you can make them plain or top them with sesame seeds as well.
For more Russian recipes, visit the Russian Cuisine page.
Hope you had a very nice Easter weekend!
Illustration by Yelena Strokin
Sushki – Sweet Tea Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (110g) water
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp. sugar for the dough
- 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
- 2 Tbsp. sugar for water (to cook)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, egg, water, and salt into a firm dough. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for about 25 minutes. Cut the dough into small pieces (about 15 grams each), and roll them out into 5-6 inch strings. Make rings by putting the ends together.
In a large, heavy pot, bring 5 cups of water and the sugar to a boil. In batches, add the rings to the water and boil, turning, for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Place the boiled sushki rings on a baking sheet and sprinkle with poppy seeds or leave them plain. Bake sushki until they are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Russian tea cookies “sushki” with poppy seeds
10 Comments
Rosa's Yummy Yums
April 6, 2015 at 9:14 amSurely very delicious! A wonderful teatime treat.
Cheers,
Rosa
Angie Schneider
April 6, 2015 at 11:22 amThey remind me of bagels 🙂 I would love one with my afternoon tea.
La Table De Nana
April 6, 2015 at 12:37 pmI love this POST:)
Your artwork is totally charming Yelena.
The hedgehog..bunnies in their lair..happy little faces..and the toadstool reminded me immediately of your cookies..
Beautifully strung your delicacies.
melangery
April 6, 2015 at 1:15 pmMonique, thank you! Every time I visit your blog and see your watercolors I have a desire to start draw and paint again. These little children illustrations were done by me a long time ago, and I love them dearly-))
Have a lovely week!
Anonymous
April 6, 2015 at 8:03 pmThese look lovely Yelena. They look like something that you could eat simply with a bit of butter or slather with cream cheese and jam or other preserves. Thank you for sharing your Russian recipes with us all, Russian cuisine is very under-appreciated outside Russia.
Medeja
April 7, 2015 at 7:46 amOh yes! I still love them. Don't know how to make them, but I always get them when I go home. Very addictive 😀
Dominique Allmon
April 7, 2015 at 2:17 pmA really lovely post, Yelena. Another recipe absolutely worth trying! Great pictures as always. I really admire your talent.
Warm greetings! – Dominique
handmade by amalia
April 7, 2015 at 3:35 pmI could go for a sushki right now! But, Yelena, cooking is only part of your talent, these illustrations are adorable!
Amalia
xo
Nippon Nin
April 7, 2015 at 11:48 pmNice illustration! You're blessed with many talents!
It really looks like mini bagel! Cute and fun!
Lublyou
April 8, 2015 at 8:01 pmI love how they look and I always loved dipping them in tea… like my grandma hahah because I'm always afraid of cracking teeth with them))
Katie // Lublyou