Tvorog (cottage cheese) dough is quite different from the yeast dough (see the easy to follow recipe on this link). Tvorog dough is very quick to make, you won’t even need a mixer as the work is easily done with a fork and then your hands. Tvorog dough is very elastic and flexible to work with, it doesn’t stick to your hands and doesn’t need kneading or any time for raising. Sounds like a breeze! It’s not to mentioned that tvorog dough is egg free and yeast free which is important for some people.

Ready tvorog dough also “behaves” a bit differently from yeast dough. I find it easier to keep its shape and it’s not hard to roll to the required width. To the touch tvorog dough reminds me of the sugar Christmas biscuits dough if you ever made them. As with the sugar biscuit dough, you would want to keep tvorog dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

Tvorog (tworog) is Russian traditional cottage cheese, very similar to quark. Sometimes it’s called curd cheese. Tvorog is a delicious dairy product that you can eat with fruit, berries or vegetables. Tvorog comes with different fat content, usually the less fat it has the more sort of sharp and sour taste it has. That’s why you might prefer to steer away from very low fat tvorog unless you are on some kind of calorie restriction diet. And yes, it is a chosen food for those who are on a calorie restriction diet: tvorog is a great sort of protein and calcium at the same time. I love to have some tvorog with natural yoghurt and prunes for breakfast, it also goes really well with some kind of compote, especially home made (rhubarb, apricot  gooseberry, oh…). Try it and you might like it too!

Tvorog is widely used in Russia for baking: tvorog cakes, pancakes and buns with tvorog filling. You can make delicious cheesecake with tvorog. And, as it was already mentioned, it’s just great for this cottage cheese dough recipe.

Tvorog cottage cheese dough recipe

Cottage cheese (Russian tvorog) dough recipe. Quick, simple, versatile dough for Russian pies, piroshki, pasties or pastries. Egg-free, yeast-free

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour 30 min
Yield: enough tvorog dough for about 10 separate pastries or 8 horn rolls (see the pictures below).

Ingredients

• Tvorog (Russian quark/cottage cheese) – 0.4 pounds (180 g)
• Butter (softened)  – 0.4 pounds (180 g)
• Sugar – 1 Tbsp
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
• Plain flour – 1+2/3 cups +

Method

1. Mix tvorog and butter in a bowl, smash with the folk until well mixed together. Add sugar, salt and baking powder. Add flour and now mix well with your hands cleaning the sides of the bowl. You might need more flour as all flour is different. When the dough is ready it will be consistent throughout, soft and will form a ball easily. Cover the ball with cling film and put the tvorog dough into the refrigerator for an hour or longer.

2.Get the tvorog dough from the refrigerator and roll in on the counter top dusted with additional flour. Form needed shape and proceed with your pirozhki (Russian pies) recipe.

In the picture below: these horn rolls I made of the tvorog dough putting a tea spoon of sweet apple filling into every horn roll. To make horn rolls, roll the tvorog dough into a wide circle like for a giant pizza. With a pizza knife cut the dough into 8 sectors like pizza slices. Into the wide part of every sector put a tea spoon full of chosen filling, then roll the horn from the wide to the narrow side. Brush with raw egg if desired. Bake in preheated oven (180 C / 350 F) for about 20 minutes or until ready. The horn rolls are soft and light!

Check for our traditional Russian pies (Piroshki) recipes coming soon!