Tvorog (Russian cottage cheese) dough: egg-free, yeast-free, quick & tasty

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:
Cook time:
Total time:
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
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!
Dear Oksana,
I made the tvorog horn rolls on sunday for breakfast. When I tried the raw dough, it tasted veeery delicious. The taste was also very delicious after baking. But unfortunaly they didn`t rise and the dough kept undone inside – even after baking them 35 minutes longer than suggested. I followed the recipe exactly – do you have any idea what could have went wrong?
Do the ingrediences in England have other qualityies than in Germany?
If I could find the mistake I would love to give them a second try!
Best regards,
Andrea
Hello Andrea. Thank you for your question. I am sorry the rolls did not bake through. As for the rising, I don’t think this dough is supposed to rise, nothing in it would suggest it. But mine usually bake though for quite a short time. As for tvorog in Germany, I honestly can’t say if it’s different. I here use Polish tvorog but in Germany it’s not a problem to buy Russian one as you have a lot of Russian shops. May I suggest using lower temp for a bit longer probably? Or thinner rolls? It could also be that the ready rolls are moist, not undercooked? Good luck to you in your next time!
Seems to be great