Fluffy vatrushki with blueberries

They come out very tender and are still soft the next day.

Ingredients

For the starter

• warm milk — 380 g
• dry yeast — 8 g

For the main dough

• flour — 720 g
• sugar — 150 g
• eggs — 2
• egg yolks — 2
• melted butter — 120 g

For the filling

• dry curd cheese, 5–9% — 500 g
• egg whites — 2
• sugar — 2 tbsp
• blueberries — 150–200 g

Method

1. Warm the milk — it should be warm but not hot, 38°C at most.
2. Mix the milk, yeast, 2 tbsp of the sugar and 4 tbsp of the flour.
3. Stir until smooth and leave for 15–20 minutes, until a foamy cap forms.
4. Melt the butter.
5. Make the filling: blitz the curd cheese in a blender or push it through a sieve. Add the egg whites and sugar and stir.
6. Add the eggs and yolks to the starter, along with the remaining sugar and the flour in stages.
7. Knead. The dough will be sticky and stretchy.
8. Once all the flour is hydrated, pour in the melted butter.
9. Keep kneading until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl and gathers into a mass. It will still be sticky.
10. Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place for 2–2.5 hours. The dough should at least double.
11. Knock back the dough and divide it into 16 pieces. Shape each into a ball and pinch it closed underneath.
12. Put them on a baking tray, cover with a towel and leave for another 10–15 minutes.
13. Grease the base of a glass and press it into the centre of each ball, almost all the way down.
14. Brush the rims with egg, spoon in the filling — about a heaped tablespoon — and scatter blueberries on top.
15. Bake for 20–25 minutes at 190°C, until golden.