"Sushki" - Sweet Tea Bread, Baked Crunchy Round Snacks

I use to love these little tea breads when I was a child and I still love them today. I buy them often in Russian grocery store near us, 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.

Makes: about 30 sushki

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)

Directions:

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.

Source:

http://www.melangery.com/2015/04/russian-monday-sushki-sweet-tea-bread.html