This Czech dish brings back fond childhood memories. Potato Šišky, topped with sweet fried breadcrumbs, is a classic comfort food that Bohemian grandmothers often made for their grandchildren.
➜ What are šišky?
Šišky, pronounced "shishky", are a type of potato dumplings shaped like a finger or a small sausage. Their main ingredient is pre-cooked potatoes in the skin, followed by flour, egg, and a pinch of salt. The resulting potato dough is formed into šišky shape and boiled in water.
Šišky taste neutral on their own and can be served with either sweet or salty topping. Today's recipe will introduce a sweet variant with breadcrumbs fried with sugar.
MY TIP: Similar to this recipe are Czech noodles with poppy seeds; try them too!
➜ Ingredients
POTATO DOUGH:
- Potatoes; boiled in the skin and cooled. Yukon Gold multi-purpose potatoes are a good choice.
- All-purpose flour; the amount I list in the recipe card below is approximate. Each type of flour soaks liquids differently, so adjust the amount when making the potato dough. Czechs often use what is called coarse flour. If you are based in the USA, mix semolina with all-purpose flour in half and half ratio. The šišky taste good made with all-purpose flour only; they will just be denser.
- Salt
- Egg
To make šišky with fried breadcrumbs, you will need:
BREADCRUMBS TOPPING:
- Breadcrumbs; plain made from white bread, without any added flavor. The Czech word for breadcrumbs is "strouhanka".
- Granulated sugar; to sweeten breadcrumbs
- Unsalted butter; for frying the breadcrumbs
Next, you need a little butter to pour over the šišky with breadcrumbs on the plate.
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions with photos
STEP 1: Boil potatoes in their skin until soft. Depending on their size, this takes about 20 minutes. Check for doneness by piercing the potato with a fork. If the potatoes are soft, they are cooked. Drain the water and let them cool completely.
Peel the cooled potatoes and grate them finely on a box grater. Add an egg, flour, and salt.
STEP 2: Work into a compact dough. First, roughly mix all the ingredients in a bowl with a fork (photo 1). Then dump everything onto a floured work surface and knead until the dough does not stick (photo 2).
If the dough is too sticky, dust it with a tablespoon of flour and work it in. Continue like this until the dough holds together nicely and does not stick to your hands.
STEP 3: Divide the dough into three to four pieces. Roll each of them into a cylinder. Cut off equal-sized pieces and roll them into a šiška shape about the size of your index finger.
STEP 4: Meanwhile, take a wide pot, pour water into it, add 1 tsp salt and let it boil on the stove. Turn down the heat so that the water simmers.
Carefully drop šišky into the water. They will stick to the bottom, so gently peel them off with a spatula. Once the šišky have floated to the surface, cook for two more minutes. Transfer them to a shallow bowl using a colander or a slotted spoon.
The whole cooking process takes about 10 minutes.
STEP 5: Fry the breadcrumbs with sugar: Melt unsalted butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add the breadcrumbs. Stir. The breadcrumbs should turn golden within five minutes—if not, increase the heat slightly.
Remove the pan from the heat and add granulated sugar to the breadcrumbs. Stir well.
➜ Serving
Arrange the cooked warm šišky on a plate and sprinkle with sweet breadcrumbs in the amount you like. I guess two, three heaping tablespoons of breadcrumbs per serving will work just right. Top with about a tablespoon of melted butter and dig in!
Fun fact: Czechs do not eat this dish as a dessert, but as a sweet main course, usually for their dinner!
➜ How to freeze šišky?
If you have any šišky leftovers, feel free to freeze them (without breadcrumbs!). Place them in a plastic bag and put them in a freezer. After about 20 minutes, take the bag out, shake it and separate the šišky from each other. Put them back in the freezer.
This way, the šišky will freeze separately, and you can then take out just the amount you need.
➜ Useful tips
- The exact amount of flour in the recipe depends not only on its type but also on the potatoes you have used. Starchy potatoes will need less flour, while waxy potatoes will take more flour to make a smooth dough. Learn more here.
- Besides the fried breadcrumbs, sprinkle the šišky with ground poppy seeds and sugar, or top with the cooked fruit and crumbled fresh cheese. Coarsely chopped nuts with sugar are also delicious.
- If you're not into sweets, prepare šišky in a salty style. The potato dough contains no sugar so that the šišky can serve as a welcome base for a savory dish. Enjoy them with sauerkraut and fried bacon cubes, for example!
More sweet recipes:
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Sweet Šišky with Fried Breadcrumbs
Tap or hover to scale
Ingredients
Potato dough for šišky:
- 1 pound potatoes e.g., Yukon Gold or Russet
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Fried breadcrumbs:
- 1 ¼ cups breadcrumbs plain, unflavored
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Misc.:
- 1 teaspoon salt for water where the Šišky will boil in
- 3 teaspoons unsalted butter to drizzle the Šišky on the plate
Instructions
- Boil 1 pound potatoes in their skins until they are soft, which usually takes about 20 minutes depending on their size. Check for doneness by piercing a potato with a fork; if it's soft, it's cooked. Drain the water and let the potatoes cool completely.
- Peel the cooled potatoes and finely grate them using a box grater. Add 1 egg, 2 cups all-purpose flour, and ¼ teaspoon salt to the grated potatoes.
- Work the mixture into a compact dough. Start by roughly mixing all the ingredients in a bowl using a fork. Then transfer the mixture onto a floured work surface and knead until the dough is no longer sticky.
- If the dough is too sticky, dust it with a tablespoon of flour and work it in. Continue adding flour a little at a time until the dough holds together nicely and no longer sticks to your hands.
- Divide the dough into three to four pieces. Roll each piece into a cylinder. Cut equal-sized pieces from each cylinder and roll them into Šiška shapes, about the size of your index finger.
- Meanwhile, take a wide pot, pour water into it, add 1 teaspoon salt, and bring it to a boil on the stove. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat so that the water simmers.
- Carefully drop the Šišky into the simmering water. They will stick to the bottom initially; gently peel them off with a fork. Once the Šišky float to the surface, cook for an additional two minutes. Transfer them to a shallow bowl using a colander or a slotted spoon. The entire cooking process takes about 10 minutes.
- Fry the breadcrumbs with sugar: Melt 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 ¼ cups breadcrumbs and stir continuously. If the breadcrumbs do not turn golden within five minutes, slightly increase the heat. Once golden, remove the pan from the heat and add ½ cup granulated sugar to the breadcrumbs, stirring well to combine. The mixture will be crunchy.
- Serve the Šišky warm, sprinkled with sweet breadcrumbs. For an extra touch, drizzle them with a little melted butter before serving.
Notes
- The basic recipe makes 3-4 yields.
- SERVING: Arrange the cooked, warm Šišky on a plate and sprinkle them with sweet breadcrumbs to your liking. Typically, two to three heaping tablespoons of breadcrumbs per serving works well. Top with about a tablespoon of melted butter and enjoy!
- FUN FACT: Czechs typically eat this dish as a sweet main course, often for dinner, rather than as a dessert.
- The exact amount of flour in the recipe depends not only on its type but also on the potatoes you use. Starchy potatoes require less flour, while waxy potatoes need more flour to create a smooth dough.
Daniela says
Petra - thank you for bringing back my childhood memories through this recipe. I made it this afternoon and we all enjoyed it. Thank you for all of your recipes. You put lots of work into them in order for those of us who do not live in Czech Republic are able to still bring a touch of home to our kitchens ;).
Petra Kupská says
Thank you, Daniela, for your nice words. Those always make me happy! 🙂
Sandy says
We put the sweetened breadcrumbs over our plum dumplings. So delicious. Your recipes bring fond memories of my mom and grandmas.