Sweet Šišky with Fried Breadcrumbs

This Czech food brings back fond memories of childhood. Potato šišky dish topped with sweet fried breadcrumbs belongs to the typical comfort food that Bohemian grannies 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

➜ 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:

• Škubánky with poppy seeds
• Czech apple strudel
• Almond stuffed prunes

Sweet Šišky with Fried Breadcrumbs

This Czech food brings back fond memories of childhood. Potato šišky dish topped with sweet fried breadcrumbs belongs to the typical comfort food that Bohemian grandmothers made for their grandchildren.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

Servings: 3

Calories: 853kcal

Author: Petra Kupská

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Czech

Keyword: Potato recipes

Ingredients

Potato dough for šišky:

• ▢ 1 pound potatoes (450 g) e.g., Yukon Gold or Russet
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 g) or a mixture of semolina and all-purpose flour, ratio 1:1
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt

Fried breadcrumbs:

• ▢ 1 ¼ cups breadcrumbs (150 g) plain, unflavored
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar (100 g)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Misc.:

• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt for water where the šišky will boil in
• ▢ 3 teaspoons unsalted butter to pour over šišky on the plate

Instructions

• Boil the potatoes in their skin until soft. Depending on the 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.
• Work into a compact dough. First, roughly mix all the ingredients in a bowl using a fork. Then dump the mass onto a floured work surface and knead until the dough does not stick.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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; 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.
• Fry the breadcrumbs with sugar: Melt unsalted butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Pour in 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.

Notes

• Makes 3-4 yields.
• 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!
• 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.

DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

Conversion chart

Nutritional Estimate pro portion

Calories: 853kcal | Carbohydrates: 156g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 1335mg | Potassium: 841mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 451IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 8mg

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