Piroshki

 A Recipe for Piroshki

For anyone who grow up in the Midwest (mostly the U.P. of Michigan, parts of Minnesota, and Pennsylvania) and those from Cornwell in the U.K. might find some striking resemblances between the Piroshki and our own favorite hand pie, the Pasty. In Russian the word Piroshki or in its proper Cyclic text  пирожки́, simply translates as pies. This translation makes sense as many forms of the Piroshki exist with various types of fillings some of this include, mashed potatoes, fried meats, cereal grains, as well as sweet filling of various fruits including cherries and apples.

Today I decide to whip up a batch of the savory kind with a meat, potato, and onion filling. After doing loads of research on American, Russian, and Ukrainian sites I decided I had enough pieces to go off of an throw together a recipe using parts of recipes mostly of Ukrainian organ.

This recipe will make 4 medium sized Piroshki.

For the dough mix together 250g of all purpose flour along with 5g of yeast, add 250ml of lukewarm water and mix together until you have a shaggy ball of dough. Once a shaggy ball is achieved turn it out on to a lightly floured surface and kneed until you get a smooth ball of dough. It should look something like the picture below.

Cover the dough and leave to rest for at least 1 hour, time for rising will vary from place to place. As your dough rises you can turn your attention to the filling. For my filling I used a mix or beef and pork with potatoes and onions, however as stated above you can fill these with many different things. To start I washed and peeled two medium sized russet potatoes, I then cubed and boiled these (you will want cubes that are around the same size, however not too small as you will chop them into small bits after they cook). Heat a pan with oil and as your potatoes boil prepare and chop, one small onion and a few cloves of garlic. Once the oil is heated and the onions and garlic and cook until golden brown and fragrant, add salt and pepper to taste.

Next to the pan add about a half pound of grand meat (you can make these vegetarian by removing the meat and instead opting for a mashed potato filling or a roasted mushroom filling). Cook the meat with the onions until it is cook. 

Drain your potatoes and place them in a bowl and allow them to cook, add salt and pepper to the potatoes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Retrieve your dough and weigh it, then divide into evenly sized balls (mine weighed 444g). On a well floured surface smash your dough balls out into little oblong shaped pizzas. To fill start with a small layer of potatoes (be sure not to over fill!) then on top of the potatoes add the meat mixture. I find it easiest to spread the fillings in an almost horizontal manner, this will make it easier to close up your Piroshki. Take the two sides, top and bottom relative to where you place your filling, and gently fold them on top. Pinch them together and use a bit of water if needed to seal them.

(filling a Piroshki, note this picture has been rotated)

(Filled Piroshki ready to bake)

Place them seam side down onto a lightly oiled baking sheet, optionally you can brush the tops down with some beaten eggs to help them get a nice golden color, I didn't do this as I didn't have any eggs on hand. Once the oven is preheated allow them to bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

Your Piroshki are done when they have a crispy feel like a good loaf of bread and a nice golden color.

   I hope you enjoy! Будем здоровы!