Baked Piroshki Recipes

BAKED PIROSHKI (RUSSIAN STUFFED ROLLS)

Steps:

• In a bread machine: place ingredients in the machine following the directions for the dough setting. Dough should be soft, sticking slightly to the pan as it kneads. Add a little water or flour to adjust dough consistency during the first knead as necessary.
• In a stand mixer: In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add warm milk and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast over top of the milk. Let stand for 5-7 minutes until the yeast begins to foam. Add 2 c of flour, the egg, softened butter, and salt. Mix everything together. Continue adding the last cup of flour, until the dough starts to come together. Knead the dough with the mixer on low speed for 3-5 minutes. The finished dough should be soft and almost sticky, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl. (If it is too sticky, add a little more flour and continue to knead.) Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover it with a damp tea towel. Let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour, until well doubled.
• While the dough is rising, make the fillings.
• Heat butter in a large, non-stick sauté pan. Add onions and mushrooms and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until soft. Add cabbage, salt, dill, and pepper. Continue to saute until the cabbage has softened, 5-7 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and transfer it to a medium bowl. Let the filling cool to room temperature before filling the rolls.
• In a large, non-stick sauté pan, brown the beef and onions together with the dill, salt and pepper, 3-5 minutes. Once the beef is cooked through, remove the mixture from the heat and transfer it to a medium bowl. Mix in the chopped hard boiled eggs, if using. Let the filling cool to room temperature before filling the rolls.
• Once risen, remove the dough from the bread machine or bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it into a log and cut the log into 16 roughly even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and then press it into a 3-4" circle.
• Fill the center of each circle of dough with a heaping tablespoon of filling. Gently pull the edges of the circle up and around the filling, pinching the edges to seal the filling inside. (Be sure to pinch the seam well, or else the filling will burst out during baking.
• Place filled piroshki, seam-side down on a greased baking sheet.** Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the rolls 2 inches apart. Brush the tops with the beaten egg. Set them aside to rise until puffy and nearly doubled (30 minutes).
• When the rolls are nearly finished proofing, preheat the oven to 375F.
• Bake at 375F for 20-23 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

TAYLOR'S PIROSHKI

Steps:

• In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until evenly browned; drain. Stir in the onion and cook with the beef until translucent. Sprinkle in salt, pepper and dill weed to taste. Allow to cool before using.
• Dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup of warm water and place in a warm location until frothy, about 10 to 15 minutes. In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm the milk and gently whisk in the eggs, oil, sugar and salt. Remove from heat.
• Place half the flour in a large mixing bowl and gradually stir in the milk mixture. Then add the yeast solution alternately with the remaining flour, stirring after each addition. Mix well. Knead until the dough forms a ball and does not stick to the bowl. (Note: Start with the 4 cups of flour. You may need to add more, a little at a time, as you knead the dough). Cover the bowl with a clean cloth. Set in a warm location and allow to rise until doubled in volume.
• Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Pinch off pieces approximately the size of golf balls. Roll the pieces into disks about 3 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter.
• Fill center of each disk with a heaping tablespoon of the cooled meat mixture. Fold disks over the mixture and firmly pinch edges to seal. Arrange on a flat surface and allow to sit approximately 10 minutes.
• In an large, heavy skillet or deep fryer, heat the oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Deep fry the piroshki in batches until golden brown on one side; gently turn and fry the other side. Remove and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN PIROZHKI

Steps:

• Place 1/2 cup milk in a cup or small bowl. Stir in sugar and sprinkle yeast over the top. Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes. Pour the remaining milk into a large bowl.
• Add the melted butter, egg, salt and 1 cup of flour to the large bowl with the milk. Stir in the yeast mixture. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and doesn't stick to your hands. Cover the bowl loosely and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour. Dough should almost triple in size.
• While you wait for the dough to rise, melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage and cook, stirring frequently, until cabbage has wilted. Mix in the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until cabbage is tender. Set this aside for the filling.
• Place the risen dough onto a floured surface and gently form into a long snake about 2 inches wide. Cut into 1 inch pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten the balls by hand until they are 4 to 5 inches across. Place a spoonful of the cabbage filling in the center and fold in half to enclose. Pinch the edges together to seal in the filling.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line one or two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Place the pirozhki onto the baking sheet, leaving room between them for them to grow.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

PIROSHKY (PIROSHKI)

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water and let stand 10 minutes. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in flour and add milk, egg, oil and yeast. Combine to make a soft dough. Knead about 10 minutes. Let rise one half hour to one hour.
• Brown chopped onion and garlic. In separate pan, brown ground beef. Season with salt, pepper, garlic and onion. Cool meat mixture and remove solidified fat.
• Pinch a golf-ball sized piece of dough, flatten with fingers or roll out to 1/8" thickness. Place 2 Tbsp filling in center and bring opposite edges of circle together. Pinch securely. (The traditional shape is a plump center with tapering ends.).
• Let piroshkis rise seam side down, 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350. Brush with egg and bake until golden brown (approx 20 min, it depends on the size). The piroshky may also be deep fried.
• Ed. Note: I also like to add about 1 cup cheese sauce powder (sometimes found in bulk food stores) to the meat mix. I find it gives a slightly cheesy taste. If I do that, I omit the salt.