Pirozhki

Ingredients

Dough

• 700 gplain flour
• 350 mlwarm milk
• 8 ginstant yeast
• 1 tspsalt
• 2 tbspsugar
• 2eggs
• 80 gbutter, melted

Cabbage filling

• 1small white cabbage, finely shredded
• 2onions, chopped
• 60 gbutter
• 3hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbspdill

Meat filling

• 500 gminced beef
• 2onions
• 2hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 1 tbspdill
• 100 mlstock

Other fillings

• mashed potato with fried onion
• rice and egg
• apple or cherry jam

To finish

• 1egg, beaten, to glaze
• or oil for frying

Directions

1. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then work in the warm milk, eggs and melted butter. Knead 10 minutes to a soft, smooth, slightly tacky dough.
2. Prove for 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled. For the cabbage filling, cook the shredded cabbage and onion in butter over a low heat for 25 to 30 minutes. Cook the cabbage down slowly and properly. It should be soft, sweet and considerably reduced in volume.
3. Cool it completely and fold through the chopped egg and dill. For the meat filling, brown the mince hard, add the onions, then the stock, and cook it until dry. Warm filling starts the dough proving unevenly, and wet filling makes the base soggy and splits the seam. Knock the dough back and divide it into pieces of about 60 g.
4. Flatten each piece into an oval with your fingers, thicker in the middle than at the edges. Shape them by hand rather than rolling, because you want a thicker centre to carry the filling and thin edges to seal.
5. Put a spoonful of filling down the middle. Bring the long edges up and pinch them together firmly along the top. Pinch the whole seam properly and press the ends closed as well, which is where they usually leak.
6. Turn them seam side down onto lined trays. It is the weakest point and gravity and the tray together keep it shut. Prove a further 30 minutes until puffy. For baked pirozhki, brush with beaten egg and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20 to 25 minutes until deep golden.
7. Brush them again with a little melted butter as they come out, and cover them with a cloth. The butter and the cloth together keep the tops soft, which is what a baked pirozhok should be.
8. Drain fried ones on a rack rather than paper. That marking is a real household habit rather than a flourish, because a tray of identical buns with four fillings is a lottery. Serve warm, eaten by hand, with soup or with tea.

Technique

• They freeze well cooked and are reheated in the oven.
• Sweet ones with apple, cherry or curd are made in the same batch as savoury.
• A pirozhok with a bowl of borscht is a standard Russian lunch.

Substitutions

• Any enriched bread dough.
• Shop-bought puff pastry, which gives a different and quicker thing.

Variations

• Baked rather than fried.
• With green onion and egg, which is a spring favourite.
• Sweet, with apple or cherry.

History

Small filled buns baked or fried, sold from street trays with cabbage, egg, meat or jam inside.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pirozhki?

Pirozhki is a street food from Russia: soft buns stuffed with cabbage, potato, meat or apple. Small filled buns baked or fried, sold from street trays with cabbage, egg, meat or jam inside.

How long does Pirozhki take to make?

Pirozhki takes 40 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 20. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Pirozhki?

Yes, within limits. Any enriched bread dough. Shop-bought puff pastry, which gives a different and quicker thing.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pirozhki?

Flatten each piece into an oval with your fingers, thicker in the middle than at the edges. Shape them by hand rather than rolling, because you want a thicker centre to carry the filling and thin edges to seal.