Piroshky Recipes

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.

Steps:

• In a skillet, brown the onion in oil, about 7 minutes; remove and set aside.
• Brown the ground beef in the skillet, drain the grease, then add in the cooked onion, garlic, salt, and pepper; set aside.
• (The original recipe had you then chill the mixture to 40 degrees and"pick out solid fat," but that's a step I forgo).
• In a small ceramic or glass bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand for 11 minutes.
• In a large bowl or using a large stand mixer, place 4 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, egg, the remaining oil, water/yeast mixture, and the milk; mix together (use a dough hook attachment if you have one), adding additional flour as needed to make the dough soft but not sticky.
• Knead, either for about 10 minutes by turning out onto a floured board and doing it by hand or by using a dough hook in a mixer on slow speed for about 6 to 7 minutes.
• Place in a large bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour; punch down.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• To fill the piroshky, pinch off a piece of dough about the size of an egg and roll it out to 1/8-inch thick, then place a cube of cube of cheese and 2 tablespoons of meat filling in the center.
• Lift up the edges of the dough and bring it up to the top, pinching together tightly to completely enclose the filling and so that the dough knits together.
• Place the piroshky on a microwave-safe dish or tray, seam-side down, and microwave for 10 seconds; set aside and let rise for 10 minutes.
• Repeat the piroshky construction, microwaving, and rising with remaining ingredients.
• Place risen piroshky (all of them) on a non-stick baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven; alternately, you can deep fry them at 300 degrees F until golden.
• Note: you might also be able to run the dough ingredients through the initial preparation steps in your bread machine, to make it especially easy!

Steps:

• Mix flour, salt and sugar, mix and then add yeast. Add the butter, egg, milk and cumin. Mix until smooth, cover and let rest for 1 hour at room temperature to rise. Mix duck, plums, walnuts and remaining ingredients place on stove and simmer for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick and cut into 3-inch circles. Place 1 teaspoon of mixture in the center of each circle, fold over and crimp edges. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes until golden brown. Serve with sour cream and grilled apples.

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.

Steps:

• Combine 1 scant cup of warm milk and yeast in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let sit until foamy and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Add sugar, salt, egg, butter, and almost all of the flour, holding back a small amount in case dough gets too dry.
• Knead in the mixer until dough is soft and supple. Scrape dough onto your work surface. Grease the bowl with a few drops of oil and place dough back in. Cover bowl and let dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• In the meantime, heat olive oil and butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, ground beef, and garlic. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook beef, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
• Stir dill into the beef mixture. Add chicken broth and stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes. Stir in Cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Let filling cool completely.
• Transfer dough to a work surface. Press out air bubbles. Pinch off a piece of dough and form into a ball; press into a disc. Dust with a minimal amount of flour and roll into a circle about 1/8-inch thick and 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Dip your finger in water and dampen the edges of the circle.
• Place dough circle in 1 hand and add a few tablespoons of the beef filling. Pinch edges together to seal. Place pirozhki on the table seam-side up and pinch off any excess dough; too much dough will make it hard to fry. Moisten the center of the seam with water. Fold the 2 ends inward and flip pirozhki over, seam-side down; press down lightly.
• Form the remaining pirozhki and let them rest until dough rises slightly, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fry pirozhki in batches, seam-side down, until golden brown, about 90 seconds. Flip and fry until browned on the other side, about 90 seconds more. Drain on paper towels and cool for a few minutes.