Small, large, festive, with cabbage and eggs, potatoes, with wild mushrooms or rice&fish, with jam.. It’s all about pirogi (pies in Russian) and pirogki (small pies). Pies have been always prepared and enjoyed in Russia. The word “pirog” came from a word “pir” that means feast and therefore in old Russia every festival and banquet could be hardly imagine without a large, beautiful and delicious pie.
In old times pies were generally made with rye, wholegrain or any similar flour (which is considered very healthy nowadays), such flour were available among poor people and thus pies could be eaten very often. While the white wheat flour was an expensive thing and using it was an luxury, affordable only among novelty, bourgeoisie and other high classes.
The dough could be prepared with yeast or simple unleavened, based on a soured milk or cream, also made with oil or butter (shortbread pastry). Pies fillings were diverse as well, it could be meat of wild birds like pheasant and black grouse, vegetarian – with fresh forest mushrooms during summer and autumn, with soured cabbage, eggs or dried mushrooms on a winter time, sweet – with wild berries, dried fruits or homemade preserve.
Without a doubt, serving a large pie or even several pies on a festive table was an indication of the host’s wealth and prosperity.
The dough for these pies was made with yeast and soured liquid yogurt (I used local soured drink-laban, which is very similar to Russian kefir). The dough is very tender and fluffy, and of course very easy to prepare. Pies made from this dough stay soft even on the next day!
I’m loving mashed potatoes filling since childhood, I haven’t made it pretty long time.. Second favourite filling is a mixture of chopped hard-boiled eggs&spring onions, that reminds me spring! I posted the recipe that you can find here, moreover the dough I made that time is unleavened (no any yeast) and even more quickly to prepare, but not thick and fluffy as this one. The choice is up to you, I love both. 🙂
Russian pirogki with potato filling /sour milk&yeast dough/
Instead of kefir you can use laban, buttermilk or any soured milk.
Ingredients
Dough
180g plain flour
6g instant yeast
250ml kefir, warm/at room temperature
50ml sunflower oil
a good pinch of fine salt (about 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp white sugar
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp milk, for glazing
Potato filling
400g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 bay leave
1 tbsp oil (olive or sunflower)
a small knob of butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves)
15g butter
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, optional
salt, black paper to taste
some finely chopped parsley (2-3 tbsp)
Method
Dough
- Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, combine with yeast.
- In a cup/bowl stir kefir with oil, salt and sugar.
- Pour kefir mixture into flour. Mix to combine a dough. Cover with kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave to prove for 45-60 minutes.
- While the dough is proving, prepare the potato filling (recipe below).
- When it’s risen, divide the dough into several equal balls. The size depends on your taste: if you wish to make small pirogki – you need small dough balls. Roll each ball slightly into round shape. The dough is soft and tender, that sometimes I don’t use rolling-pin and carefully stretch the dough with hands.
- Put a tablespoon or two of potato filing into each round, close and arrange onto lined with baking paper baking tray.
- Leave to rise for 10-15 minutes. Brush with egg wash.
- Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes.
- Optionally, you can brush pirogki with butter. Cover with kitchen towel: it helps the dough to stay softer.
- Serve warm with milk or tea.
Potato filling
- In a large pan, bring water to boil. Add potatoes and bay leave, bring to boil again, reduce the heat and simmer on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are soft and ready.
- Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, heat oil and butter, fry onions on a medium heat until soft and lightly brown. Stir in thyme and saute for a minute more.
- Drain potatoes (leave 2 tbsp of water in a pan). Add butter, nutmeg and season to taste. Mash it. Stir in fried onion and fresh parsley.
Enjoy Russian pies!
milkandbun 
Sounds delicious!
And they are, you can make them with another filling as I mentioned above – with egg&spring onion, or sweet – some apples or even jam! 🙂
Thank you so much for commenting!
I love the color! These look lovely 🙂
Thanks a lot, Mary! And they are very fluffy and so good to enjoy!
Never heard of these beauties before; they look amazing
I thought they are widely popular.. and it’s great that you discovered something new, now you can prepare them! 😉
And below you can find similar recipe, but the dough is super easy to prepare, so you don;t have to worry and will get nice and right pirogki! 😀
https://milkandbun.com/2015/03/29/pirogki-with-spring-onions-and-eggs/
Happy cooking!
Thanks so much dear; that sounds like a breeze to make.
These sound absolutely delicious. Anything that even resembles hand pies get my stomach rumbling, and these are no exception.
I do love pies too! 😀 whether it’s hand pies, large or quiches…
These look almost fake they are so perfect!
Ahahaha what a lovely comment! Do they really look fake? 😀 I just baked them, all ingredients are natural! No fakes in my blog! 🙂
Thank you for taking time reading and commenting!
LOVE these – takes me back to eating mushroom pastries in a takeway cafe in moscow one winter, they weren’t called pierogi though, I seem to remember the name started with an S and they were smaller – whatever, they were delicious, the pasty golden and slightly sweet, maybe with buttermilk? the mushroom filling rich and meaty and the whole thing served slightly warm. YUM
I love pirogi and your recipe looks so good – wish I had a couple instead of leftovers tonight 🙂
These really are gorgeous and I know they’re a labor of love! And show it! 🙂