Baked Pirohi
Baked Pirohi is a real taste treat, a melt-in-your-mouth pastry.
Baked Pirohi Recipe-
Ingredients:
For the Dough-
- 5 medium sized russet potatoes, peeled, boiled, mashed
- 1 cup whole milk (please, no 2% or skim!)
- 4 egg yolks, beaten
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
For the Filling-
- 12 oz. sauerkraut, chopped fine and squeezed dry
- Pork fat
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- Freshly ground course sea salt and black peppercorns, to taste
- 1 lb. butter, melted
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Melt enough pork fat in a saucepan to saturate the chopped onions, and fry until the onions are fragrant and translucent and have absorbed all the pork fat. If need be, drain off any excess fat in a sieve.
- Mash those potatoes well! No lumps, please, they must be perfectly smooth and creamy.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, egg yolks, and one tsp. of the baking soda, then add ¼ tsp. salt.
- Alternately, add in flour and milk, with flour being the last alternate.
- Flour a bread or kneading board (or any flat surface that is convenient), take the dough mixture out of the bowl, and roll it out on the kneading surface until it is consistently 1/8” thick.
- Cut out rounds with a 4” cookie cutter, until all the dough is used up.
- Put the rounds in the palm of your hand, place just enough filling in the center so that you can then fold the edges up together and pinch the pirohi together and seal it—without any filling oozing out of the seal. You may have to practice a couple times to get this step just right. It sometimes helps to wet the edges of the dough with a little water to get a better seal.
- Bake until the pirohis are a pleasant golden brown color, then remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, or until cooled enough to handle.
- Moisten each pirohi by simply wetting your hands and rolling them in your palms, then set them aside in a pot.
- Pour melted butter all over the pile of pirohis, and shake the pot to distribute the butter evenly, and then cover the pot and set aside for a bit. If it is going to be a while before you have the rest of the meal ready to serve, you could keep your baked pirohi warm in the oven on its lowest heat setting—they do taste the best when eaten warm.