Russian Pirozhki

Recently, we have been enjoying delicious apple cider bread from Wegmans. The taste of this bread reminded me of apple pirozhki that I used to get in this wonderful bakery in downtown Kiev, Ukraine.

Pirozhki are Russian pastries, little ?pocket pies? that can be either fried or baked with a variety of fillings, sweet or savory. My favorite fillings include apples, cherries, ricotta cheese, chicken or beef, mushroom, and cabbage. Today, the filling for my pirozhki is apples and golden raisins.



Ingredients:

2/3 cup of milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 egg
Pinch of salt
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon butter
1 large apple
¼ cup of golden raisins
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Warm 1/3 cup of milk in a small bowl. Stir in sugar and yeast and let it stand until the yeast mixture is foamy.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs just a little bit. Add half of the eggs, salt, butter, the rest of milk, and the yeast mixture to a large bowl. Mix, adding the flour slowly. Cover the bowl and put it in a warm place for at least an hour and let the dough rise.

Meanwhile, peel, core, and cut the apples into small chunks. Melt butter in a skillet. Add apples, raisins and sugar to the skillet and cook for about 5-6 minutes or until apples are soft.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a floured surface, shape the dough into a roll, then cut it into 1-inch pieces and flatten each into a rounded disk. Place filling inside, fold the disks in half, and pinch the edges together to seal the filling. Place the pirozhki on the baking sheet.

Mix the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the pirozhki with the egg mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

Makes about 12 pirozhki.