While writing about yeast-leavened dough, I thought it would be incomplete without mentioning Pirozhki. I’m not sure what the English equivalent is for these delicious, versatile stuffed buns with various fillings —maybe hand pies? If you know the term, please let us know in the comments!
Pirozhki, also spelled piroshki or pyrizhky, is a generic term for individual-sized baked or fried stuffed buns filled with a variety of ingredients. They can be sweet, containing fruit or berries, or savory, filled with potatoes, cabbage, or even meat.
The shapes can also vary; in my family, we would make the savory buns boat-shaped and the sweet square. But every family or region seemed to have their own preference. Either way, they are comfort food at its best!
The Dough for Pirozhki
The dough for Pirozhki is typically the family’s tried-and-true bun or dinner roll recipe, which is essentially a yeast-leavened dough. On baking days, some buns were filled for variety or as quick meals on busy days. But you can also make a dough specifically designed for Pirozhki.
On our blog, we have two bun recipes—a traditional version and a vegan option. Either of these recipes would work well for making Pirozhki. However, even though we use whole grains in baking, Pirozhki are easier to shape when the dough contains more white flour. You can use one of my recipes or your own.
The Pirozhki filling
Sweet filling:
One of our favorite Pirozhki fillings is apples and rhubarb. It’s a bit like apple-rhubarb pie, except you can hold it in one hand and pack it easily for a picnic.
Ground cherries also make a delicious filling for pirozhki. When topped with sugar, they become incredibly tasty. Speaking of sugar, it is always mixed with flour at a ratio of 2-3 parts sugar to 1 part flour, which allows the sugar to thicken when baked. Precooking the filling, as is done with pie, is not necessary.
Flatten the dough bun in your hand or with a rolling pin, add the sugar-flour mixture, then add a handful of chosen fruit or berries, and top with more sugar-flour mixture.
Savory Filling:
For a savory filling or stuffing, potatoes are a favorite. Make some mashed potatoes (or use leftovers), then fry some onions, and mix the mashed potatoes with the onions in the hot pan. Season well. Other options are mushrooms and fried cabbage.
Forming the Pirozhki Buns
To start, divide the dough, which has been allowed to rest and rise, into egg-sized balls; they don’t have to be perfectly round. My bun dough recipes would make 24 Pirozhki.
Boat-shaped pirozhki are quite popular and are probably easier to shape. To make them, flatten the dough into a round shape or use a rolling pin if that feels easier for you. Place the filling in the center and start closing the dough from the middle. Once the filling is enclosed, turn it around, round the corners, and flatten the pirozhki into a nice, smooth boat shape.
To make square-shaped sweet Pirozhki, bring the four corners of the dough to the center, then close each corner.
It doesn’t really matter what shape you choose; what’s important is that the pirozhki are sealed properly to prevent the filling from leaking out and creating a mess during baking or frying.
It’s helpful to let the buns rise a little before filling them, and also to let the Pirozhki buns with filling rise some more before baking. But they do not need to double in size like buns without filling.
Baking or frying the Pirozhki Buns
Frieng the Pirozhki:
I still remember my first attempt at frying piroshki. Newly married, I wanted to make something special. The piroshki looked promising until I dropped them into barely heated oil. I guess I was too afraid to overheat the oil. They were inedible because the dough had absorbed so much oil. Lesson learned: when frying, you want the oil to be hot, like it is for fries. You also need enough oil to submerge about half the bun.
Even though fried Pirozhki are sinfully delicious, I seldom make them. And even now, I made just one to demonstrate. They are definitely not suitable for a low-fat diet. To my knowledge, only savory Pirozhki are fried.
Backing the Pirozhki:
Backing the stuffed buns in the oven is much simpler. Bake them at 400°F for 20 minutes. The sweet pirozhki tend to bleed out. That looks messy, but it is usually quite delicious.
After baking, you can coat the buns with butter for a shiny look. That is completely optional.
Keep the pirozhki warm to serve immediately, or cool rapidly to freeze for later.
We hope this has whetted your appetite for some delicious Pirozhki buns with filling. As a traditional dish, there is no right or wrong way to enjoy the stuffed buns. Give them a try, and let us know in the comments below what your favorite filling for Pirozhki is!
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Ukrainian term is POMPUSHKY – usually prune filled – shaped like a triangle – always delicious. Especially good with a banana on the side. Have had apple as well but always go back to buying the prune ones. Tried to make them with my Mom many years ago and we decided that you need at least three or four people to get them done right. One to flatten the dough, (because it’s rising as you are trying to fill them) one to fill the dough, one to do the deep frying and one to handle the buns when they come out of the deep fryer. I think we made a recipe that was enough for probably 4 or 5 loaves of bread! We had lots for the freezer but wow what a big effort! Filling recipe is 1 pound prunes (cooked), 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts if desired. Chop the prunes, if the mixture seems thin add more sugar until the mixture thickens then add remaining ingredients.
There are many varieties of dough-filled buns. Thank you for sharing your version. It seems quite different though from the pirozhki I know. Most of all, the recipes I shared are way simpler to make. Try some and let me know how you like them.