The secret to this? Patience. This recipe is complicated because it takes a while for the dough to rise. A great baking activity for a rainy afternoon.
There are several variations of this pastry most of which is with savory fillings. Sweetened Sauerkraut, Rice/Mushrooms, Cinnamon Cheese. The same dough also makes a sweet poppy seed roll. We usually do a combination of a few different ones. With my favorite being the sauerkraut. I know what you are thinking, Sauerkraut in a pastry? Once you try it you will never look back. These are delicious. This is not the salty vinegar cabbage you are used to seeing on your typical ruben sandwich, But rather a sweet and tangy filling for a sweet pastry. Sauerkraut is made from cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin B and C. To make them sweet we cook them with dried plums (prunes) to flavor them.
The recipe is mean to make enough for 35 + people, So I’d cut it in half or 4ths to make a smaller, more manageable batch
Remember Patience is key!
Ukrainian Pyrizhky
Ingredients
Dough
- 10 eggs
- 3 cups milk
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 packets of rapid rise yeast
- 14 cups flour
- 1 egg for eggwash
- 4 cups flour for rolling
Fillings
Cheese Filling
- 1 Block Friendship Farmers Cheese
- 1 egg
- 3 Tablespoons Cinnamon
Poppy Filling
- 2 cans Poppy Seed Cake and Pastry filling
Sauerkraut Filling
- 28 oz Sauerkraut
- 1/4 cup Dried Plums
- 1 Tablespoon Peppercorns
Rice and Mushrooms Filling
- 1 cup Rice
- 8 oz canned mushrooms
- Salt (to Taste)
- Pepper ( to taste)
- Dried Parsley (to taste)
Instructions
Make Filling (one or more of the below)
Poppy Filling
- Put poppy filing from can into a bowl. Set Aside.
Cheese Filling
- Combine all Ingredients together - add more cinnamon if it’s not a strong pink color. Set Aside.
Sauerkraut Filling
- Cook Sauerkraut on the stove, add Peppercorns and Dried Plums, cook until water has evaporated. Take out plums when it looks like they are softening but before they start to break apart. Set Aside.
Rice and Mushroom Filling
- Cook the 1 cup of rice per rice directions or via rice cooker.
- Cook the canned mushrooms on a stove until warmed. Mince Mushrooms and add to cooked rice. Add Salt, Pepper and Parsley to taste. Set Aside.
Make Dough
- Put milk on the stove till warm and forms a skin, once milk is walk, add in butter to melt the butter.
- Meanwhile, Fill half a mug full of warm water. Add yeast and a spoonful of sugar and stir until well mixed - set aside until it has risen to the top of the mug.
- In a mixer, beat eggs, sugar and oil. Gradually add in the Milk/ butter mixture while stirring.
- Gradually add in flour cup by cup while , once yeast has risen, add it to the mixture.
- Dough should be slightly sticky, but remains springy. If it pours like a liquid, then its too thin and more flour is needed.
- Transfer dough to larger covered bowl and set in a warm place until it more than doubles in size. Then punch down the dough and let it rise to the same height again. Total time to rise is about 2-4 hours depending on room conditions (warm environment encourages dough to rise)
- Clean off a surface and spread flour over the surface with a few cups of flour on the side to add as needed.
- Once the dough has risen, take a small piece of dough and place it on a floured surface. Knead the dough with flour on the surface until dough is no longer sticky.
Make Pyrizhky:
- Form the dough into a 3 inch thick snake, then with a knife cut off pieces to form a 2inch wide pieces. l
- Form the piece into a ball, then roll out the ball with a rolling pin to be a flat circle.
- Place the filling in the center of the circle, then pinch the ends together to seal it.
- Place the filled dough onto a greased baking sheet.
- Make an eggwash by cracking an egg into a mug and scambling, with a brush or with the back of your spoon, paint the filled dough on the baking sheet with the eggwash. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
- Heat oven to be 350 degrees. Bake for about 20 mins or until golden brown on the outside.
Make Poppy Seed Roll
- Take some of the dough onto the floured surface, roll with a rolling pin until 1/4 inch thick
- Spread the poppy seed filling onto the dough. Then roll the dough onto itself so its in a log form
- Place on greased baking sheet
- Make an eggwash by cracking an egg into a mug and scramble, with a brush or with the back of your spoon, paint the filled dough on the baking sheet with the eggwash. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
- Heat oven to be 350 degrees. Bake for about 25 mins or until golden brown on the outside.
