Pirog - Ukrainian Pie - Pyrih

Pirog is a pie made from dough and filled with either a sweet or savoury filling. There are many different recipes for cooking pirogi when it comes to dough, filling and shape. A Russian pirog can be made from yeast-raised dough, shortcrust or puff pastry. It can be filled with a large variety of fillings, such as cottage cheese, meat, fish, mushrooms, cabbage, potato or fruits like apple, plums and berries. Pirog can be closed or open-faced. It can have an oblong shape with tapering ends, but rectangular and circular pyrogi are also common. Here's a recipe for baking a perfect Russian pirog.

Ingredients

1 ea Yeast dough
1 ea Filling recipe
1 ea Egg yolk
1 ts Oil
1 ts Water
3 tb Butter

Preparation

1. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Roll each out flat to 1/8" and cut to fit your around the outside of your baking pan so that the bottom and sides are covered with a 1/2" overhang on all sides.

2. Fill each piroghi with filling of your choice, cut a piece of dough to cover top with a 1/2" overhang all-around. Pinch the 2 pieces of dough together all-around and trim excess if needed. Cover the piroghi, and allow to sit in a warm (NOT hot) place for 30-mins.

3. Pre-heat oven to 375-deg. F.

4. Beat the egg yolks, oil and water together and use to brush the tops of the piroghi. Using a fork punch 8-10 holes in the tops of the piroghi (usually done in a pattern).

5. Bake on baking racks at a mid-level for 30-35 mins. or until dark golden brown. Remove, Brush with melted butter, allow to cool for 10-12-mins. and serve!

Fillings for Pirogi

Pirogi can be stuffed with one of the following fillings:

Kasha Filling
Mushroom/Onion Filling
Sauerkraut Filling
Cheese Filling
Beef/Pork Filling
Mixed Fruit Filling
Cherry Filling

Russian Proverbs and Sayings

Here are some popular proverbs and sayings with the Word pirog in Russian.

Пироги ешь — хозяйку тешь!
Не красна изба углами, а красна пирогами.
Без блина не Масленица, без пирога не именинник.
Вот такие пироги.

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