Beef and Cheese Piroshki
Beef and Cheese Piroshki are a delicious and savory Ukrainian treat.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with dough hook
Ingredients
- ½ cup Water
- 2 cups Milk
- 3 tbsp Butter Room temperature
- 2 tbsp Granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 2.5 tbsp Instant yeast
- 5-6 cups All purpose flour plus more for work surface
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
Instructions
For the Filling
- Heat a skillet on high heat and add the ground beef.
- Add salt and pepper to the ground beef and stir to combine. Cook until browned and there are no more pink spots. The beef should be fully cooked in this step.
- Remove the cooked beef to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Drain the fat from the skillet into a bowl (you will use it to fry the onion).
- Add the diced onion to the skillet and fry on high for 2-4 minutes, or until softened and beginning to brown. Then add the minced garlic to the onion and continue frying together until the garlic has turned golden. Add more beef fat as needed for frying. Remove from the heat.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and onion-garlic mixture, stirring until the onion and garlic are well distributed.
- Finally, add the shredded cheddar cheese and stir well to evenly combine.
For the Dough
- Combine all of the dough ingredients except for the flour and the olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer. Then add 3 cups of the flour to the stand mixer and begin mixing on low speed using your dough hook attachment.
- The dough will come together in a shaggy ball. At this point, add 1 more cup of flour and mix until fully incorporated. Turn off the stand mixer and touch the dough. It should be close to forming a ball, but still quite moist. Add ½ cup of flour and continue mixing until the dough forms a consistent ball, adding another ½ cup as needed. I only needed 5 cups of flour to achieve this, but you may need up to 6.
- Once all of the flour has been added, continue mixing for 4-5 minutes to knead the dough. Knead until the dough ball is elastic and slightly tacky.
- Remove the dough from the stand mixer and pour in the olive oil. Swirl it around to coat the bottom of the bowl. Add the dough ball back to the bowl and flip it a couple times to coat it with oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or greased plastic wrap and rise in a warm place for 20-40 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.
- Once the dough has risen, pour it out of the bowl onto a floured work surface. The bottom of the dough should now be face up on the counter. Dust it with flour and pat the flour in until it is no longer sticky with oil.
- Using your hands, gently pull the dough into a rectangle. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, just get as close as you can. Use a knife to cut the dough into 24 pieces by making 6 vertical and 4 horizontal cuts.
- Gently roll each square of dough into a ball and set aside. You can cut off portions of larger dough squares and roll them into smaller ones so that your dough balls are mostly even in size.
- To fill the piroshki: Take a dough ball in the palm of your hand and flatten the center out, such that the edges are thicker than the center. Fill with about 1 tbsp of filling. Wet the fingers of your free hand in a bowl of cool water and rub around the edges of the dough. Push the filling down with the thumb of the hand holding the ball and use your free hand to seal the edges around the filling. Use extra water as needed to fully close the seam.
- Place the closed piroshki on a greased baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat this process until you are out of dough, laying out 12 piroshki per baking sheet. Cover each baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel or greased plastic wrap and allow to rise for 20-30 minutes, or until they are larger and puffy.
To Deep Fry
- Heat your oil to 350F.
- Once the piroshki are finished rising, take each one gently in your hand and check the bottom seam. Sometimes the seam will separate during the rise, and when deep frying it is important to catch this. If the seam is separated, dab some water on the edges of the separation and use your fingers to close it.
- Put the piroshki in the deep fryer, be careful not to overfill it. Fry on one side until they turn a dark, golden brown. This will take 1-2 minutes.
- Flip the piroshki in the oil, holding them down with tongs if they try to flip back over, and fry for another 1-2 minutes until completely golden.
- Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Serve and enjoy.
To Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350F while the stuffed piroshki are rising.
- Once the piroshki are finished rising, brush them gently with water, using as much water as you need for full coverage. This will ensure a crispy crust.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning the trays once after 20 minutes to ensure even browning.
- Remove from the oven and enjoy.