My father’s mother, Babushka Lida, always made fried potato piroshki for me and my twin sister when we were growing up and to this day, they’re one of my favorite things to eat. Piroshki are savory Ukrainian buns, usually filled with potato, beef or cabbage. Even though Baba Lida no doubt knew how to make the dough from scratch, she loved using Pillsbury buttermilk biscuit dough as a shortcut (ah, the conveniences of modern-day America not found in Soviet Russia!). This is still a great shortcut if you don’t have the time or energy to make your own dough, although I promise it’s not hard. This recipe lays out a basic piroshki dough recipe, 2 filling options, and instructions for baking and frying. Enjoy!

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Piroshki

*makes 10 large piroshki or 15 medium-sized piroshki

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Dough

(recipe adapted from Mamushka by Olia Hercules)

2 cups flour (plus extra for dusting)

3/4 cup milk (room temp)

1/4 oz active dry yeast

½ tbsp neutral oil (I like grapeseed or sunflower)

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

1. Whisk together oil, milk, salt, sugar + yeast in a bowl, allowing air bubbles to form in the liquid
2. Slowly add the flour to the liquid and knead, forming a damp dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough ball to double in size (which takes about an hour). While the dough is proofing, make your filling of choice (below)
3. On a well-floured surface, divide proofed dough into about 10 pieces if making large piroshki (which I recommend) or 15 pieces if making medium-sized piroshki. Gently roll each piece out into a circle. The dough shouldn’t be too thin – pirozhki need to be thick and fluffy! About 2mm is good – you shouldn’t be able to see through the dough.
4. Place a substantial amount of filling in the center of each circle of dough and pinch shut. You don’t want to put so much filling that you end up stretching + thinning out the dough when pinching it shut – leave space to seal the piroshki.
5. Place finished piroshki on a floured sheet pan and allow to rise again for 20-30 minutes.

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Ground beef filling

1 lb ground beef – fatty is good, I like 80% lean

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

1 bouillon seasoning cube (I use Bou for You beef bouillon cubes)

S+P to taste

1 tbsp neutral oil

1. Heat oil on medium-high in a large skillet. Add ground beef and brown for 3 minutes.
2. Add onions, salt + plenty of fresh-ground pepper. Cook another 5 minutes until onions are soft and opaque.
3. Add bouillon cube and stir until completely dissolved. Set filling aside in a bowl and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
4. Fill piroshki, then bake or fry according to directions below

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Potato, onion + dill filling

2-3 Russet potatoes

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

¼ cup milk

4 tbsp butter

Chopped fresh dill to taste

S+P to taste

1. Boil 2-3 large russet potatoes in plenty of salt until they can be easily pierced with a fork. Peel + mash
2. While potatoes are boiling, add 2 tsbp of butter to a skillet on medium heat. Add diced onions and cook for about 8-10 minutes, taking care not to burn the onions. They should be soft and browning but not caramelized.
3. Add milk, the rest of the butter, cooked onions and s+p to mashed potatoes. Mix until evenly incorporated and allow to cool for 20 min.
4. Once the mashed potato mixture has cooled, add chopped dill to taste. Mix.
5. Fill piroshki, then bake or fry according to directions below.

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Baked piroshki:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Make an egg wash by whisking together 1 egg with a splash of water in a small bowl.
3. Slightly flatten the piroshki, placing them seam-side down on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart.
4. Brush the tops of the piroshki with the egg-wash. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Sprinkle with dill if you’d like and serve while warm!

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Fried piroshki:

1. Heat neutral oil in a skillet to medium-high. The oil should be about ½-1 inch deep.
2. Fry piroshki for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.
3. Place on a plate or sheet pan covered with paper towel in order to soak up the excess oil.
4. Sprinkle with dill if you’d like and serve while warm!

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