Kaleenka Piroshky

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 packages yeast
• 4 -5 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons additional vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 lb cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Recipe

• 1 in a skillet, brown the onion in oil, about 7 minutes; remove and set aside.
• 2 brown the ground beef in the skillet, drain the grease, then add in the cooked onion, garlic, salt, and pepper; set aside.
• 3 (the original recipe had you then chill the mixture to 40 degrees and"pick out solid fat," but that's a step i forgo).
• 4 in a small ceramic or glass bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand for 11 minutes.
• 5 in a large bowl or using a large stand mixer, place 4 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, egg, the remaining oil, water/yeast mixture, and the milk; mix together (use a dough hook attachment if you have one), adding additional flour as needed to make the dough soft but not sticky.
• 6 knead, either for about 10 minutes by turning out onto a floured board and doing it by hand or by using a dough hook in a mixer on slow speed for about 6 to 7 minutes.
• 7 place in a large bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour; punch down.
• 8 preheat oven to 350 degrees f.
• 9 to fill the piroshky, pinch off a piece of dough about the size of an egg and roll it out to 1/8-inch thick, then place a cube of cube of cheese and 2 tablespoons of meat filling in the center.
• 10 lift up the edges of the dough and bring it up to the top, pinching together tightly to completely enclose the filling and so that the dough knits together.
• 11 place the piroshky on a microwave-safe dish or tray, seam-side down, and microwave for 10 seconds; set aside and let rise for 10 minutes.
• 12 repeat the piroshky construction, microwaving, and rising with remaining ingredients.
• 13 place risen piroshky (all of them) on a non-stick baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees f until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven; alternately, you can deep fry them at 300 degrees f until golden.
• 14 note: you might also be able to run the dough ingredients through the initial preparation steps in your bread machine, to make it especially easy!