One of the problems with translating non Roman languages is they often have different letters, tonals, etc. In the various Slavic languages, there are these words that seem to mean different things. These are one of them. Piroghi can be made boiled, baked, fried with leavened or unleavened dough and a ton of fillings. I think in the Old World they all had separate names but here everyone seems to use some variation of pirogi.  If you are ever in Shelton or Stratford Connecticut, take Main Street from Stratford north past the helicopter plant and past the signs for Route 8 by the Riverside Diner. About the time you hit Sunset Street, there is a little area with a Polish Deli, whose name I can never remember, on your left.  They make their own sausage and last time I was there, they had 10 or so smoked version and three fresh ones. In the back is an entire double bay freezer withnothing but variations on this theme, both baked and boiled types with  a dozen fillings. (And then Martin has to ask for the recipe by the Swedish name...whimper) Have the stuffed cabbage, kielbasa, and pirogi lunch while there.

So from a old cookbook we have, this is what we make when we want to bake them instead of boil them.

Dough:

1 tbsp dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/8 cup warm water

Mix together and let the yeast "proof*"

4 cups white flour**
3/4 tsp salt
1/75 cups warm milk
2 egg yolks, broken
1 egg white, beaten to stiff peaks
6 tbsp melted and cooled unsalted butter

Add the yeast mix, 2.5 cups flour, salt, and 1.5 cups milk to a large mixer bowl and beat with a dough hook for 1 minute or so. Add the eggs and beat on low 1 minute, then add the remaining flour and milk. Beat well and add the butter. Adjust flour as needed. Beat until a smooth dough forms and pulls away from the walls, about 8 minutes.

Mushroom Filling

2 pound mushrooms, washed and sliced
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 bunch chopped parsley leaves

Pat the mushrooms dry and remove as much moisture as possible. Melt the butter in a large pan and add the mushrooms and parsley in batches. Saute over medium heat until the pan juices are mostly gone.

Meat Filling

2.5 pounds pot roast
0.5 beef bones
1 tsp salt
1 unpeeled onion
1 carrot
1 leek
1 parsley root

In a four quart pot, cover the meat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.  After 30 minutes, add the salt and the vegetables. Skim as needed. When the meat is done, cook and remove. Cut the meat into chucks***

2 chopped onions
4 Tbsp butter
1.5 tbsp heavy cream
salt, pepper and, in Noah's case, chipolte to taste
1.5 Tbsp chicken stock

Cook the onion in butter until soft. Grind the meat with the onions on coarse. Add heavy cream and spices**** to taste and enough stock so the filling is moist but not wet.


Putting it together

1 - 9 by 14 baking pan, heavily buttered
1 beaten egg yolk with 1/2 tsp water and 1/2 tsp oil added
1 Tbsp butter, melted

Roll out 2/3 of the dough into a 20 by 15 inch oval.  Trim to a 18" by 13" rectangle. Place in pan so you have 2 inch high walls of dough. Add the filling. We normally add a layer of 1/2 mushrooms and then 1/2 of the meat. Some folks put a layer of cabbage underneath. Roll out the rest of the dough 1/4" thick so you can cut a 15 by 10 inch piece out. Lay that on top and pinch the ends to seal it. Let rise 30-45 minutes so it puffs up.

Glaze with the egg mixture, pierce 5 times with a skewer, and place in a preheated 375 F oven for 30-35 minutes. When a dark golden brown, remove and brush with the butter and let sit for 10 minutes covered with a towel. Slide onto a rack and either serve hot or let cool and serve slices.

We make little circles of the leftover dough and fill them with the excess filling. Bake along with the main piroghi and eat like pork buns!

*   becomes foamy and bubbly
** originally it used cake flour but shifted works okay
*** we often cheat and just fry up some vension, lamb or beef ground for chili and skip this step. Drain it very well if you do or the bottom gets soggy.
**** nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, coriander and cloves are given in some recipes. We prefer hot pepper...