Source: Belarusian cuisine

Source: Belarusian cuisine. Miensk, Uradžaj, 1994. HOME

DISHES FROM DOUGH

You can prepare leavened or unleavened dough. The leavened dough is used for making fancy pastries with larger amount of fat, sugar and sour cream; the unleavened dough is used for cooking less fancy pastries such as, for example, pirozhki (small pies).

The unleavened dough. Warm the water or milk to a temperature of 30° to 35 °C, add the yeast dissolved in warm water. Then add the sugar, salt, eggs, flour, knead well and in the end of kneading add the fat or vegetable oil.

The well kneaded dough should be smooth, without any lumps, and should not stick to the hands.

Cover the dough with a clean cloth and stand in a warm place to ferment for 1.5-2 hours. When the dough is fermenting knead it once or twice more for riching it with oxygen. This will make for the process of fermenting and for rising of the dough.

The leavened dough. Warm the milk or water to a temperature of 30° to 35 °C, add the yeast dissolved in water, half of the flour and mix until smooth.

Cover the leavened dough with a clean cloth and stand in a warm place. In the process of fermenting the leavened dough will increase in 1-2 times of its volume. When the fermenting is finished, add the sugar, eggs, salt and the remaining flour. Then knead the dough until it is smooth and does not stick to the hands. Combine the dough with mashed fat and knead again. Put aside the kneaded dough to ferment for 1.5-2 hours. During this period knead the dough again for 1 or 2 times.

BELARUSIAN PIE. For 1 kg of the pie: 3 cupful flour, 2 tblsps sugar, 2 tblsps butter or margarine, 2 eggs, 15 g yeast, 0.75 cupful milk or water.

Prepare the leavened dough. Divide it into two pieces and roll each of them into a layer 3-4 cm thick. Put one of the layers on a griddle greased with butter, place the stuffing in the centre, and cover with another layer and pinch the edges.

The pie may be decorated with dough figures of any kind. To do that, roll the remaining part of the dough out thinly and cut it into small stars, diamonds, leaves, etc, then place these on top of the pie. Set aside the pie to rise and before baking brush with beaten egging, prick with a fork in several places and put in oven at 220 °C to 230 °C for 25-30 minutes.

OPEN PIROH (APPLE PIE). For 1 kg piroh: 3 cupful flour, 400 g apples, 2 tblsps butter or margarine, 2 eggs, 15 g yeast, 0.75 cupful water or milk.

Prepare the leavened dough. Prepare the apple stuffing as follows: wash the apples, remove the skins and cores, slice, add a little water, sugar and boil, stirring, until the stuffing thickens.

Roll the dough out until 1 cm thick and place in a greased baking pan. Put a layer of apple stuffing on top of the dough and fold over the edges 2 cm wide. From narrow dough strips make a lattice, place it over the stuffing layer and brush with egg. Allow the pie to rise, brush with egging and bake in oven at 220° to 230 °C.

CLOSED PIROH (APPLE PIE). For the dough (per 2.5 kg piroh): 7 cupful flour, 0.75 cupful sour cream, 0.75 cupful water, 0.75 cupful sugar, 2 eggs, 300 g apples, 30 g yeast, salt.

Prepare the leavened dough. Peel fresh apples, remove the cores, slice thinly and add to the dough. When the dough rises place it in a baking pan greased with vegetable oil, allow it to rise for 40 to 45 minutes and bake in oven.

KUCHON [KUKHON] WITH ONION. 3 cupful flour, 1 onion, 1 tblsp sugar, 2 tblsps fat, 1 egg, 200 g yeast, 1 cupful water, 1 tsp vegetable oil, salt.

Prepare the leavened dough and shape it into flat cakes 1.5-2 cm thick. Use a rolling-pin to roll some browned onion into the top of each cake. Bake the cakes in oven at 250 °C.

BELARUSIAN PIERNIK. For dough (1 kg piernik): 200 g ground-nut khalva, 1 cupful sugar, 3 cupful flour, 1 egg, 2 g cinnamon, 170 g jam, household soda, vanilla, salt.

Combine the sugar, eggs, rubbed ground-nut khalva, jam, vanilla, cinnamon and household soda, mix thoroughly until smooth. Add the wheat flour and knead into a dough. Roll it, place in a baking pan greased with butter and bake at a temperature not more than 180 °C. When the piernik is ready glaze it with sugar syrup.

MIENSKI HONEY CAKE. Per 1 kg cake: 2 cupful flour, 0.5 cupful sugar, 120 g honey, 5 tblsps butter, 5 eggs, 1 tsp vinegar essence, cinnamon, vanilla, salt.

Mix the eggs, honey, butter, sugar, salt and beat until smooth. Add essence of vinegar, vanilla, cinnamon and, stirring in the wheat flour gradually, knead into a dough of homogeneous consistency. Turn into cake tins or into a baking pan and bake in oven at 200° to 220 °C.

Cool the ready cake, remove from the cake tins and dust with castor sugar.

"ADPAČYNAK" (HOLIDAY) BISCUITS. Per 1 kg biscuits: 3 cupful flour, 1.25 cupful sugar, 1 cupful butter, 2.5 tblsps milk, 200 g raisins, 1 tblsp liqueur, 10 g household soda, salt.

Combine the sugar, milk, melted butter, liqueur, household soda, salt, raisins, mix well until smooth, then add the flour and mix again. Pipe the mixture in small portions from pastry bag onto a baking pan greased with butter.

Bake in oven at 200 °C.

BELARUSIAN BISCUITS. Per 1 kg biscuits: 3.25 cupful flour, 1.5 cupful sugar, 1.25 cupful butter, 0.5 cupful milk, 100 g jam, 3 g household soda, vanilla, salt.

Dissolve sugar in milk, add the butter, household soda, salt and vanilla, beat until smooth, stir in the wheat flour and mix again. Pipe the mixture into biscuit shapes on a baking pan greased with butter.

Place a bit of apple jam in the centre of each biscuit.

Bake biscuits in oven at 200 °C.

PIERNIKI (HONEY CAKES, AN OLD DISH). 6 cupful flour, 1 cupful whey or sour milk, 2-3 eggs, 8-10 tblsps sugar, poppy seeds, butter, salt.

Sift the flour and stir in the eggs, add the sugar, salt, washed poppy seeds, creamed butter and make a dough by gradually adding the whey, then set it aside for 20-30 minutes. Roll the dough into a sheet 1-1.5 cm thick, cut it into rounds and halfmoons. Cook the cakes on a buttered baking pan. Pour thin honey over the cakes or dust them with sugar rubbed together with poppy seeds. The whey may be substituted for milk or sour milk.

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