Mini Pirozhki

Tasty, crispy and irresistible for kids. I named them for lack of a better term pirozhki. Similar to consistency and taste, the name should suffice. My mother use to make these for breakfast back in the day, needless to say there were never any leftovers 🙂 Toppings are up to you, they go with jams, honey, feta cheese…your choice!

Ingredients

• 600 g white flour, non-bleached
• 20 g fresh yeast (1 ¼ US cake portion)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup (250 ml) regular milk
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar (white)
• 1 Tbsp vinegar (grape)

Instructions

1. Sift the flour on a tabletop. Pile the flour and make a large well in the center.
2. Add your eggs, salt, vinegar, butter and sugar into the well and stir with a fork.
3. Slowly, but confidently, bring in the flour from inside the well using the fork. When most of the liquid is absorbed, flour your hands and bring in the remaining flour by hand.
4. Warm up 100 ml of milk in the microwave. Add the yeast into the milk. Slowly, again, add the mixture into the dough.
5. Add the rest of the milk into the dough and knead the dough well. There’s no secret trick here, simply push, fold, slap and roll the dough around.
6. Leave the dough to prove (proof) in a warm place for about 30 minutes, it should roughly double in size.
7. Knead the dough again for about 5 minutes.
8. Roll the dough out into 0.5 cm thick sheet. Cut the sheet into 5-7 cm (2-3 in) wide strips.
9. Now this is where you get creative. Enroll some helpers (kids) into the mix as well. The strips can be cut into whatever shapes you want, squares, triangles…entirely up to you!
10. Heat oil in a large, deep pan. There should be enough oil to cover the pirozhki half-way up on the side.
11. Fry the pirozhki until golden brown on each side. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with your side choice.
12. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

Be careful not to overheat the milk in the microwave before adding the  yeast to it. Yeast likes warm, not hot, environments. Don’t over-fry the pirhozki, the dough is thin and they are done quickly. Last but not least, place them on paper towels to cool off, this helps drain the oil. Less messy when eaten.