Piroshki

Originally posted October 14, 2009. Updated 9/18/2022

Back in 2009, I obtained this Piroshki recipe from my aunt, by way of my grandmother.

My husband had been professing his love for sauerkraut, and I recalled the sauerkraut balls that this aunt used to make around the holidays.

I remembered them being really addictive little bread balls filled with sauerkraut and bacon, but couldn't remember much past that - it had been 2 decades since I'd had one!

So, after a couple of calls, I received an email with the vague recipe. I *immediately* set about making a batch for the first time.

Between the bread, kraut, and bacon, I think he was about to start foaming at the mouth if I didn't get right on it!

This pirozhki recipe starts out with a delicious soft dough - super easy to worth with, and is filled with a mixture of bacon, onion, and sauerkraut.

It’s my absolute favorite comfort food!

Serve them as an appetizer, or add a side salad and have them as a main course.

Not gonna lie, I’ve definitely made meals out of nothing BUT these piroshki!

What Are Piroshki?

Piroshki - AKA Pyrizhky, Pirozhki, Sauerkraut balls - are little Russian hand pies or - as I first knew them - Ukrainian buns.

They’re a yeast dough, filled and baked. As I later learned, they can be filled with any number of things - as either savory piroshki or with sweet fillings.

Growing up in Winnipeg, these always made an appearance around the holidays, so I tend to see them as a Christmas food.

Not sure if that’s a “My family” thing, a Winnipeg thing, a Ukrainian diaspora thing, or actual, place-of-origin thing, I did a quick Google.

Yup, it looks like these are a traditional holiday food in Russia.

Russian piroshki can have a variety of savory fillings - meat filling, mashed potato, chopped egg, and cabbage filling being popular options.

Cabbage piroshki can involve either braised cabbage or - as my recipe does - pickled cabbage.

Meat piroshki are usually made with ground meat, generally ground pork or ground beef.

You can even get cheese piroshki, usually filled with either mozzarella or cottage cheese cultures (usually more in Ukranian pyrizhky).

You can totally use cheddar cheese in them, if you like.

Sweet piroshki are available in a range of different fillings - fruit jams, preserves, and/or quark cheese, usually.

But... I had them with sauerkraut and bacon first, so that’s how I’ll always know them!

Anyway, it’s probably good that they were strictly a holiday thing. There’s a reason they’re so addictive: FAT.

The dough is full of whole eggs, vegetable oil, and sour cream, a full lb of bacon is used, the sauerkraut absorbs the bacon fat - it’s NOT drained off - etc.

SO good!

How to Make Piroshki

I know that baking yeast/risen breads can be intimidating for those who haven’t done it before, but seriously ... don’t worry!

Start Your Yeast

The bread dough recipe starts out with sugar, yeast, and water. This is one of the most important parts of the recipe, so make sure it’s all in place!

- The water has to be warm, but not hot. You want to encourage the growth of the yeast, without killing it.

Cool water won’t “wake up” the yeast the way warm water does, and it won’t rise as much / quickly.

Hot water will kill the yeast.

The sugar feeds the yeast.

Make sure to use yeast that has been properly stored and is fresh. Very old yeast doesn’t always work.

Anyway, you mix the three together and leave it for a few minutes, and this is what you should see:

When it’s all foamy like this, you’re good to go!

If your yeast mixture doesn’t foam up in 10 minutes, something went wrong - either the water was too hot /not warm enough, or the yeast was no good.

No foam means start over again.

Make Your Piroshki Dough

You can do this by hand in a large bowl, or - like I do - in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.

However you do it, just mix together your flour, salt, oil, eggs, sour cream, and foamy yeast water, until it’s well incorporated and relatively smooth.

Once it’s all together, you’ll knead the dough. This develops the gluten in the dough, making the dough soft, stretchy, and perfect.

In a Stand Mixer:

Affix a dough hook and just let it go on medium speed for about 7 minutes or so, until it’s smooth and stretchy.

I start timing once the mixing is done, and all of the extra flour has been “cleaned” off the mixer bowl:

By Hand:

Once the dough has come together - and you have all of the flour incorporated into it - dump it out on a clean, lightly floured surface and knead it.

Basically, I’ll use the heels of my hands to push down and stretch the dough a little bit, fold it over, and repeat for about 15+ minutes.

It’s a great way to get out some anger, aggression, frustration, or ~feelings~ in general, but it is labourious... so I generally use the stand mixer!

Anyway, whichever way you go:

When it’s ready, it’ll be smooth and stretchy.

You can test readiness by pinching off a small bit of dough, flattening it a bit, and stretching it. If you can stretch it really thin without tearing, it’s done!

Make Your Piroshki Filling

As you are waiting for the dough to rise, prepare the filling:

1. Strain your sauerkraut WELL. There are two reasons for this:

- Too much moisture can cause the buns to blow open when baking

- You want the sauerkraut pretty dry and “thirsty” to absorb all that bacon fat.

2. Chop bacon and onions into small pieces.

3. In a large frying pan, cook bacon & onions together over medium high heat (medium heat, if using a nonstick pan) until bacon is cooked, but not crispy.

4. Add sauerkraut to the pan, cook and stir well until bacon fat is absorbed and everything is heated through.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

As a note: While it’s not part of the original recipe loosely dictated to me on the phone, over the years we started adding a bit of caraway seeds to the mix.

Love it, but totally optional!

Form Your Piroshki

Once your initial proofing is done, punch it down and divide it out. Punching the dough down removes some of the air, so it’s easier to work with.

Traditionally, this dough is rolled out and cut into shape. See the recipe card for those instructions!

Personally, I prefer to freehand it. To do so:

1. Divide it out to 40 relatively-equal portions.

I’ll divide it in 4, then divide each of those in half, then divide each of those pieces into 5 balls.

2. Once they’re divided out, stretch them out into disks about as big as the palm of a hand. I like to stretch the edge a bit thinner, as that’s going to be gathered together.

3. Add about 1 tablespoon of filling to the center of the piece of dough.

4. Wrap piroshki dough around the filling. I like to gather edges of the round and seal the filling in (like a drawstring bag). Try to squish some air out, as you go.

5. Roll around between your hands a bit to get a uniform spherical shape, and place formed piroshki on a parchment lined baking sheet, gathered side down.

6. Repeat with the rest of the dough/filling, leaving at least 2″ between dough balls.

Proof your Piroshki

1. Loosely cover cookie sheets with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and allow to rise a second time, for a another hour

Bake Your Pirozhki

Heat oven to 350F.

Remove plastic wrap from cookie sheets, bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serving your Sauerkraut Buns

These are great served hot, fresh out of the oven, cold, or even reheated in a microwave oven, conventional oven, or air fryer.

IF they last that long.

I really enjoy them as breakfast, though I’m going to be dainty and NOT specify how many of these would constitute a serving, when that happens.

Spoiler: A lot. Seriously. These are ridiculous.

More “Capital B” Baking Recipes

Does the smell of yeast proofing just make you happy? Oh, I love the smell of it. Anyway, if you’re looking for more excuses to bake something that involves waiting for rise times, here are a few more recipes!

Apple Cinnamon Buns
Basil, Roasted Red Pepper, & Asiago Bread Braid
Beer Pretzels & Jalapeno Jack Dip
Buffalo Chicken Buns
Chai Cinnamon Rolls
Everything Bagels
How to Make Bagels
Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Pretzel Bites
Maple Walnut Spiced Pumpkin Buns
Marble Rye Bagels
Paska - Ukrainian Easter Bread
Persians Recipe
Reuben Buns
Rye Bagels with Caraway Seeds
Seeded Whole Wheat Flax Bagels
Smoky Cheese Bagels
Spinach Hand Pies
Strawberry Orange Rolls
Za'atar Manakish (With Cheese!)

Share the Love!

Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!

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