Friday, October 29, 2010

Imitation Piroshky


Last year I went on a weekend getaway up to Seattle with some high school friends. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and all of the fun little places to eat. One of my friends became obsessed with Piroshky's, a little Russian bakery that makes sweet and savory stuffed breads. Having a sweet tooth I always went for the sweet breads, but my friend who raved about the savory breads let me try hers and it was fantastic. Well, here we are a year later. I was thrown back into time when I came upon this recipe from the My Kitchen Cafe food blog. It very much reminded me of Peroshky's savory breads. This recipe calls for the toppings you would put on a baked potato, but it is so much yummier in a warm roll. Go ahead and try your own variations.

Bread Dough
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Filling
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
2 cups chopped ham (leftover ham or deli ham works great here)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped broccoli
2 cups shredded cheese (Swiss, Cheddar..options are limitless)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup finely chopped green onions

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough and roll the dough out into a large rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. I rolled my dough to about 13 inches by 17 inches.
In a small bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Spread the rolled out dough with the butter/cream cheese mixture. Top with the ham, broccoli, cheese, Parmesan cheese, and green onions. Roll the dough up, pinching the seam to seal. Slice the roll into about 1-inch segments. Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise until nearly doubled and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow. looks great and sounds great.
I need to get over my fear of making my own breads. For some reason it scares me.

Lisa said...

this is something that i know i would love just by reading the ingredients. it looks so good. thanks, kristi!

Scott / Lori said...

These look amazing. I think the holidays will be a perfect time to make them and perhaps a sweet variety too! Thanks.