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Russian Stuffed Buns (Cherry Pirozhki)

Russian Stuffed Buns (Cherry Pirozhki)

Soft and tender dough filled with sweet cherries and baked in the oven.
Prep Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 3 hours
Course Dessert, Snack

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for the dough:

  • 500-550 g sifted flour
  • 250 ml warm milk
  • 100 g sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs at room temperature
  • 50 g melted butter
  • 20 g vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 500 g fresh cherries
  • 60 g sugar
  • 20 g cornstarch

Instructions
 

  • In a clean bowl mix the warm milk, dry yeast, 1 tbsp of sugar and give it a stir. Add about 7 tablespoons of flour and stir again. The consistency of the mixture should be almost like pancake dough. Set it in a warm place for 15-20 minutes.
  • Transfer the yeast mixture to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add salt, sugar, one whole egg and one egg white. Save the egg yolk for later. Add vanilla extract, melted butter and start mixing the dough.
  • When all the ingredients are incorporated well, add about half of the flour to the mixture, change the whisk attachment to a hook attachment and start kneading the dough, adding the rest of the flour gradually. Don’t add to much extra flour. Everyone has different flour, and some may need a little more or a little less. The dough should turn out very soft and slightly sticky.
  • Dip your hand in vegetable oil and collect all the dough in the bowl. Coat a clean bowl with the rest of the vegetable oil and place the dough inside. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place. Allow the dough to rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size.
  • While the dough is rising, let’s make the filling. Start by adding the cornstarch to the sugar, mix well and set aside. I already washed and dried my cherries and now we need pull out the pits from the cherries. The easiest way is to use a plastic straw or a chopstick. To pit cherries with a straw, just place the straw on the stem-end of the cherry, push it through, and the pit will pop out.
  • Meanwhile, our dough has doubled in size and become very airy. Now we need to deflate it and expel the gases. Transfer the dough onto the work surface and divide the dough into 18-20 pieces. To make sure that all my buns are the same size, I use a kitchen scale to divide the dough. Roll each piece into a ball and cover with a plastic wrap.
  • Slightly flour the work surface and roll each ball of dough out flat and sprinkle with about teaspoon of sugar and cornstarch mix. Place a few cherries in the middle, fold the dough over and pinch to seal the edges very well. Form each bun into an oval shape and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, seam side down. Cover the buns with a towel and let them rest for another 20 minutes.
  • In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.
  • 20 minutes later, the buns have almost doubled in size and now we can brush them with the mix of egg yolk and a tablespoon of milk for a shiny look. Bake the buns at 350F degrees for 18-20 minutes or until they have a beautiful golden-brown top. Cover the baked buns with a towel and let them cool completely.