Quick Yeast Hand Pies

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Warm half the water (125 ml, about 1/2 cup) in a metal pot to 105°F (40°C). Pour it into the bowl you'll knead the dough in, add the yeast, sugar, and salt, and pour in the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

2. Step 2:

   

   Stir until the sugar and salt dissolve.

3. Step 3:

   

   Add the sifted flour. I added 320 grams all at once. You could hold back a little and add most of it now, then adjust the consistency on the counter in the second stage below.

4. Step 4:

   

   Stir everything well with a spoon until all the water is absorbed into the flour.

5. Step 5:

   

   Boil the rest of the water (125 ml, about 1/2 cup) and pour it into the bowl of dough.

6. Step 6:

   

   Quickly stir the dough until all the flour lumps disappear. It will be fairly sticky.

7. Step 7:

   

   Dust the counter with sifted flour and turn out the dough. Knead it by hand, gradually adding flour. How firm should it be? As soon as it stops being sticky, stop adding flour. It took me exactly 50 grams of flour for dusting — 370 grams total (320 in the dough and 50 for dusting), as noted in the recipe. You may need more or less, since flour varies.

8. Step 8:

   

   The dough turns out pliable and elastic. Shape it into a ball. It needs no proofing time — we'll cook right away.

9. Step 9:

   

   Divide the dough into equal pieces and roll them into balls. I got 7 pieces of about 70–75 grams each. You can divide it into 10 pieces of about 50 grams each for smaller pies.

10. Step 10:

    

    Press each piece out by hand into a medium-thick round. Add the filling. I used mashed potatoes mixed with sautéed onions, but you can fill the pies with braised cabbage, farmer's cheese, fruit preserves, and so on.

11. Step 11:

    

    Pinch the edges together tightly to form an oblong pie, and press the seam flat.

12. Step 12:

    

    Heat a skillet with enough vegetable oil to come halfway up the pies. My skillet has a 8-inch (20 cm) base, so I needed 200 ml (about 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) of oil. Fry the pies over medium heat on one side until golden. Mine took about 5 to 7 minutes.

13. Step 13:

    

    Flip them and fry until done — another 5 minutes for me. Take the finished pies out of the pan and fry the next batch. I didn't add any more oil. The pies weren't greasy, so I didn't need a paper towel.