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Ossetian pie with cheese and potatoes
Instructions
First, prepare all the ingredients for the dough. Liquid products should be warm. The flour is sifted. The dry yeast is from a trusted manufacturer, baking, fast-acting.
Add the dry ingredients to the flour and mix everything well together.
In a bowl with flour, add warm milk and part of the water. Do not add all the water at once; it may be too much, it all depends on the flour.
Knead the dough with a spoon. The dough should be like thick sour cream, it will stick to your hands, but that's how it should be. We have a bit of water left.
Grease the countertop and your hands with vegetable oil, place the dough on it, and knead for about seven to ten minutes total. If necessary, grease your hands and the countertop again with oil. After ten minutes total, the dough will become elastic and firmer, rolling from hand to hand like it's alive.
Grease a bowl with oil, round the dough if possible, and place it in the container. Also grease the surface of the dough with oil.
Cover the bowl with dough with plastic wrap and place it in a warm "cabinet" without drafts. Our microwave serves this purpose. It should be heated for one minute total empty, and then the bowl with dough is placed inside. While the dough is rising, do not turn on the microwave. Leave the dough to rise for exactly one hour. After thirty to forty minutes, the dough needs to be punched down.
While the dough is rising, we prepare the filling. Peel the potatoes, cut them into four to eight pieces, and boil until cooked. When the potatoes boil, add salt. Prepare mashed potatoes in any way; you can add cream, milk, butter.
The potatoes are now properly ready. Finely chop the herbs and prepare the cheese.
Grate the cheese coarsely or simply crumble it by hand.
Combine the prepared ingredients together. The fragrant filling is now properly ready.
By this time, the dough has risen well. Form the pie.
The soft dough can even be made just by hand without a rolling pin. Stretch the dough into a circle shape, trying to pull more at the edges, so that the thickness of the layer in the middle is thicker than at the edges. It will be clearer why this is necessary later.
Form a ball from the filling and place it in the middle of the dough.
Gather the dough around in a circle and form a huge khinkali. Seal all the edges tightly. Since the edges are rolled out thinly, when we gather them all, the thickness of the dough will not differ from the thickness in the middle of the layer. That is, in the end, we will have an even thickness of the pie.
Transfer the future pie onto greased parchment paper. With careful movements, shape the pie, gently stretching the dough along with the filling in the middle of the ball. Make a round blank the size of the baking tray. In the middle of the pie, make a hole in the dough through which air will escape; if this is not done, the pie will burst disappointingly.
Preheat the oven to 200-230 degrees Celsius, placing the pie above the middle level, top-bottom mode. Bake the Ossetian pie until properly golden brown for about fifteen to twenty minutes total. The time depends on the oven's capabilities.
Transfer the finished pie onto a dish, plate, or board and immediately, while still hot, generously brush the pie with a piece of butter.
Cut the pie into six pieces and serve it hot.
When you bake your first Ossetian pie with cheese and understand all the nuances of the cooking technique, be sure to make, as it should be, three pies, stack them and cut them all together.The Ossetian pies with cheese and potatoes are a dish with history and meaning; they symbolize God, the Sun, and the Earth in the proper Ossetian tradition.
Tips
- 1
Stretch the dough by hand rather than using a rolling pin, since hand-shaping creates the proper thicker centre and thinner edges that the Ossetian pie technique requires for even finished thickness after the filling is gathered up. The brief patience for proper hand-shaping genuinely matters for the most beautifully even finished pie every single time at home.
- 2
Make a small hole in the centre of the formed pie before baking, since this brief venting step prevents the pie from bursting under the steam pressure during baking. To pair this beautifully traditional Ossetian pie with another properly classic homemade preparation from the same Caucasian culinary tradition, try our beautifully tender khychyns with cheese and potatoes as a contrasting Karachai-Balkar alternative.
- 3
Brush the freshly baked hot pie generously with melted butter immediately after removing from the oven, since the butter properly soaks into the warm crust and produces the iconic glossy beautifully aromatic finished surface. The brief moment of buttering genuinely matters for the most properly authentic Ossetian-style finished result every single time.
- 4
Make three pies in the proper Ossetian tradition (symbolizing God, the Sun, and the Earth), stack them, and cut them all together for the most authentic ceremonial presentation at the celebration table. For another properly classic homemade Caucasian-cuisine recipe to add variety to your weekly menu, try our beautifully tender dolma in grape leaves – classic recipe as a contrasting wrapped meat alternative.
FAQ
What kind of cheese should I use? +
Adyghe cheese (a soft mild Circassian-style brined cheese) is the most properly traditional choice for authentic Ossetian pies. If Adyghe isn't available, substitute with feta cheese, halloumi, paneer, or even a mild salty white cheese like queso fresco for broadly similar finished results. Each substitute brings its own slightly different finished flavour and salt level. Reduce or omit any added salt in the filling if using a saltier cheese substitute for the most properly balanced finished flavour at the table.
Why does my pie burst during baking? +
A bursting pie usually means you forgot to make the small steam-vent hole in the centre, the dough was rolled too thinly (especially at the edges), or the filling was packed too densely without room for steam expansion. Always make a 1-2 cm hole in the centre of the formed pie before baking. The hole allows steam to escape gradually rather than building up pressure that bursts the dough. The proper hand-stretched technique with thicker centre also helps prevent bursting.
How long do these pies keep? +
Store the cooled pies covered loosely with cling film at room temperature for up to two days, or refrigerate covered for up to four days for best results. Reheat individual portions briefly in a 150-degree oven for about 10 minutes total to restore the original soft warm finished texture. The cooked pies also freeze brilliantly for up to two months in airtight containers wrapped in foil. Thaw at room temperature and reheat briefly before serving for the best finished result.
Can I make different fillings? +
Absolutely. Traditional Ossetian pie fillings include: potato with cheese (this recipe), pure cheese, beet greens with cheese, fresh herbs with cheese, ground meat (called "fydzhin"), pumpkin with cheese, or even cabbage with cheese. Each filling brings its own character to the pie. Maintain the same dough recipe and shaping technique regardless of the filling choice. Each region of Ossetia has its own preferred filling combinations across the seasons of the year.
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