Rieta's Bacon Pasties (Latvian Piragi)

I'm a home cook from South Australia, who enjoys experimenting with all sorts of recipes and cuisines. This community is awesome! :)

**USE BREAD MACHINE FOR DOUGH**

subheading: YEAST DOUGH:

1½ cups tepid water

3 tablespoons oil

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

4 cups plain flour

2 tablespoons milk powder

1½ teaspoons dried yeast

subheading: BACON FILLING:

1kg speck, diced (or bacon, but speck is better)

1kg onions, finely diced

Garlic, to taste

Caraway seeds, to taste

Cracked black pepper

Beaten egg for glazing

Strong sweet coffee for final wash after baking or melted butter

Add all the yeast dough ingredients into bread machine in the order as listed above. Use the setting for dough or bread rolls.

Remove from machine and knead lightly then place in a lightly oiled boil. Lightly wipe oil on top of dough and cover with cling wrap.

Leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

Then roll, cut into rounds and fill.

Brush with beaten egg.

Bake at 170°C (for fan-forced) until just golden brown.

Brush the pasties with strong and sweet coffee as soon as they are out of the oven and cover with a tea towel. Leave covered for around 10 minutes so they can steam. Don't leave the tea towel on for too long though.

**Or else brush them with a little melted butter while still warm instead. (This makes them very rich and moreish!)

subheading: FILLING:

In large frypan on medium heat, cook onions until soft, add garlic. Stir for 1 minute or so, then add speck (or bacon), cracked pepper and caraway seeds. Keep stirring well.

Cook until onions are transparent and bacon is cooked without being too crisp/tough.

Drain very well on layers of paper towel. Allow this filling mix to become cold before starting to make the piragi.

For the quantity of filling above, I have to make 3 or 4 batches of dough as my bread machine doesn't make large quantities of dough all at once.

Also, try the Brioche recipe I have here. I think that will be closest to what my Latvian step mum made all the time.

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