Book of Days Tales

A day after Estonia declared its independence from the former Soviet Union, Latvia followed suit.  The Singing Revolution won!!!!  Latvians are well known for their bacon buns.

Ingredients

    For the dough

    500 ml milk

    125 ml cream

    100 gm sugar

    4 teaspoons dry yeast

    125 gm butter, cubed

    125 gm sour cream

    1 egg, lightly whisked

    1 kg plain flour

    1 tablespoon salt

    For the filling

    500 gm middle bacon or side bacon

    1 small onion

    salt and pepper

     extra flour for rolling

    1 egg for egg wash

Instructions

 Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan and add the sugar. Heat the mixture until it becomes blood warm. (Test by placing couple drops on your wrist, if the milk feels very hot, let it cool down a bit. Do not get the milk to the boiling point.)In a large bowl, pour the milk mixture and add cubed butter, sour cream and the whisked egg, combine well.

Add the yeast, sifted flour, salt and mix until all is combined well to create the dough. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and does not stick to the hands or the bowl (add a bit more flour if necessary).Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and place in a warm spot for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size (about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Meanwhile, make the filling: finely cut the bacon and the onion, add a teaspoon of finely ground pepper and combine well.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350° F. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and set aside.

Sprinkle some flour on the rolling surface and place the dough on it. Cut it in quarters and work on each quarter at a time by rolling it until the dough is 5 mm thick.

Cut out circles about 6 cm in diameter. Place one heaped teaspoon of filling on one side of the circle and fold it over. Tightly press the dough together using your fingers, place the pīrāgs seam side down and bend in the shape of a half moon.

Transfer the pīrāgs to the baking tray, spaced about 2 cm apart. Using a pastry brush, brush each pie with the egg wash.

Place the tray in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes until the pīrāgs are golden.