New Year's Pie 2024
Description
Delicious baked goods for the whole family. A fairy-tale, mythical, and tasty dragon! You can make it by letting your imagination run wild. Essentially it is one large pull-apart pie made up of many small pies. The dough turns out soft and incredibly airy and stays that way even after several days. You can experiment with the filling—I used ground meat, but you can easily substitute something else. These work wonderfully: stewed cabbage, mashed potatoes with mushrooms or sausages, boiled rice with canned fish, liver, cottage cheese, and so on. According to the Eastern calendar, this is the year of the Green Wood Dragon. I suggest welcoming the symbol of the New Year properly and deliciously. A beautiful and unusual pie will help win over this carnivorous creature that loves meat. Be sure to make it—such baking will delight both children and adults. You can serve it with tea or coffee.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all ingredients. You can use any minced meat, but it will turn out juicier if you use a mixed blend.
- 2
Step 2
Combine warm milk, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, egg, and yeast.
- 3
Step 3
Mix and let stand for 10 minutes.
- 4
Step 4
Then add the flour in portions. I usually need 350–400 grams, but you might need a little less or more.
- 5
Step 5
The finished dough should be slightly sticky, yet soft and pliable at the same time. Shape it into a ball, brush with vegetable oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place for about 1.5 hours.
- 6
Step 6
The dough should nearly double in size.
- 7
Step 7
Once the dough has risen, punch it down and let it rise again for about an hour.
- 8
Step 8
In the meantime, prepare the filling. The filling can be anything you like. The dough is universal and goes with everything. I combined ground meat with onion and potato cut into small cubes. Salt and spices to taste.
- 9
Step 9
Now divide the dough into portions. Set aside the larger portion for the body. One slightly smaller portion will be the piece for the head. Two slightly smaller portions are the wings. And three portions of roughly equal size are for the tip of the tail and the legs.
- 10
Step 10
And you can set aside a few small pieces for the “spikes” on our little dragon.
- 11
Step 11
Roll out the largest piece, roughly as in the photo, and spread the filling on top. I recommend baking the pie on a special baking mat or using good baking paper. So you can roll out the dough directly on it.
- 12
Step 12
Carefully pinch the edges so the filling doesn’t leak any juice, turn seam-side down, and shape the body of the dragon you’re making.
- 13
Step 13
From a slightly smaller piece of dough, shape the head in the same way, giving it the desired form. The dough is actually very pliable and incredibly easy to work with. Make round or oval pies and shape them by hand as needed—it’s very engaging and easy! Let your imagination run wild!
- 14
Step 14
From smaller pieces, shape little dumplings for the wings, legs, and tail. The spikes are easy to make too—I shaped the dumplings like vareniki and simply pressed them onto the back and head.
- 15
Step 15
Cover the pie with a towel and leave for 20 minutes, then brush with egg yolk. Bake in the oven at 180°C for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
- 16
Step 16
The “Dragon” pie is ready. Let it cool a little, then carefully transfer it from the baking sheet. Before serving, you can make eyes, a nose, and a mouth from olives. Feel free to use any other handy ingredients you like.
- 17
Step 17
Happy upcoming New Year!