Latvian Piragi Traditional Recipe – Bacon Onion Bread Rolls

Recipe for bread – homemade with bacon and onion bitesize rolls

This is a blog on how to bake bread rolls with the inside stuffed with a choice of filling. Traditionally it’s bacon and onion, but I have also tried lamb mince and peas / mint

…. also beef mince/chilli.

A very cheap and versatile dish to use up the contents of the fridge/cupboard.

Taught by my Grandmother, here are the ingredients

• 750g strong bread flour
• 15g fresh yeast (or 2 packets of dried yeast)
• 160ml of warm milk and water mix, (with 2 teaspoons of sugar to feed the fresh yeast – with dry yeast just sprinkle into the flour)
• 6/8 rashers of smoked bacon
• 1 large onion (red or white)
• A sprinkle of salt and a large amount of pepper (ground black or white) and I mean a large amount
• Butter to seal/glaze

OK here we go.

First, light your oven and adjust the setting to the lowest heat.

Fresh yeast:

Crumble in fresh yeast into 160 ml of warm milk/water/sugar mix. Allow to float to the surface for 5 minutes and add to flour.

Dried yeast:

Mix in flour and water/milk combo

Once the dough is made, knead for 5 mins, adjust consistency so the dough cleans the bowl, not too wet, not too floury.

Pop back in the bowl in the oven on minimum heat, covered with a cotton tea towel for 40 mins or so. The dough needs to have heat to double in size.

Whilst you are waiting, cut the raw bacon into tiny tiny pieces, either with scissors or with a sharp butcher knife. I mean tiny. Chop your onion into tiny tiny pieces. In a frying pan, fry the bacon pieces with a bit of spray oil. After 4-5 mins, add the onions for 2-3 mins. Undercooking the onions are fine, you are aiming for a ‘bite’ in the finished product. Add plenty and lots of it, pepper of your choice.

Once the dough has risen, DO NOT knock the air out. Handle with care with a knife and slice the dough. Take a small bitesize portion.

With a teaspoon, fold in the bacon/onion/pepper mix, and pinch the underside to seal. Mould the bread into a crescent shape. Pop onto a greased baking tray.

Here you can see I’ve added finely chopped red jalapenos to the dough of some piragis.

Set the oven gas mark 7, 250 degrees gas, and have a timer set for 12 minutes. Check after 12 minutes, for large Pirags 15 minutes may be better, for small bitesize Pirags, 12 minutes will be fine.

I use a microwave on 20 seconds with butter in a mug at this point. Grab a pastry brush and dip in the molten butter and brush all over. If you don’t have a pastry brush, foil, or greaseproof paper dipped in molten butter is equally as good.

Once out of the oven and brushed, each Pirag should be closely guarded, because when they are hot out of the oven, you will suddenly find you will be overwhelmed by a crowd of people eager to munch.

Store in an airproof box in a kitchen towel or greaseproof paper. Good for 72 hours (if they last that long). Warm in oven for 10minsGas 4, or microwave for 40 seconds.