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Kulebyaka (Authentic Russian

Source of Recipe

Here and there on the Internet


Recipe Introduction

Also known as Coulibac (Fr). Using puff pastry or roll dough.

List of Ingredients

* 2 cups (250g) unbleached flour
* 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1/8 cup (30mL) warm water
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup plain yogurt
* 10 teaspoons (50g) butter, cut into cubes
* 1 whole egg (+1 egg yolk for egg wash)
* plus any filling you like!


Recipe

In a small bowl, stir together the yeast, sugar, and warm water; put it aside for about 10 minutes until the mixture starts to foam. In a large bowl, combine the flour with salt and the 1-cm cubes of butter. Use your fingers to work the butter into flour until it has all crumbled. Add the yeast mixture, sour cream, and the whole egg. Mix everything together to make a soft dough. Then wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to 12).

After it's sat long enough, bring the dough out and let it get up to room temperature. Meanwhile, grease a bowl with 1 tsp. butter. On a floured work surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it's smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed. Transfer the dough to the greased bowl, cover with a dark cloth and leave it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 1⁄2 hours).

Filling: At this point it's a good time to make your filling. It can be anything you like, but one of my favorites is mushrooms! In a skillet I saute 1 sliced onion and 1 pound of button mushrooms with butter, salt, pepper and just a bit of sour cream. Another great filling is cheese: try sticking a whole brie inside this dough. It's delicious!

Putting it together

Split your dough in half to make two balls that will form the top and bottom layer of the pie. Roll out each dough into a large rectangle. Transfer 1 rectangle onto parchment paper on your baking sheet. Spread the filling over the top, but leave a border of about one inch. Drape the remaining dough rectangle over it to form the top of your rectangular kulebyaka. Pinch the edges closed with your fingers, and then trim any excess dough from edges with a knife. At this point, you'll have some extra dough scraps that Russians usually use to decorate the pie. Take a look at mine (this time I decided to make a circular pie rather than rectangular):

Kulebyaka dough example recipe

Let the pie rise for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degree F. Whisk an egg yolk with milk to make a simple egg wash, and brush it over the top of the dough. This is what makes the beautiful golden color of the kulebyaka. Poke some holes in the top of the dough to allow the steam to vent while in the oven, and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

I know it's difficult, but let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing and eating!

Kulebyaka Russian pastry dough recipe for pies
Kulebyaka is my favorite Russian food; it's like a larger pirogi (pie) that you can share with everyone. You can also fill it with savory or sweet fillings. Salmon seems to be popular.
A Filling for beurek; (Bourekas) Simmer 2 C chopped cabbage and 1 onion, minced in butter until tender Cover pan and vegetables will steam until tender. Add 1 C ground or chopped meat,salt, pepper and a little cream or bouillon to moisten.