Latvian Piragi
When I was a kid, I was friends with a family that was first-generation American. Their family fled Latvia during the takeover of the Soviet Union. As the family settled in America, and the next generation came along, they took on our customs. They had become Americanized in a sense.
She never adopted our customs or even learned our language. She did what her mother and her mother’s mother before her had done. She kept alive the Latvian culture.
She was able to do this by growing her vegetables and cooking dishes from the old world. The smells from her kitchen were different from my mom’s kitchen at home.
I was intrigued by watching her work with skill and determination. It was evident that she cooked with love for her family.
That was the only time I ate Latvian Piragi. It was several years later, in the early nineties, when I was watching an old cooking show on PBS called the Frugal Grommet, I realized he was cooking the same Piragi that I had tasted when I was a kid. I quickly jotted the recipe on the back of an envelope, and I have been making them ever since. I love this recipe.
I think customs and traditions are essential. I also believe that recipes handed down from one generation to another are a considerable part of that tradition.
To this day, I still have that old envelope that this recipe originated from, and I attend to pass it along one day, you know, to keep the tradition alive.
Latvian Piragi
Piragi are traditional Latvian bacon buns. Soft buns with a savory filling.
Ingredients
Dough Ingredients
- 7 grams dry instant yeast
- 60 ml warm water
- 60 grams unsalted butter
- 190 ml milk
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 440 grams plain flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Filling Ingredients
- 350 grams bacon, diced finely
- 350 grams pork loin, diced finely
- 2 onions finely diced
- ground pepper to taste
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
Filling Instructions
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Sauté onions, pork loin, and bacon. Until the onions are translucent and most of the bacon fat has rendered.
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Add ground pepper to taste
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Leave the pork mixture to cool while you are making the dough.
Dough Instructions
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Place yeast and water in a small bowl, put aside for the yeast to activate. It will froth up.
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In a small saucepan add butter, milk and sugar. Warm over a low heat until butter has melted and sugar has dissolved into the milk.
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When milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm stir through beaten egg, yeast and water. Place two cups of the plain flour and salt in a large bowl, pour liquid over and stir to combine.
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Once combined add the remaining flour. Mix until all ingredients have come together, then leave to rest in the bowl for 10 minutes. Once rested turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 - 10 minutes.
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Place dough back in to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Leave dough to raise, around 1½ hours or until doubled in size. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Once dough is ready, start pulling off a walnut size pieces of dough. Work them in to a ball in your hand then form them into a circle.
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Place a tablespoon of the bacon mixture, and bring the edges of the dough together. Seal the bun in a torpedo shape. Place formed buns on a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper.
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Mix the beaten egg and water together to make an egg wash. Brush egg wash mixture on buns. Place buns in oven and bake until golden, 12-15 minutes. Repeat with the remainder of the mixture and dough. Once out of the oven they are ready to eat.
Hello
Do you sell any of your creations?
I am searching for Latvian Piragi like my Oma used to make.
This put together some missing parts from handed down (verbally) family recipe. Thank you.
This is the closest recipe I have seen to how my mother made Latvian Pirags. Ours however have never included pork loin and we do not fry the bacon and onion. Many years ago I did read a recipe by Margaret Fulton and she fried the bacon and onion but we found it unpleasant and much too sweet. Nowadays my greatest challenge is to find the best bacon rashers for without this flavour they are a complete waste of effort. As a child in the 50’s all bacon was good, but now I have to work hard to seek the best possible. My recipe uses 1kg. bacon and 1kg strong flour and makes about 68 pirags so always have quite a few bags frozen for my brother and close friends.
Almost identical to my Omi’s recipe. This is the only one I have seen that uses a very little bit of sugar. You wouldn’t have been to be willing to sell batches, would you? My Mom would love some, and I have RA. Very hard for me to make.
For those looking to buy piragi, Google Latvian Bazaar and see if there is one in your area. In Minneapolis, there is a Christmas Bazaar at the Latvian church that sells these both in their lunch line and in take-home bags, but you have to get there early to get a ticket number to buy the take-home food.
I an 1/4 latvian, but am estranged from that side of my family. I remember my grandparents making these and didn’t even know what they were called. I wanted to learn how to make them and a quick google search led me here, so thank you!
I have made the little buns but we add caraway seeds on top with the egg wash. It is a nice touch of flavour