Pie dough - classic and simple: 8 recipes

Pies can be very different: fried and baked, sweet and snack, with meat, fruit, mushroom, vegetable or other filling. But the taste of these products depends not only on the method of their preparation and filling, but also on the flour base with which this filling is covered. The dough for pies is made yeasty and unleavened, rich and ordinary. There are also many ways to prepare and recipes for pie dough, and each housewife can choose an option taking into account her gastronomic preferences and the availability of certain products in the house.

Cooking features

The difficulty of preparing pie dough depends on the recipe. The technology for kneading rich yeast dough is the most complex, since it is made using the sponge method. This process is lengthy and has many nuances. The easiest way is to knead simple unleavened dough; even a novice housewife can cope with this task. Despite significant differences in the technology for preparing various types of pie dough, there are several general points that remain relevant in any case. Knowing them will allow you to avoid mistakes and get the expected result even for an inexperienced cook.

The higher the quality of the flour, the tastier the baked goods will be. The elasticity of the dough also depends on the quality of flour, which is especially important when there is a need to roll it thin. Pies made from low-quality flour turn out to be unappetizing in appearance and often have an unpleasant aftertaste.
Before combining flour with other ingredients, it must be sifted. Experienced cooks perform this manipulation twice. Its purpose is not only to rid the flour of small debris and insect larvae, but to saturate it with oxygen. After sifting, the flour becomes loose and light; it is easy to combine with other ingredients, preventing the formation of lumps. Baking made from such flour turns out more tender and airy than from wholemeal flour.
The classic pie dough is yeast dough. It can be made with live or dry yeast. The latter are fast-acting and the dough rises faster on them. If the dough is mixed with dry yeast, it is often used after the first rise. The dough, made with pressed yeast, is kneaded several times, at least twice.
The most delicious pies are made from rich yeast dough. It is called rich because it contains a significant amount of eggs, butter or margarine. They “weight” the dough, so it is made using the sponge method. To do this, activated yeast is mixed with milk, sugar and part of the flour, wait until the dough is ready, and then add fats and eggs.
Yeast dough is capricious, it is afraid of drafts. Some housewives even claim that it is able to respond to noises and bad moods. When making yeast dough for pies, you need to make sure that the room is warm. There is no need to move the container with the dough from place to place, but it won’t hurt to knead it from time to time.
Unleavened pie dough can also be rich and ordinary. Pies made from unleavened dough are almost as soft and tasty as those made from yeast dough. Products made from simple yeast-free dough may seem a bit bland, but they are lower in calories and are suitable for a lean, vegetarian diet.
The dough for fried pies is made slightly less dense than for baked ones.

Even with good dough, pies can turn out to be unappetizing if they are not prepared correctly. Preheat the oven before placing a baking sheet with pies in it. Before this, the products are given time to rest. To make them brown, they need to be greased with yolk. Lenten baked goods are brushed with tea leaves instead of yolks.

Classic yeast dough for pies

Compound:

wheat flour – 0.5 kg;
live yeast (pressed) – 30 g;
milk – 0.25 l;
butter – 50 g;
chicken egg – 1 pc.;
sugar – 20 g;
salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

Heat the milk to a temperature of 30-40 degrees, crumble the yeast into it, add sugar. Stir until the introduced components dissolve in the milk. Wait until the milk is covered with a foamy cap, which is evidence that the yeast has started working. If after 15-20 minutes no foam appears or it is very low, the yeast is of poor quality, you will have to replace it with others and prepare the starter again.
Melt the butter in a water bath or in the microwave. If you melt the butter over low heat, do not let it boil, otherwise the dough may become tough.
Break the egg into a bowl and whisk it with a fork along with the salt.
When the starter is ready, pour in the egg and butter, whisk or just mix well.
Sift the flour. Pour it into the liquid base in parts and stir, knead the dough. First, it is advisable to stir the products with your hands, then you need to put the dough on the table and complete the process of kneading the dough with your hands. Kneading is stopped when the dough stops sticking to your hands.
Place the dough in a tall but not wide pan, cover it with a cloth and place in a warm place.
After about 1.5 hours, the dough will rise, increasing in volume by 2-2.5 times. Punch it down and leave it until it rises again.

After rising the dough again, knead it and begin to form the pies. The total dough preparation time for this recipe is 2.5-3 hours.

Yeast dough for instant pies using dry yeast

Compound:

wheat flour – 0.65 kg;
dry instant yeast – 10 g;
salt – 2-3 g;
sugar – 40 g;
milk – 0.5 l;
refined vegetable oil – 40 ml.

Cooking method:

Heat the milk to 30-40 degrees, mix with sugar and yeast. If the liquid is hot, the yeast will “die”; in a cold environment, it will refuse to “work”.
When the starter is ready, that is, covered with a lush foamy cap, pour oil into it, add salt and mix well.
Add sifted flour to the ingredients in portions and knead the dough.
Place the dough in the pan, cover with a damp towel and place in a warm place to rise.
After 1-1.5 hours the dough will rise and be ready to use.

How to cook with kefir?

Instead of milk, kefir can be the basis for future baking. You will need 170 ml. You also need to prepare: 580 g flour, 60 ml. milk, ½ small spoon of salt, 2 raw eggs, 25 g pressed yeast, 1 tbsp. l. granulated sugar, 75 g quality butter.

The milk heats up minimally. It should reach body temperature.
Separately mix kefir, eggs, salt and butter, melted in the microwave.
Both masses are combined, yeast and sifted flour are poured into them. The components are thoroughly mixed
The very tender soft dough is placed in a warm place under a moistened towel until it rises 2-3 times. During this time, you need to knead the mass several times.
After the baked goods are formed, bagels, rolls or buns are placed on a baking sheet, covered again with a damp towel and “proofed” for another 10-12 minutes.

Sweet yeast dough for pies

Compound:

wheat flour – 0.5 kg;
butter or margarine – 120 g;
milk – 150 ml;
chicken egg – 1 pc.;
sugar – 40 g;
dry yeast – 10 g;
salt – 5 g.

Cooking method:

Dissolve a tablespoon of sugar and yeast in warm milk. Wait for a reaction.
Add the remaining sugar to the milk to “feed” the yeast, and salt. Stir.
Sift the flour. Add flour to the starter a handful at a time and stir until the mixture reaches the consistency of sour cream.
Leave the dough in a warm place. Wait for it to double in size.
Melt the butter or margarine, let it cool slightly, pour into the dough and mix well.
Whisk the egg in a clean cup, add it to the rest of the ingredients, and stir the dough again.
Add the remaining flour and knead the dough. Form it into a ball. Place in a pan and, covered with a cloth, place in a warm place to rise.

Butter pie dough turns out delicious in itself; you can use it to make not only pies, but also buns, even without filling. The process of preparing butter dough with yeast takes 3-3.5 hours. With dry yeast, the dough rises a little faster than with pressed yeast.

Yeast dough with kefir

This is another super quick recipe. Kefir will make the base for baking more tender and tasty. A slightly sour dairy product will also work. Ingredients: 11 g quick yeast, 1 tbsp. medium fat kefir, half a glass of vegetable oil, 3 tbsp. light wheat flour, 2 small. spoons of sugar and half as much salt.

The first step is to properly prepare the flour. From a high distance, it is sifted a couple of times into a wide container through a fine sieve. If you don’t have such a device at hand, a colander with the smallest holes will do.
Quick dry yeast is mixed with the prepared flour.
Separately, kefir is combined with vegetable oil, sweetened and salted.
The liquid and bulk parts are mixed.
After kneading, the mass is left to rise for about 35-45 minutes.
The risen dough should not stick to your fingers. It is kneaded and rolled out without additional flour.

From the resulting mass you can form the basis for baking.

Lenten yeast dough for pies

Compound:

wheat flour – 0.4 kg;
water – 0.2 l;
dry yeast – 7 g;
sugar – 15 g;
salt – 5 g;
vegetable oil – 40 ml.

Cooking method:

Boil water and cool to about 35 degrees. Pour yeast and sugar into it, stir. Wait for the yeast to start working.
Combine the starter with the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough.
Place the container with the dough in a warm place and wait for it to rise. This will happen in about an hour.

Punch down the dough and start making the pies. If they are made with a vegetable or mushroom filling, as well as with berries or fruits, they are suitable for fasting meals and will also appeal to vegetarians.

Unleavened dough for kefir pies

Compound:

wheat flour – 0.5 kg;
kefir – 0.2 l;
chicken egg – 3 pcs.;
vegetable oil or melted margarine – 100 ml;
salt – 5 g;
soda – 5 g.

Cooking method:

Remove the kefir and eggs from the refrigerator in advance so that they have time to warm to room temperature by the time the dough is prepared.
If using margarine, melt it and cool.
Sift the flour, mix it with salt. Make a hole in the flour mound.
Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk them with a whisk.
Pour kefir and butter into the eggs, add soda, and beat.
Pour the liquid mixture into the hole in the flour pile. Stir the ingredients with a spoon or spatula. You can also use a mixer with a special attachment for kneading the dough.
When the dough becomes too dense to stir, transfer the dough to a floured table and knead the dough with your hands.
Cover the dough with cling film and leave it for 10 minutes.

Sweet unleavened dough for pies with sour cream

Compound:

wheat flour – 0.35 kg;
sugar – 5 g;
salt – 2 g;
soda – 2 g;
baking powder for dough – 5 g;
chicken egg – 1 pc.;
sour cream – 0.2 l;
butter – 50 g.

Cooking method:

Remove the ingredients from the refrigerator some time before starting the dough kneading process. The butter should be soft by this time.
Combine butter with sour cream, salt, sugar and soda, beat with a whisk or mixer.
Add the egg and beat the ingredients together.
Sift the flour and mix with baking powder.
Combine the liquid mass with the dry mixture and knead the dough.
Form the dough into a ball, place it in a bag and leave for 15-20 minutes in a cool place, maybe even in the refrigerator.

After the specified time, the dough will be completely ready to work with. Pies made from it turn out no worse than those made with yeast dough, but the process of preparing it takes a little more than half an hour.

On the water

This is one of the most budget-friendly test options. It does not require dairy products or even eggs. Only: 260 ml. drinking purified water, 0.5-1 small spoon of salt, 6 tbsp. unflavoured butter, 570-590 g flour, 1 small spoon of sugar, 25 g pressed yeast.

Pies made from this dough are best baked in the oven.

The flour is sifted into a deep pan along with fine salt.
The yeast broken into small pieces is dissolved in a small amount of slightly warmed water.
When the dough is covered with small bubbles, it can be poured into the flour.
All liquid ingredients are added.
With hands moistened with oil, knead the dough - not too hard and soft.
Under a clean napkin in a place without drafts, the mass settles for about 50 minutes.

Unleavened dough for fried pies with mineral water or beer

Compound:

premium wheat flour – 0.5 kg;
sparkling mineral water or fresh beer – 0.2 l;
salt – 3 g;
refined vegetable oil – 40 ml.

Cooking method:

After sifting the flour, mix it with salt. Make a hole in it.
Mix mineral water or beer with oil and pour into the prepared hole.
Knead a dough that is soft but does not stick to your hands.
Let it sit for literally 10-15 minutes, protecting it from chapping with cling film, and start preparing the pies.

The dough according to this recipe turns out bubbly, the pies from it come out fluffy, tasty and appetizing. You can even prepare them during Lent by choosing the appropriate filling. This recipe should also appeal to vegetarians.

Yeast dough for fried pies

Dry French yeast is ideal for pie dough, because it rises almost instantly. Only 10-11 g of product will be enough. In addition, to prepare the dough under discussion, the following is used: 850 g flour, 1 tsp. salt, 430 ml. clean drinking water, 2 tsp. salt, 80 ml. unflavored oil.

This is the simplest recipe for yeast dough for fried pies.

The water is heated, half of the liquid from the specified amount is poured into a separate bowl, mixed with salt, yeast, sugar and about 120 g of flour. The solution is left warm for 25 minutes.
The dough has arrived, which means you can pour out the rest of the flour and add water. After thorough mixing, sunflower or olive oil is added to the components.
The finished mass is left warm under the lid. After 15 minutes, she kneads it with her hands and removes it for another 45 minutes until the next kneading.
The dough will rest for about 2 hours in total.
Next, you can bake the dish with any filling.