Khuplu in Chuvash

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 3 hr 10 mins

1. STEP 1

   

   How to bake Khupla in Chuvash style? Prepare the necessary ingredients. All products should be at room temperature, this will improve the process of rising the dough. Therefore, remove everything from the refrigerator in advance. It is better to take the highest grade wheat flour. It is most suitable for yeast baked goods. Fine grinding of flour allows you to get a fluffy and lifting dough.

2. STEP 2

   

   Take a bowl, add yeast and 1 tsp. sugar, add warm water (35-40 degrees), stir. If the water temperature is higher, the yeast may die. Leave the yeast for 15 minutes until a foamy “cap” forms. Keep in mind that the “cap” will require free space. So take a deep bowl or glass.

3. STEP 3

   

   Sift the flour through a fine sieve into a suitable container. To prevent flour from scattering across the surface, take a wider bowl.

4. STEP 4

   

   Beat the egg into a bowl. Add salt and remaining sugar, beat until smooth. How to beat an egg? Here you can do this with a fork or a small whisk. No mixer or blender required. Wash the egg with baking soda before use, as there may be harmful bacteria on its surface.

5. STEP 5

   

   Pour lukewarm milk into the egg and stir. Milk can be heated on the stove.

6. STEP 6

   

   Add the appropriate yeast (on which a foamy cap has appeared) into the bowl and stir.

7. STEP 7

   

   Pour in vegetable oil, stir again.

8. STEP 8

   

   Add about 3/4 of the total amount of flour. How to make yeast dough more fluffy? To do this, sift the flour through a fine sieve. If desired, you can do this directly into the bowl of dough. It is better to take a small strainer so as not to stain the table around the dishes.

9. STEP 9

   

   Stir. How to properly add flour to dough? Do not pour out all the flour at once, add it in parts. After all, a little less or more flour may be needed. It depends on its quality, properties, manufacturer. When you first knead, you should have a fairly sticky dough.

10. STEP 10

    

    Add flour in small portions, stirring the dough each time. For yeast dough, it is very important not to overfill the flour, otherwise it will be tight and take a long time to rise.

11. STEP 11

    

    The dough should be soft, pliable, slightly sticky to your hands, but at the same time it should hold its shape and not spread. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, covering the top with a towel to prevent it from airing.

12. STEP 12

    

    Meanwhile, start preparing the filling. If the meat is frozen, defrost it in advance by placing it in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf overnight. This way the meat won't release a lot of juice. To make the filling more juicy and tasty, it is better to take a ham or neck of pork. It’s better not to take the brisket, the filling will be dry. But you can compensate for this by adding a little butter.

13. STEP 13

    

    Peel the onion, wash it, cut it into small cubes. Which bow should I take? It doesn't really matter in this recipe. As you can see, I have red onions, but you can also use white ones.

14. STEP 14

    

    Peel the potatoes, pre-washed in running water with a brush, and cut into small cubes.

15. STEP 15

    

    Wash the meat, dry with a towel, and cut into small cubes. The shape and size of the ingredients for the filling should be the same. What is it for? A pie with such filling will look more impressive and beautiful both in finished form and in cut. Plus it will be more enjoyable to eat.

16. STEP 16

    

    Combine meat, potatoes, onions in one bowl, add salt and pepper. How much salt and pepper should you add? Be guided by this to your taste. Add your favorite spices if desired. Mix everything well.

17. STEP 17

    

    After 1 hour and 20 minutes, my dough came together well. This may take you less or more time. The process is very dependent on the quality of the yeast, air temperature, ambient sounds, etc. Sometimes it takes up to three hours to get up.

18. STEP 18

    

    Punch down the dough and place it on a table sprinkled with flour. Divide the dough into 2/3 and 1/3. If you wish, you can leave a little dough to decorate the top of the pie.

19. STEP 19

    

    Roll out most of the dough into a round so that it extends to the edges of your pan. My mold diameter is 22 cm.

20. STEP 20

    

    Grease the mold with vegetable oil. Transfer the dough using a rolling pin (by wrapping it around it) and carefully spread it over the pan.

21. STEP 21

    

    Spread the filling evenly onto the dough and smooth it out.

22. STEP 22

    

    Roll out the second part of the dough in the same way. Its diameter should be smaller than the first. Ideally, it is equal to the diameter of the mold. To make the circles evener, you can use special mats for rolling out the dough.

23. STEP 23

    

    Cover the top of the pie with the rolled out dough and seal the edges well.

24. STEP 24

    

    In the center of the pie, make a round hole with a diameter of at least 3 cm. If the hole is small, it may close during baking as the volume of the dough will increase. The hole is necessary for steam to escape and to check the filling for readiness. If desired, decorate the pie with dough patterns. I made a simple braid and petals.

25. STEP 25

    

    Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg.

26. STEP 26

    

    Bake the khupla in an oven preheated to 180 C for about 1.5 hours. Cooking times may vary depending on the operation of your oven. After 30 minutes of baking, be sure to cover the top of the cake with foil to prevent it from drying out and burning. Even though I covered the pie, it was still quite browned. Remove the finished pie from the oven, cover with a towel and let stand in the pan for 15 minutes. And only then take it out!

27. STEP 27

    

    Serve the khuplu pie hot, cutting off the top-lid. Why cut off the top? This is how it is done in the traditional serving of this festive Chuvash pie. Bon appetit!

Comments on the recipe

elene

27.11.2023

4.6

This pie somehow reminded me of a Tatar pie - balish with meat. Both pies are real beauties!