The Karjalanpiirakat with egg butter Love at first taste!
The first time I had a Karjalanpiirakka, I was a bit apprehensive as I didn’t know what to expect of a rye crust filled with rice and topped with egg butter, but it was love at first taste! Nowadays, I cannot leave Finland without having had at least one of these lovely pies.
Karelian pies are a traditional pasty from the region of Karelia, and you can find them with rice, mashed potato or carrot fillings. They are usually eaten with egg butter, a mixture of butter and chopped boiled egg, “munavoi” in Finnish, while still being hot.
Karjalanpiirakat
yields about 25 pieces
For the rice filling
250 g short-grain rice
1 tsp salt
500 ml water
1 l milk, preferably whole milk
50 g butter
For the dough
280 g fine rye flour, plus additional for dusting
1 tsp salt
200 ml cold water
50 g melted butter, for brushing
For the egg butter
5 eggs, boiled and chopped
200 g soft salted butter
Start with the filling as the dough is prone to drying out during the wait.
Filling
Put the rice and salt into a large pot and add the water. Bring it to a boil while stirring constantly. Lower the heat, stir in the milk and let it simmer for around 35 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the butter in the last 5 minutes of the simmering time and stir until fully incorporated.
Cool to room temperature before making the pasties.
Dough
In a bowl, combine the rye flour and salt. Add the cold water and work the dough together until stiff but smooth. Divide the dough into two parts and shape them into logs. Cover them with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out during the shaping.
Shaping
Line your baking trays with parchment paper.
Cut a little piece from the dough log and shape it into a ball. On a generously dusted work counter, roll the ball out to very thin circle, ca. 12-14 cm in diameter. Place the circles in a stack and cover them with a damp towel. Repeat for the rest of the dough.
Take a circle and place a couple of tablespoons of filling onto it. Then fold the edges in towards the middle and crimp them tightly so the whole pasty forms an oval. Place the shaped pie onto the prepared baking trays.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 250°C.
Bake for 5-10 minutes until lightly golden.
Take them out of the oven and immediately brush them with the melted butter.
