BASIC PIEROGI DOUGH—SAVORY AND SWEET

Makes enough dough for 24

THIS RECIPE IS THE TEMPLATE for every pierogi you’ll make in this book, and it’s a wonderfully forgiving dough for beginning bakers. There’s no finicky yeast to deal with and thus no rising time, just a brief resting period so the flour can become supple and smooth. If you don’t measure your ingredients by weight, it’s important to use the spoon-and-sweep method instead of dipping a measuring cup directly into the flour. When you scoop with a measuring cup, the flour is compacted into the cup, adding up to 1 extra ounce of weight (1 / 4 cup of volume) to each cupful. That translates to too much flour in the dough and tough, chewy pierogies. So either grab a kitchen scale and make life easier, or lightly fluff the flour with a spoon, then use the spoon to fill the measuring cup, leveling excess flour off with a knife.

2 large eggs

1 / 2 cup (4 ounces, 113 grams) sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (full-fat, reduced-fat, or nonfat)

3 tablespoons (1 1 / 2 ounces, 43 grams) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

For savory pierogies: 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For sweet pierogies: 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 / 4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups (8 1 / 2 ounces, 240 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon water

Whisk 1 egg, sour cream or yogurt, butter, and salt (for savory pierogies) or sugar and salt (for sweet pierogies) in a bowl. Add flour to a large bowl. Gently stir wet ingredients into flour. Thedough will initially be very dry and shaggy, seeming as if it will never come together, but have no fear: Keep stirring, and it will pull itself into shape.

Once the dough starts to come together, press and smash it against the sides of the bowl with your palms, picking up dough bits and essentially kneading it within the bowl until it forms a ball.

Tip dough and any remaining shaggy flakes out onto a clean work surface or Roul’Pat. Knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Cover dough with the bowl and let rest 15 minutes. Whisk remaining egg and water in a small bowl for egg wash.