From the editors kuchnia polska

Mazovian Sojki with Cabbage, Millet, and Mushrooms

Name: Mazovian Sojki with Cabbage, Millet, and Mushrooms
Prep time: 70 min
Cook time: 65 min
Total time: 240 min
Cuisine: kuchnia polska
Ingredients: 500 g wheat flour; 250 ml milk (lukewarm); 20 g fresh yeast; 1 pc egg; 60 g butter (melted and cooled); 10 g sugar; 8 g salt; 500 g sauerkraut (mass after squeezing); 100 g millet (dry); 20 g dried mushrooms (porcini or bay boletes); 150 g onion; 40 ml rapeseed oil; 1 pc bay leaf; salt and pepper (to taste); 1 pc egg (for brushing)

Large baked yeast pierogi filled with sauerkraut, millet, and dried mushrooms. A meatless version with a decorative edge sealing.

Servings: 6 servings
Prep time: 1 h 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 4 h
Difficulty: Medium

Ilustracja AI: Sójki mazowieckie z kapustą, kaszą jaglaną i grzybami – propozycja podania

The story behind the recipe

Mazovian sojka is a baked pieróg made from yeast dough, particularly associated with the Cegłów area. The traditional product is characterized by the shape of a large pieróg and a filling of cabbage and millet. Among the variations, there are fillings that include meat or vegetable fat.

We choose the version without bacon: with sauerkraut, millet, onion, and dried mushrooms. The millet absorbs moisture, but the filling should not be placed in wet or hot dough. Sojki taste great as a standalone snack or with a cup of borscht. Their large size distinguishes them from small pastries.

Ingredients

Dough

500 g wheat flour
250 ml milk (lukewarm)
20 g fresh yeast
1 pc egg
60 g butter (melted and cooled)
10 g sugar
8 g salt

Filling

500 g sauerkraut (mass after squeezing)
100 g millet (dry)
20 g dried mushrooms (porcini or bay boletes)
150 g onion
40 ml rapeseed oil
1 pc bay leaf
salt and pepper (to taste)

Topping

1 pc egg (for brushing)

Method, step by step

Rinse the dried mushrooms, pour about 400 ml of water over them, and soak for 30–60 minutes until softened. Then cook in this liquid for about 25–30 minutes. Drain, reserving the strained broth, and finely chop the mushrooms. While soaking, start preparing the dough according to the following steps: the filling and rising can be done simultaneously.
Chop the cabbage and place it in a pot with the bay leaf. Pour in about 150 ml of mushroom broth, adding water if necessary. Simmer covered for 30–40 minutes until soft, then uncover and evaporate. Remove the leaf.
Rinse the millet in a sieve, pour hot water over it, and cook until soft according to the package instructions. Drain thoroughly. Chop the onion, sauté it in oil until translucent, and add the mushrooms for 2–3 minutes.
Combine the cabbage, millet, onion, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper, mix, and let it cool completely. The filling should be moist but without free liquid.
Crush the yeast with sugar, part of the lukewarm milk, and a tablespoon of flour taken from the total. Set aside for 10–15 minutes until the mixture is visibly frothy.
To the remaining flour, add salt, egg, the rest of the milk, and the yeast mixture. Knead for about 8 minutes, adding the cooled butter at the end. The dough should be soft and elastic. Cover and let it rise until doubled in volume, usually 60–75 minutes.
Divide the dough into 12 equal parts. Roll each into a circle about 15–17 cm in diameter. Place a portion of cold filling on one half, leaving a clean edge.
Fold the circles in half and seal tightly, pushing out the air from the filling side. You can twist the edge into a decorative braid. If the filling has stained the edge, clean it before sealing.
Place the sojki on a baking sheet lined with paper, spaced apart. Lightly cover and leave for 20–25 minutes to puff up. Preheat the oven to 185°C, top and bottom.
Brush with beaten egg and make a small hole on top to release steam. Bake for 25–30 minutes until evenly golden brown. If using two baking sheets, bake them one after the other or use settings suitable for your oven.
Transfer to a rack and wait at least 10 minutes. Cut one sojka: the dough near the filling should not have a raw, sticky layer. If necessary, bake the entire batch for a few more minutes.
Serve warm with borscht or as a snack. Quickly cool any portion intended for the next day, and then reheat in the oven.

Tips

Filling. It must cool down and be scoopable without leaking liquid. Too wet filling will tear the edge, while overly dry filling will crumble when cut. Before sealing, taste the combined filling, not just the individual ingredients.

Mushrooms. Use dried edible mushrooms from a reliable source. Strain the soaking water through a fine sieve; if there is sand at the bottom, do not pour in the last layer. Soak in the fridge if doing it overnight.

Yeast. The milk should be lukewarm, around 30–35°C. Hot liquid will damage the yeast. Assess the rising by the increase in volume, not just by the minutes. Instead of 20 g of fresh yeast, you can use about 7 g of instant yeast according to the label.

Abroad. Look for hulled millet, sauerkraut, and dried porcini. Millet is not couscous. The cabbage should be fermented, not just acidified with vinegar.

Storage. After cooling, store in the fridge at 4°C within two hours. Use within 3 days or freeze. Reheat at 160°C until hot in the center, loosely covered with paper or foil to prevent the crust from drying out.

AI Illustrations. The images in the guide are photorealistic illustrations of the preparation stages and serving suggestions, generated using AI. They are not documentation of an actual cooking attempt.

Photos

Ilustracja AI: Sójki mazowieckie z kapustą, kaszą jaglaną i grzybami – zbliżenie gotowej porcji

Ilustracja AI: Sójki mazowieckie z kapustą, kaszą jaglaną i grzybami – inne ujęcie podania

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