Arkhangelsk home cook shares apple-lingonberry pies

Apples and lingonberries — a classic northern pairing that yields aromatic, juicy pies. A resident of the village of Konyevo (Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia), Asima Staritsyna, explains how to make the dough, shares the secrets of the filling, and describes the little surprises she hides for guests in the bake.

Ingredients

Dough

• Kefir — 250 ml

• Margarine — 70 g

• Flour — 500 g

• Instant dry yeast — 11 g

• Sugar — 2 tbsp

• Salt — 0.5 tsp

• Baking soda — 0.5 tsp

• Baking powder — 0.5 tsp

• Egg — 1 pc. (optional)

• Vegetable oil

• Sour cream or cream (optional) — for a more tender dough
  
  

Filling

• Apples — 2–3 pcs. (medium)

• Lingonberries or cranberries — 150 g

• Starch — 0.5 tbsp

• Sugar — to taste

• A few whole berries — for garnish and tartness

Knead the dough

Start with the liquid ingredients. Warm a cup of kefir and 70 grams of margarine in the microwave.

We will knead the dough in a stainless-steel bowl or enameled dish. First, be sure to grease the sides of the vessel with oil.

Sift half a kilo of flour. Add 11 grams of instant dry yeast, then two tablespoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix all this gently.

Then sprinkle in half a teaspoon of baking soda and the same amount of baking powder.

«Usually, they don’t recommend adding an egg to this kind of dough. But I add one anyway — it makes the dough drier, which is what we need, since the filling will be raw: apples and lingonberries,» clarifies Asima Staritsyna.

After that, gently mix everything and pour in the kefir–margarine mixture warmed in the microwave.

If the dough is too loose, you can add a little more flour. If you like, you can also add sour cream or heavy cream to make the dough even more tender — but it’s optional.

When the dough starts to pull away from the sides and becomes firm after kneading, put it in a warm place to proof.

«I always let it proof for at least an hour — in a warm place, in a bag or under a towel. Two or three times during this period, you need to come back and punch it down,» she says.

Make the filling

For the filling, take two or three apples. If they’re hard, you can brush them with oil and pre-bake them in the microwave. You don’t have to peel them. Cut the apples into quarters, then into small cubes.

Mash 150 grams of lingonberries or cranberries with a masher to release a bit of moisture.

Then mix the apples with the berries, add half a tablespoon of starch, and sugar to taste.

«I have another fun trick: after I spoon in the filling, I add a few unmashed berries on top. When the pies are baked, those individual berries burst in your mouth and add tartness,» says the home cook.

Bake and serve

After an hour, divide the dough into 30–50 gram balls. Roll them out with a rolling pin and add the filling.

Arrange on a baking sheet and don’t forget to prick the tops of the pies with a fork.

«In a Russian stove, we judge doneness by the heat. When I bake in an oven, I set it to 180°C (356°F). Fifteen to twenty minutes — and they’re done,» says the Konyevo resident.

The pies can be served with tea, cocoa, or sbiten (spiced honey drink). It makes for a fine autumn table.

Asima Staritsyna notes that you can also bake one large pie using this recipe. The only difference is not to mix the filling: first spread apples on the baking sheet, then berries on top. If you like, you can decorate the pastry with braids of dough.

Earlier, the skilled home cook already told us how to bake chudo-kalitki (Karelian rye pies) with potatoes.

We also published an apple pie recipe for beginners or the lazy.

Try making the most delicious pies with mushrooms.

And to stay healthy this autumn, make a few vitamin drinks to support immunity. And don’t forget about healthy berries.