Karjalanpiirakka

Ingredients

• For the filling: 200g short-grain pudding rice
• 300ml water
• 1 litre whole milk
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 20g butter
• For the dough: 250g fine rye flour
• 80g plain flour, plus more for rolling
• 220ml cold water
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• For the glaze: 80g butter
• 100ml whole milk
• For the egg butter: 3 hard-boiled eggs
• 100g soft salted butter

Before you cook

• Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear.
• Hard-boil the eggs for 9 minutes, cool them under running water and peel them.
• Weigh out both flours and the salt into a bowl and stir them together.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment.
• Take the 100g of butter for the egg butter out of the fridge so it softens.

Steps

1. Put the rice and the 300ml of water in a heavy pan and bring it to the boil.
2. Simmer uncovered for 8 minutes until the water has been absorbed, stirring now and then.
3. Pour in the milk, drop in the butter and turn the heat to its lowest setting.
4. Cook the porridge for 40 minutes, stirring every few minutes and scraping the base so it does not catch.
5. Season the porridge with the teaspoon of salt and spread it on a tray to cool to room temperature.
6. Pour the 220ml of cold water into the flour bowl with the melted butter and mix to a stiff dough.
7. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes until it is smooth and no longer sticky.
8. Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 16 equal pieces, then roll each into a ball.
9. Heat your oven to its maximum, ideally 260C, with a baking stone or heavy tray inside if you have one.
10. Dust the work surface heavily with rye flour and roll one ball into an oval about 14cm long and as thin as paper.
11. Repeat with the rest, stacking the ovals with a dusting of rye flour between each so they do not stick.
12. Spoon two tablespoons of cold rice porridge down the centre of one oval and spread it out, leaving a 2cm border.
13. Fold the two long edges up over the filling and crimp them at 1cm intervals with wet fingertips, pinching and twisting as you go.
14. Fill and crimp the rest, then lay them on the lined sheets.
15. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the exposed rye edges are blistered and dark in patches.
16. Melt the 80g of butter with the 100ml of milk in a small pan while the pies bake.
17. Brush the hot pies generously with the buttered milk the moment they leave the oven, then stack them under a tea towel for 10 minutes to soften.
18. Chop the boiled eggs finely and mash them into the soft butter with a fork and a pinch of salt.
19. Serve the pies warm with a spoonful of egg butter on each.