Pirozhki

The diminutive of pirog (pie); pirozhki literally means "little pies." Documented in Russian cookery from the 16th century onward, with roots in earlier Slavic ritual breads. Working-class fuel by the 19th century — Dostoevsky's characters buy them on the street. The shift from oven-baked to oil-fried versions came with urbanization in the late 1800s, when street vendors needed faster turnover than a brick oven allowed.

The diminutive of pirog—little pies. Documented from 16th-century Russian cookery and named in Dostoevsky's street scenes. Oven-baked first, then late-1800s urbanization pushed vendors to oil-frying for faster turnover. Filling must be pre-cooked or the dough goes gummy from inside.

Hand-sized stuffed buns, oval or half-moon, baked golden or shallow-fried until blistered. Fillings split into savory (ground beef and onion, cabbage, mashed potato with dill (a Soviet-era addition; pre-Soviet savory fillings centered on fish, rice, semolina and cabbage), hard-boiled egg with rice and scallion) and sweet (apple, sour cherry, farmer's cheese). Eaten warm out of hand. Street food for a hundred and fifty years; train-station vendors in Russia still call them out by filling.

The dough is enriched (milk, egg, sometimes butter) and yeast-leavened — too lean and the bun goes hard; too rich and it fries unevenly. The savory fillings are always pre-cooked and cooled before wrapping; raw filling steams the dough from inside and gives a gummy crumb. Sealing the seam by pinching, not crimping, is what keeps the filling from leaking in oil.