Fresh Cheese and Dill Pies

How to prepare fresh cheese and dill pies

1. Mix the yogurt, melted and cooled butter, and oil well. Add the egg and mix again until the mixture is smooth.
2. Pour the mixture over the flour sifted with salt and baking powder. Knead until the dough comes together. You can continue kneading by hand for another 10 minutes (this dough is very easy to work with) or put the dough through one cycle in a bread machine (I kneaded it for 3 minutes in a Thermomix). The dough is very silky and elastic.
3. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 to 2 hours (if it's very warm in the kitchen, over 22°C, put it in the fridge on the bottom shelf).
4. Divide the dough into two equal pieces.
5. Place a clean cotton tablecloth on the table and dust it with flour. Roll out each piece of dough into as square a sheet as possible, about 45cm per side. I rolled out the dough mostly with the rolling pin and at the end pulled the edges by hand so they wouldn't be thicker than the rest. You'll get a thin sheet through which you can see the tablecloth pattern.
6. Brush the sheet with melted butter. Fold the sheet in half so the edges meet in the center (see photo 5). Brush with butter again. Fold in half right through the area where the edges met (see photo 6). You'll get a long, rectangular sheet.
8. Brush the top of the sheet with melted butter. Fold the sheet in half so the short edges meet in the center (see photo 7). Brush the sheet with butter. Fold in half again right through the area where the edges met (see photo 8). You'll get a roughly square sheet.
9. Wrap both pieces of folded dough in plastic wrap and leave them in the fridge for 15 minutes to relax a bit.
10. Mix the cheese with the chopped dill and grated onion. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add the egg and mix until smooth.
11. When you're ready to make the pies, cut each piece of dough in half (see photo 9). You'll have 4 pieces, so you'll make 4 pies.
12. On the floured tablecloth, roll out each piece of dough into a sheet about 25 x 35cm (it won't be quite as thin as the first rolling, but you should still be able to see the tablecloth pattern through it).
14. Place 1/4 of the filling along one long edge of each sheet (I used a pastry bag to get even thickness; I recommend you do the same for a nice final appearance). Roll from that side to get a log.
15. Place the logs on a baking tray lined with parchment paper (I could only fit 2 logs at a time in my tray, diagonally; I kept the rest covered with plastic until it was their turn to bake). Brush the logs with egg beaten with yogurt and 1 tablespoon of water. Sprinkle with coarse salt and nigella/sesame seeds or chili flakes.
16. Bake the pies at 200°C for 20 minutes (until golden). Turn the tray halfway through baking.
17. After they cool, cut the pies into pieces (4-6 pieces per roll) with a serrated knife. They're good warm or cold.

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