Karelian pies

Name: Karelian pies
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 16 pies
Cuisine: Finnish
Ingredients: 150 g Short-grain rice, pudding rice; 300 ml Water; 700 ml Milk; 20 g Butter; 1 tsp Salt; 200 g Rye flour, fine, plus more for rolling; 50 g Wheat flour, plain wheat; 150 ml Water, cold; 0.5 tsp Salt; 50 g Butter, melted; 50 ml Milk, warm; 3 piece Egg, hard-boiled, peeled, chopped; 75 g Butter, soft; 0.5 tsp Salt

Karjalanpiirakka

Finnish rye-crusted oval pies with rice porridge filling, brushed with butter and eaten with egg butter.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Karjalanpiirakka.

Start cooking

Prep: 1 hr
Cook: 1 hr
Rest: None
Total: 2 hr
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

Karjalanpiirakat are small oval pies with a thin, crimped rye crust around a filling of soft rice porridge. The crust is unleavened rye and water, rolled paper thin; the filling is short-grain rice cooked slowly in milk until it is thick and creamy. They bake hot and fast so the crust blisters, then are brushed with butter and milk while warm to soften them. The traditional topping is munavoi, egg butter: chopped hard-boiled egg mashed into soft butter with salt. Rolling the rye thin enough takes a few tries. The first ones will be thick. That is fine; they still taste right.

What you'll need

14 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 14 ready

16 servings

Rice porridge
Crust
Glaze
Egg butter

Ingredients

Servings

Rice porridge

Short-grain rice, pudding rice150 g
Water300 ml
Milk700 ml
Butter20 g
Salt4.9 ml

Crust

Rye flour, fine, plus more for rolling200 g
Wheat flour, plain wheat50 g
Water, cold150 ml
Salt2½ ml

Glaze

Butter, melted50 g
Milk, warm50 ml

Egg butter

Egg, hard-boiled, peeled, chopped3
Butter, soft75 g
Salt2½ ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Bring the rice and water to a boil and simmer until the water is absorbed, 8 minutes. Add the milk, lower the heat and cook very gently, stirring often, until thick and creamy, 40 minutes. Stir in the butter and salt. Cool completely.
50 min
Watch: Milk porridge catches on the bottom. Low heat, heavy pan, stir.
Step 2
Mix the rye flour, wheat flour and salt. Add the cold water and knead briefly to a firm, smooth dough. Roll into a log and cut into 16 pieces. Keep them covered.
10 min
Step 3
Heat the oven as hot as it goes, 250 to 275°C, with a tray inside. On a rye-floured surface roll each piece into a very thin oval about 12 by 15 cm. Stack with rye flour between them.
25 min275°C
Tip: The crust should be thin enough to see the shadow of your hand through it.
Step 4
Spread 2 tablespoons of porridge down the middle of each oval, leaving a 2 cm border. Fold the long edges in over the filling and pinch them into a tight crimp with thumb and forefinger all the way along, leaving the centre open.
15 min
Step 5
Slide onto the hot tray and bake 10 to 15 minutes until the crust is blistered and the filling has brown spots.
15 min275°C
Step 6
Mix the melted butter and warm milk. Dip or brush each hot pie generously, then stack them under a towel for 15 minutes to soften.
15 min
Step 7
For the egg butter, mash the chopped eggs into the soft butter with salt. Serve the pies warm or at room temperature with a spoon of egg butter on each.

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 179 kcal
Protein: 4.8 g
Carbs: 17.1 g
Fat: 10.2 g
Saturated fat: 5.9 g
Fibre: 0.5 g
Sugar: 2.6 g
Sodium: 356 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Wheat
Milk
Eggs

Vegetarian
Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.

Substitutions

Rice porridge filling → Mashed potato seasoned with butter and salt
Perunapiirakka, equally traditional in Karelia.

Tips

Make the porridge the day before. Cold porridge spreads cleanly; warm porridge tears the crust.
If your crust cracks when folded it is too dry; knead in a teaspoon of water.
They freeze well. Reheat from frozen at 200°C for 8 minutes and brush with butter again.

History & culture

Breakfast, coffee-table food and the thing every Finnish supermarket sells in packs of six. Finns eat them cold or warmed with egg butter, or topped with cheese and ham as a snack. They are made in huge batches for weddings and funerals. Mashed potato or carrot fillings exist but rice is the standard.

From Karelia, the eastern region split between Finland and Russia in 1944. Evacuated Karelians carried the pies west and they became national. Older versions used barley; rice replaced it once imported grain was cheap. The EU protects the name for the traditional method.

Traditional

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Karelian pies take?

2 hr all in — 1 hr prep, 1 hr cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 16 pies. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Nut-free.

8 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Saucepan, Rolling pin, Baking tray, Oven.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.

What can I use instead?

Rice porridge filling → Mashed potato seasoned with butter and salt. Perunapiirakka, equally traditional in Karelia.

What should I watch for?

Milk porridge catches on the bottom. Low heat, heavy pan, stir.

Any tips from this recipe?

Make the porridge the day before. Cold porridge spreads cleanly; warm porridge tears the crust. If your crust cracks when folded it is too dry; knead in a teaspoon of water. They freeze well. Reheat from frozen at 200°C for 8 minutes and brush with butter again.

Can I prepare this ahead?

They freeze well. Reheat from frozen at 200°C for 8 minutes and brush with butter again.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.