Russian Pie Recipe breaks into little pieces?

I am trying to make Russian Pies, I tried following the recipe in this video.

I put 3 1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour in a bowl. And then I put 2 tbl spoons of baking powder and a small table spoon of table salt. 3/4 of a cup of canola oil. 1 cup of milk. Mixed them together, divided the dough into 4 equal pi on an electric stove, let them rest for 2 minutes. Start putting them in a pan with oil to cook one layer of the Russian Pie and spray the pan with oil and put it on the medium heat and leave it in the pan for 2 minutes, and at the end it turns brown and breaks into little pieces, not like what is in the video.

And it has a bitter taste.

What did I do wrong?

Best Answer

If the bread is breaking up and turning brown, I think the heat is too high and/or there isn't enough oil in the pan (possibly both). Try a lower heat and slightly more oil (making sure to let the oil heat up before adding the bread). Electric stoves can be unpredictable!

The bitter taste might be from the burnt elements, but I think it's more likely that you're adding too much baking powder, which tastes unpleasant if it hasn't fully reacted (and could also be contributing to breaking the dough up). Try one teaspoon instead of two tablespoons (drastically too much for the amount of flour you're using).

I'm not sure from you description, but are you cooking one side before joining it to the other? That won't work - you won't be able to press them together, as one will be a cooked bread rather than a dough. Form the whole bread before putting it in the pan.

I'm afraid I don't speak the language in the video you've linked, but I think I recognise what you're trying to make - a filled khachapuri (a Georgian rather than Russian dish).