When I was ten years old and in grade six, my mom made Lasineciai for me to take to school to share as part of my presentation on Lithuania. The class was learning about multiculturalism and each student had to do a presentation about their ancestral country and its cultural heritage.
I wore a traditional Lithuanian costume that my mom cut down to fit me, and practised a traditional folk dance to an old vinyl recording of Klumpakojis (clog dance). I was one of the youngest in the class, shy at school and I dreaded having to dance in front of everyone. But my mom said I should give everyone a bun before I put on the music and they would be too busy eating to stare and laugh. She was right.
Refrigerator Dough (prepare 1 day ahead of baking)
- 2 cups milk (or evaporated milk)
- 1/2 lb butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pkg dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp)
- 5 eggs
- 6 cups flour, sifted
- yolk of 1 egg (for basting)
- In a 2 quart saucepan, heat milk, butter, sugar and salt to 120-130 degrees F and continue heating until butter is fully melted.
- Pour off 1/2 cup of this mixture and dissolve yeast in this 1/2 cup.
- Beat eggs and add to remaining warm milk mix.
- Add dissolved yeast mixture.
- Stir in sifted flour and beat vigorously.
- Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise in a warm place (around 82 degrees F) for about two hours.
- Punch down the risen dough and refrigerate overnight.
Next day, prepare the filling and assemble rolls:
Filling
- 1-1/2 lbs bacon
- 1 large onion
- 1/2 lb ham
- Dice bacon, onion and ham into very small pieces.
- In a large skillet, cover bacon and onion with water.
- Simmer until water evaporates completely and only bacon fat, bacon and onion remain.
- Stir in ham and cool in refrigerator.
- Remove dough from fridge and roll out the dough on a floured surface to a thickness of about 3/8 inch.
- The dough is very soft, so sprinkle on more flour as necessary to roll out smoothly.
- Cut rolled dough into rounds about 3 inches in diameter.
- Place a tablespoon of the bacon mix in the center of each round and fold the sides of the circle over the bacon.
- Pinch edges together, using fingertips dampened in water if edges resist sealing.
- Place the buns on lightly-greased cookie sheets and allow the dough to rise again — about 2 hours if the dough is cold, 30-45 minutes if the dough is warm.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Mix one egg yolk with 2 Tbsp water and brush the top of each roll with this mixture.
- Pop the buns in the oven and bake at 325 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.
- Serve warm or cold.
- After your first bite, say, "Kaip skanaus!" (Very tasty)
