In a pan, over medium heat, add 1/4 cup of sunflower oil. After about 1 minute, when the oil is shimmering, add the drained sour cabbage (sauerkraut) and sauté for about 15 minutes until the cabbage softens. You want the cabbage to soften but not brown, so if it’s starting to brown, adjust the heat to medium-low or low accordingly.

To the sautéed sour cabbage, add the black pepper and hot paprika (or cayenne/paprika mixture) and mix well. Set it aside to cool down while working on the dough in the next step.

Combine the warm milk and sparkling water, and then add the yeast, mixing it in, then the sugar and oil.

Combine the salt with 1 lb of flour and then add it to the milk-water-yeast mixture (1/3 of the flour at a time, while mixing with a spatula).

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adding 1 tbsp of flour from the extra 1/3 cup (50 grams of flour) at a time if the dough is too wet. We used up the entire additional 1/3 cup of flour while kneading, but you may not have to (as it depends on the flour you’re using and how wet/sticky the resulting dough is).

Put the dough in a well-oiled bowl and cover it with cling film (saran wrap) and a towel, and leave it to rest in a warm spot for 25 minutes.

Roll the dough into a cylinder and divide it into six equal parts, which you’ll make into round balls.

Oil the surface you’re using and your hands and stretch out each ball of dough using a rolling pin and then stack them (brushing each layer with oil).

Now, stretch each round (one at a time) with your hands or a rolling pin until you have a very thin (see-through) square-shaped dough. Add sour cabbage/sauerkraut to the bottom 1/3 of the dough and then gently roll the dough over, forming a cylinder (pictured below).

Twist the cylinder around to form a spiral-shaped round pie.

Place baking paper over a cookie sheet/baking tray. Add the pies to them. Beat an egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water and brush the pies with the egg yolk wash.

Bake in the preheated oven at 360°F(180°C) for 35-40 minutes until the pies are golden-brown and cooked through.

After removing them from the oven, cover them with a clean kitchen towel, and let them rest for about 10 minutes before serving them.