My momma is here for baby time and so the baking has begun. First on the list, a long-time family favorite: bierocks. These are a german dish, sometimes called runzas, that are especially popular in the midwest. Quite basically, they are little hamburger-filled buns and my little sisters love eating them with ketchup. When she makes them my momma goes all out with the production-assembly line, and there are often more than enough to feed our family of nine, hand out to friends and pop in the freezer for later as well. I loved taking them to school for lunch and telling the other kids that I was eating a bierock, pronounced beer-rock. I went to catholic school and it felt totally bad.
I'm sure there are many ways of making them, but this is our family recipe. It's totally comfort food, hearty and filling and warm for the oncoming chill.
Ingredients
For the Bread:
2 c. warm water
2 packages (5 tsp) dry active yeast
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c. + 1/4 c. canola oil
1 egg, beaten
6 1/2 - 7 c. flour (1 c. of unbleached all-purpose flour for every 3 cups of whole wheat flour)
For the Filling:
2 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, choppped
1 small head of cabbage, chopped
head of garlic, minced
1/2 c. water
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter
Firstly, mix up the bread dough. Starting with the warm water and yeast, stir until frothy in a large bowl. Add the sugar, egg and 1/4 c. oil and beat with a fork. Slowly add the flour, mixing with a wooden spoon until that becomes too difficult and then knead. Once the dough is smooth and the flour is mixed in, pour the remaining 1/4 c. oil in the bowl and turn the dough in it so it is nice and shiny. Cover with a towel and set in a warm-ish place to rise (about an hour).
While the bread is rising, you can start in on the filling. In a large kettle, brown the ground beef with water, onion, and garlic. In a separate pot, steam the chopped cabbage with a small amount of water (enough to cover bottom of pot) until tender. Add the cabbage to the meat mixture and cook through and through, flavoring with salt and pepper to taste.
Once the dough has doubled in size, pull off a small, fist-sized hunk and roll flat on a floured surface. With a sharp knife (paring knife is good), make a slice down the middle vertically and two cuts vertically so you have 6 even rectangle shapes.
Scoop out a heaping spoonful of the meat mixture into the center of each rectangle. Pull up the sides of the dough square around the meat and pinch them closed, making a neat little bundle. Repeat until you run out of filling, nestling the buns into a well-oiled pan. Pop them into a 350o oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden brown.
When you take the bierocks out of the oven, run the tablespoon of butter over the hots buns so it gets melty and delicious. Eat piping hot, or let them cool a bit.
If you have extra bread dough, it makes excellent cinnamon rolls or apple walnut turnovers, as well.
*as I've been writing this, I've been having fairly regular, intense contractions... baby time?
