How to Bake Bierocks

Makes: 15 rolls

Preparation time: 2 hours

Cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients needed to make Bierocks:

For the dough:

• 4 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup sugar

For the filling:

• 4 cups cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 lb hamburger
• ½ cup red onion, finely chopped
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Cooking instructions for Bierocks:

• To make the filling, drizzle small amount of oil in a large skillet and throw in the veggies.
• Sauté them for about 5-6 minutes, stirring periodically, until they soften and caramelize.
• Sprinkle a pinch of cayenne pepper as well as a dash of seasoning and stir fry further until most of the moisture in the mixture ebbs away.
• Place the hamburger in a separate skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes or until it browns.
• Tip the sautéed veggie mixture into the browned meat and stir them all together to mix well.
• Cook further for a couple of minutes and remove from heat; set aside.
• To make the dough, empty a couple of cups flour into a large mixing bowl and stir in the active dry yeast.
• Pour the milk in a saucepan, along with a large splodge of butter as well as a dash of salt and heat until the butter melts and the mixture reaches 120 degrees F; continue to stir the mixture relentlessly all this time.
• Drizzle it over the dry ingredients in a steady stream while beating it into the flour at the same time, until all of it is incorporated the mixture.
• Crack the eggs and stir them all together until well combined and the mixture clumps together to form a dough.
• Continue to beat the dough with an electric mixer, at a low speed for a minute and then increase the speed to high before processing it for another 3 minutes.
• Dust rest of the flour into the dough and incorporate it into the dough until mixed properly.
• Transfer it onto a floured working counter and knead into a smooth, slightly stiff yet pliable dough.
• Mold it into a ball and place in a bowl, greased earlier with small amount of oil.
• Roll it across the sides of the bowl to oil lightly, wrap the surface with a cling fild and let it rest for an hour in a warm place, until it rises to twice its original volume.
• Knock it down to deflate, put the cover back and let it stand for another 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, warm up your oven to 375 degrees F.
• Roll it out into one ¼’’ thick, large rectangle and carve out 3’’ squares from it.
• Place a tsp of the prepared filling onto the middle of each dough square and brush few drops of water on each corner.
• Bring its opposite ends together and pinch them together to seal.
• Bring the other two ends similarly and press them together to secure and achieve a square-shaped roll.
• Place it onto a baking sheet and make rest of the bierocks in a similar fashion.
• Let them rest for half an hour and bake for another half an hour or until they are baked through and turn golden.
• Serve warm.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons