Bierocks

Sweet bun stuffed with a savory beef and cabbage mixture

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City/Region: United States of America | Russia

Time Period: 20th Century

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I grew up eating bierocks. My dad would make them on special occasions, and they are truly one of my favorite things to eat. They were made on special occasions because they are a bit of an undertaking, but don’t let that discourage you! You can even buy dough to make it easier (though I highly recommend making it from scratch).

After WWII, you start to see more variations of bierocks, including adding cheese, dill, pickle juice, garlic, or my favorite, Dijon mustard. Feel free to add what you like, this recipe includes the mustard because I love it.

This recipe is cobbled together from several recipes from community cookbooks in the early 20th century, as well as some from a little later on in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. While I was able to get the community cookbook recipes translated from the unique form of 1700s German they were written in, the recipes themselves were written pretty poorly and they needed some bolstering from later versions.

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Ingredients:

Dough

• 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) milk
• 10 tablespoons (140 g) salted butter, cut up and at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water
• 6 cups (720 g) flour
• 2/3 cup (135 g) sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Filling

• 2 to 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 lb (450 g) lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup (150 g) sauerkraut, drained
• 1 large head of cabbage, shredded
• 1 teaspoon crushed caraway seeds
• Salt and pepper to taste, start with about 1 teaspoon of each
• 2 to 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Instructions:

1. For the dough: Scald the milk by heating it to 180°F (82°C) over medium heat, stirring frequently. then remove it from the heat and whisk in the butter. As soon as it hits temperature, take it off the heat. Side note: scalded milk is great for all kinds of baking, especially cakes and breads. It helps them rise more and be softer and fluffier. It’s a fantastic trick!
2. Add the butter to the milk and stir it in, then let the milk cool a bit. You want it to be warm, but under 120°F (49°C). If the milk is warmer than 120°F (49°C), it can kill the yeast.
3. Activate the yeast by mixing it with the 1/4 cup warm water and a pinch of sugar. Let it sit for a few minutes until it gets foamy.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together. Add the yeast mixture, eggs, and milk/butter mixture. Mix until it forms a soft, sticky dough. You can knead this by hand for about 15 minutes, but it’s quite sticky. It will be easier and cleaner to use a stand mixer with a dough hook if you have one. Add a few tablespoons of flour if you need to, but only if you knead to. The dough should be soft, smooth, and elastic, but still sticky.
5. Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover, letting it rise for 45 minutes. Uncover it, punch down the dough, and let it rise a second time for 30 minutes.
6. For the filling: While the dough rises, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the yellow onion. Cook for 10 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.
7. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 7 minutes. Add the cabbage and let it cook down for a couple minutes, then add the sauerkraut, caraway, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, then taste and adjust the ingredients if needed. Once cooked, set the filling aside to cool completely.
8. To assemble: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease it.
9. Once the dough is fully risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 15 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and roll each ball out into a 6” (15 cm) circle (they don’t need to be perfect circles).
10. Place a heaping 1/3 cup of the cooled filling into the center of each disk of dough and gather the edges up into the middle to make a parcel. Pinch the gathered dough together in the middle. You want to build up the dough right in the center.
11. Set the bierocks on a lightly greased baking sheet, seam side down, about 1” (2.5 cm) apart. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
12. Once risen, bake the bierocks, 1 sheet at a time for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops begin to brown. Remove them from the oven and brush with melted butter. Serve them forth warm or at room temperature.

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