Super simple and fast to make

By: 
Keith Bryant
 With another exciting football weekend in the books, the cool weather has turned me into warm comfort food mode. 
 A couple of weeks ago while talking to Nicole at Peppers she too was looking for a warm morning comfort food to offer her customers and asked me about Bierocks. 
 Okay that is probably the same look I had on my face as I was not familiar with that food. I set out on the journey to study what it was and see if I could make it.
 Bierock is a yeast dough pastry pocket sandwich with savory filling, originating in Eastern Europe, possibly in Russia. The dish is common among the Volga German community in the United States and Argentina. 
 Here is where it gets interesting. It can be almost anything you want. The traditional type is made with ground beef, onion, and cabbage. I have found them with sauerkraut, carrots, and just cheese.
 It is like a baked sandwich. Sharon has made a type of this Hawaiian style with the filling being made of Char-Su, the wonderful sliced pork you find in Chinese restaurants. This is called Manapua and it is steamed or baked like the Bierock. 
 Now I will give you the whole recipe to make this dish from scratch, but I found using frozen yeast rolls (Rhodes) worked best and make the process much faster.
Bierocks
Directions: 
 In a large mixing bowl, mix milk and sugar to dissolve the sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the milk mixture and let stand for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast softens and starts to foam.
 Whisk mixture to combine and whisk in 2 cups of flour.
 Add melted butter, egg and salt. Whisk to incorporate.
 Stir in remaining flour ¼ cup at a time until the dough comes together. Turn dough onto your counter and knead, 10-15 min, until a soft, smooth dough forms, adding flour as needed. (Your finished dough should be tacky, but not stick to your hand or your kneading surface.)
 Shape dough into a round; place it in a greased bowl, turning to coat the dough. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
 Filling – while the dough rises, make your filling. In a large non-stick frying pan, brown meat over medium high until mostly cooked, 5-7 min.
 Drain as much of the grease from the pan as you can, while not losing the meat from the pan. Return the pan to the heat and add onions. Cook 2-3 minutes, until they begin to soften.
 Add cabbage and cook 7-10 minutes, until cabbage is tender.
 Remove filling from heat and season with salt and pepper.
 Knock back the risen dough and turn onto your work surface.
 Divide dough into 8 balls (roughly 3 oz. each). Flatten each ball to a circle 4-5 inches in diameter. (If the dough springs back, flatten as much as you can, cover, and let the dough rest for 3-5 minutes before attempting to flatten further.)
 Spoon 2 large tablespoons of filling onto the center of each circle, leaving the edges clear. Bring the edges together and pinch them to seal the dough completely. Continue until all the dough and filling has been used.
 Place the shaped bierocks on a greased baking sheet and let rise, covered 30-45 minutes until roughly 1.5 times their original size.
 During the last 10 minutes of rising time preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
 Brush the bierocks lightly with milk and bake for 20-25 min, until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped.
 Remove from oven and let cook on a wire rack.
 
 

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