Easy German Bierocks Runza Recipes

CHEESY BREAKFAST BIEROCKS / RUNZAS

Steps:

• *The night before, spray frozen bread dough loaves with butter-flavored cooking spray (I use Crisco's), and wrap each tightly with plastic wrap. Place into fridge to thaw overnight.
• The next morning, add sausage, cabbage and onion to a large frying pan. Sauté over medium heat breaking up sausage into small pieces as you go along. Drain grease, add and stir in butter, salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and set aside.
• In another large frying pan, add a little butter if needed, and add whisked eggs. Add salt and pepper as you normally enjoy, and cook until scrambled, stirring. When cooked, cover and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350º F.
• Spray 2 baking sheets with butter flavored no-stick spray (I really like Crisco's the best), and set aside.
• Cut first loaf into 6 slices, remove one slice and keep the rest wrapped so they don't dry out. Place one dough disk onto wooden cutting board, and press out, starting from the center and working your way to the edge (just like making a pizza), into a 5 1/2 - 6 inch round circle.
• Place 1/2 of a slice of American cheese (torn in half) in the center, then top with a mound (about a ⅓ cup) of the meat mixture. Top with a small scoop of scrambled eggs. (*If you dump the scrambled eggs into a rectangular pan, draw a knife through down the center long ways, then across 6 times, it's a guesstimate of a 12th. It equals out to be one egg per roll. Easy-peasy!!) Top the eggs with the other half of the slice of cheese, torn in half. Bring up the sides, a bit at a time, pulling up and over the top, overlapping with each bit. (Just like you were making a Chinese dumpling or "crunchwrap".) Pinch a little to seal, and place seam side down onto your prepared baking sheet. Brush with melted butter. Continue with rest of loaf making 6 stuffed rolls.
• Pop the sheet into the oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until golden. Remove from oven, then remove rolls from sheet and place onto a cooling rack. Baste with more melted butter.
• Make a second batch with the second loaf and rest of ingredients. (*You can make these the next day if you'd like.) *If making the second day, you don't have to warm the meat mixture or the scrambled eggs. (Or make the eggs fresh that day. They cook quickly.)
• Let cool just a little, then slice in half with a serrated knife, and serve with gravy for dipping if desired. These are fantastic just as is, though!

TRADITIONAL GERMAN BIEROCKS (AKA RUNZAS) - MADE FROM SCRATCH: RECIPE BY INDIANA MOMMY - COOKING FROM THE HEART LAND

Steps:

• For the filling: I make the filling the day before I want to make the bierocks and cool it overnight in the refrigerator. Start by warming 1 tablespoon of the butter & avocado oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shredded cabbage, the onion, the ground beef and the salt and pepper. Break up the beef. Add the water and cover and cook over medium low heat for 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally. The cabbage should be wilted and the beef fully cooked through. Drain the mixture when it finishes cooking.
• For the dough: Heat the milk, water & butter over low heat on the stovetop until the butter is almost melted (between 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit.) In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add 4 cups of the flour with the salt, sugar and yeast and stir together. Slowly add the milk mixture while the dough hook is mixing. Scrape the bottom and the sides a few times to make sure there aren't any pockets of flour in this mixture. Once all the flour is mixed in, add the eggs 1 at a time and mix for 3-5 minutes until all those ingredients are fully incorporated. Then while the dough hook is going add 1 cup of flour at a time until your dough comes together. It will pull away from the sides of the bowl and no longer be sticky. You need to knead the dough for 10 minutes. Grease a large bowl and put the dough into that bowl, rubbing the top and bottom in the grease that is in the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a slightly warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch it down and let it rise again for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4. Roll each of these 1/4ths into a rectangle and cut into 6 pieces. Take about ½ cup of the filling mixture and put it into each of the 1/6ths. Pull up the diagonal corners to meet in the middle and close all 4 seams by pinching them shut. Put all the bierocks on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until nicely browned on top. I rotated mine halfway through cooking to ensure even browning. You can put them seam side up or down. Down is the more popular method because it holds the seams closed better, but that's up to you. I brushed them all with butter when they came out of the oven but that is not required.
• These freeze so well and are really great dipped in ketchup, bbq sauce, ranch, blue cheese....I love my dips haha!

MY GRANDMA'S SUPER EASY RECIPE FOR BIEROCKS

Steps:

• Sauté ground beef with sliced onion, minced garlic, smoked paprika, cayenne and cumin until browned and crumbly. About 10 minutes. Drain the excess fat and allow the meat to cool in the strainer for a few minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F, shred the Gruyère and drain the sauerkraut.
• Gently mix together the ground beef mixture, shredded cheese and sauerkraut in a large bowl.
• Roll out each biscuit flat on a floured surface. Place 3 - 4 tablespoons of the filling in the center of each biscuit and fold up the sides like a steam bun to seal.
• Place uncooked bierocks, seam side down, split among two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 17 - 19 minutes, or until golden. Allow the bierocks to cool on a wired baking rack for 2 - 3 minutes before consuming. Enjoy!

BIEROCKS (RUNZA) RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water to activate. Feed your yeast with a pinch of sugar and let stand for 15 minutes, until foam appears.
• In a large bowl, sift the flour, add sugar and salt, and stir. Pour the yeast water. Mix until there are no more clumps of dry flour.
• Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is elastic.
• Transfer the dough back into the bowl. Brush it with oil.
• Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for at least 1 hour undisturbed in a warm area.
• Once it has doubled in size, place the dough into a floured worktop. Form the dough into one big ball.
• Divide it into 25 to 30 equal portions and roll each portion into a ball. Place them on a baking sheet covered with a kitchen towel to prevent drying out.
• Set them aside to prove for 30 minutes. While waiting, prepare the filling.
• Heat up a skillet on medium heat and cook the beef breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula. Drain the excess oil.
• Add the cabbage and onions, let it cook for 40 minutes or until the cabbage is fully wilted and season with salt and pepper.
• Once done, transfer into a bowl and let it cool. Mix in the cheese after the mixture has cooled off.
• Take the dough and using a rolling pin, flatten each piece into about ⅛-inch thickness.Fill each dough with 2 tablespoons of filling.
• To fold, take two opposite edges to the middle and pinch them together. Do the same to the other side. Pinch the seams together to seal.
• Place the bierocks into the baking sheet seam side down leaving at least 1-inch space in between each. Repeat until all the dough and filling are used up.
• Bake the bierocks for 13 to 15 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown.
• Brush them with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven. Serve and enjoy!

EASY GERMAN BIEROCKS (RUNZA)

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in ground beef, and cook until crumbly and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in chopped onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes more. Add the chopped cabbage; cook and stir until the cabbage has softened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then spread the mixture onto a baking sheet to cool until cool enough to handle.
• Once the mixture has cooled, flatten a dinner roll, and place several tablespoons of the cabbage mixture in the center. Pull the edges of the dough over the filling and pinch to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or electric skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Fry bierocks a few at a time in the preheated oil on both sides until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes; drain on paper towels.