German Cabbage Pockets (Kraut Bieroks)

After tasting my first "runza" in Nebraska at the encouragement of my friend Paula, I've been seeking a recipe that would allow me to duplicate them at home. This recipe fits the bill! When I made them this first time, I followed the original directions which called for using 5" inch squares of dough. This made 12 portions, which ended up being way too large. My husband I split one and it was plenty for a meal. Next time, I will divide the dough into 24 portions after rolling out, and will make sure I roll it out thin enough. Also, the recipe called for using a whole cabbage. The cabbage I used was pretty large, so I only used half of it. I have modified the direction below to reflect how I will make them in the future. They were incredibly delicious!

Ingredients

2 packages (7g Packet) Yeast 

1⁄2 cups Sugar
1-1⁄2 Tablespoon Salt
3-1⁄2 cups Warm Water 

1⁄2 cups Oil
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
8 cups Flour
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole Onion, Chopped
1 pound Ground Beef
1 whole small Cabbage, Shredded 

Salt And Pepper, to taste

Directions

Mix the yeast, sugar, sat, warm water, oil, vinegar, and flour together. Let rise 1 hour. Punch down. Let rise 45 minutes.

While the dough is rising, saute garlic and onions; add ground beef and fry until browned. Add cabbage and cook until tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

After the second rising of the dough, divide the dough into two portions to make it easier to handle. Roll each dough section out to about 1/16′′ thick. Cut the dough into 24 squares and put a generous portion of the beef mixture on the middle of each square. Gather all 4 corners together and pinch shut each diagonal seam toward the center. Turn upside down on a baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Brush with butter when they come out of the oven. 

These can be frozen after baking. To reheat in the oven, wrap frozen bierok in foil and reheat in 325 oven for 30 minutes. To reheat in the microwave, wrap in wax paper and heat on high 2 minutes. 

Recipe modified from Tasty Kitchen