Recipe Market Place: Olga German Beerocks
This recipe has been a part of my life and the life of my family for a very long time. However, my understanding of where this recipe came did not surface until recently. I recently returned home to visit my family and was fortunate enough to accompany my grandma, Dee, who gave me this recipe, to the Germans from Russia Museum in Fresno, California.
Here I learned that two centuries ago a group of Germans fled because of political, economic and social persecution, to Russia to an area along the Olga River. They found this area productive, especially agriculturally, as it was very similar to where they had previously come. Unfortunately, the Russian did not like these Germans very long and again, the Olga Germans, as they are called, were forced to leave and find a new home.
They did find a new home in fact, in the United States, in places like North and South Dakota, Colorado and the Central San Joaquin Valley of California, which is where I grew up. As they traveled from Europe to Russia and later to the United States, they brought along with them tasty meat and cabbage filled breads called Beerocks. Although some of my colleagues here at TFP have been skeptical as to their tastiness, I can attest that these are a hearty and tasty meal, especially when cabbage is in abundance. Go ahead try them on.
Ingredients
Filling**
2 lbs. ground beef, browned
1 large white or yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 head of cabbage, shredded
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Bread Dough***
3/4 cup water, warm (105° to 115° F)
1 package active yeast dry
2 Tbs. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup potato mashed
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 Tbs. water
Instructions
Combine water, yeast, and sugar; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Add salt, potatoes, 1 egg, and oil; beat until well mixed. Add 1 1/2 cups flour and beat for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a stiff dough forms. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
Preheat oven to 350-275 degrees
In a large skillet, brown the beef and salt and pepper to taste on medium-high heat. After the beef has browned, turn the heat onto medium-low and add shredded cabbage. Let steam for 5 minutes, or until cabbage is soft, but still retains some of its firmness.
Roll out dough into large square and cut into 12 square pieces. Spoon a small portion of the beef and cabbage mixture onto each square. Fold the sides in, like an envelope, pinch the middle to seal, and place the beerock on a cookie sheet, opening face down (smooth side up). Space beerocks a half-inch apart to prevent them from touching during baking.
Bake at 350-375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.
Makes approximately 12 beerocks
**You can also add shredded carrots or Monterey jack cheese.
***You can use any type of store bought bread mix