Bierocks are buns stuffed with cabbage and meat. They sound delicious, but individually making and stuffing all of those buns sounds like a lot of work. Fortunately, symbol found this recipe in Cook's Country for a casserole version; rather than stuffing individual buns, an entire baking dish is filled and then topped with bread dough.

This was a great success, although we had to trim the dough somewhat after cooking to fit everything into the fridge.

Bierock Casserole

Cook's Country, April/May 2015

Ingredients

• Dough
• ¼+¾ C whole milk, divided
  
• 1 tbsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp + 5 tsp sugar, divided
• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1¾ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• Filling
• 3 lbs lean ground beef¹
• 1 small cabbage, cored and finely chopped, about 8 C
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 6-8 oz (170-225g) American cheese or mild cheddar, chopped
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water
  

Directions

1. Microwave ¼ C milk until warm, 15-20 seconds.
2. Stir in yeast and 1 tsp sugar and let stand until bubbly, ~5 minutes.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining sugar in a large bowl.
4. Add yeast mixture, melted butter, and remaining milk to form a sticky dough.
5. Knead until it forms a smooth ball, ~2 minutes.
6. Return to the bowl, cover, and rise for 30 minutes.
7. While the dough is rising, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large² pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.
8. Add the beef, cabbage, and onions to the pot and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for ~5 minutes.
9. Uncover and continue to cook until beef is browned and cabbage is wilted, 10-15 minutes; if you are adding the cabbage in stages it may take longer.
10. Mix in flour and cook for 1 minute.
    
11. Drain (either by draining the pot or removing the filling to a bowl using a spider).
12. Mix in cheese and mustard.
13. Pour mixture into a 9×13" baking dish and let cool for 10 minutes; while cooling, preheat the oven to 375°F.
14. Brush the rim of the dish with the egg wash.
    
15. Roll dough out into a rectangle and drape over the dish.
16. Fold sides in so that it is flush with the edges of the dish, and crimp edges.
17. Brush with egg wash.
18. Cut 9 venting slits into it.
19. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling bubbly; 15-20 minutes.
20. Let stand 20 minutes on a wire rack, then serve.
    

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¹ We used a roughly 1:1 mix of actual ground beef and Beyond Meat ground beef substitute, with great success. ^Back
2 I'm not kidding about the "large". If you can't fit everything in, add the meat first, break it up and cook it a bit, then add the cabbage a bit at a time -- it'll reduce as it cooks. ^Back