Is It a Bierock or a Runza? These Savory Midwestern Buns Are Scrumptious Both Means

No dish jogs my memory of my house state of Kansas—and the Midwest on the whole—greater than a bierock (pronounced BEER-ock). Like so many Midwestern meals, it’s undoubtedly modest fare: a spherical bread roll (often fist-sized or just a little bigger) made with tender, enriched bread and crammed with beef, onions, and cabbage. “However wait,” I hear you say, “That’s a runza!” In reality, “bierock” is the extra frequent designation in Kansas, whereas “runza” is often attributed to Nebraska, however these buns go by many names, together with krautburgers, pirozhki, and fleischbrok (with numerous spelling variations and pronunciations for every variation). They will all be traced again to an expansive ethnoreligious group of Volga German Mennonites who’ve been sharing and mixing their traditions within the American Heartland for over a century and a half. As a Kansan and descendant of that group, I’d prefer to current my case for the standard bierock.

A Temporary Historical past of Bierocks

Runzas are similar to bierocks besides in form; they are usually rectangular, whereas bierocks are round. We are able to owe the recognition of the “runza” moniker to a Nebraska-based quick meals chain of the identical title. Runza eating places have reached a cult favourite standing in Nebraska (with a couple of places in surrounding states), to the purpose of warranting a marketing campaign cease from vice presidential candidate Tim Walz earlier this 12 months. Though Walz asserted, “Don’t name it the rest apart from runza,” the time period is definitely a genericization. Runza’s founder, Sally Everett, coined the time period, and her household trademarked it shortly after opening the chain’s first location in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1949.*

“Bierock,” then again, possible developed from the Russian phrase “pirog” (actually: pie), which encompasses a class of baked yeast breads or pastries filled with candy or savory fillings. It most likely entered the Mennonite lexicon within the 18th century, when a gaggle from Polish Prussia settled alongside the banks of the Volga River in Russia and present-day Ukraine. They lived there together with different German immigrants, which led to the area’s inhabitants being labeled as Volga Germans. 

In keeping with Norma Jost Voth’s Mennonite Meals & Folkways From South Russia, Quantity II, these newly Russian Mennonites had been expert agriculturalists in addition to pacifists, and Catherine the Nice’s authorities had put out an interesting provide: farm the land in alternate for non secular freedom and dispensation from navy service. They lived there till that promise was revoked within the 1870s, triggering a wave of Volga German immigration to america. They primarily settled on the plains of Kansas, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota, the place many proceed to farm wheat, corn, and cattle in the present day.

I grew up in one in every of these farming communities in Southwestern Kansas, consuming the dishes that Mennonites had assimilated and developed throughout their migrations all through Europe, like kommst borscht (no beets concerned), peppernuts (just like German pfeffernüsse flavored with anise oil), and, in fact, bierocks. In case you look, you may pinpoint a couple of of the explanations behind bierocks’ longevity in Mennonites’ (and different Midwesterners’) diets. First, bierocks are comparatively cheap to make, because the cabbage dietary supplements among the meat, which may be expensive. Second, a big amount of them may be made with a comparatively small batch of bread. Lastly, as a result of they’re self-contained, they’re straightforward to pack for lengthy days throughout harvest season. In our instances, additionally they have the additional advantage of freezing and reheating extremely properly.

*Be aware: It’s rumored that Everett used her household’s nickname for the buns, which was primarily based on the phrase for “stomach,” referring to the buns’ rounded form, in a blended dialect known as Low German. Many Mennonites nonetheless communicate Low German (also called Plautdietsch), however fewer write with it, and I couldn’t discover robust proof to confirm the interpretation. As a substitute, a Low German-speaking Mennonite buddy confirmed that it sounded just like “rund,” or the Low German phrase for spherical.

The Key Methods for Making Wonderful Bierocks

Some sects of non secular Mennonites restrict their use of recent applied sciences—together with the web—which I believe has contributed to the shortage of consistency round how we speak about conventional bierocks, their variations, and make them. For that cause, the recipe I’m sharing right here is my excellent model of the Kansan Mennonite bierocks I ate rising up. It began from a way I developed as a teen after I offered do-it-yourself bierocks in my small city to earn pocket cash throughout highschool. I additionally went to the supply and consulted group cookbooks with recipes aggregated from Mennonites in my hometown and throughout the nation. 

Most of their recipes name for easy fillings made solely of floor beef, onion, and cabbage (typically sauerkraut), seasoned with salt and pepper. I recreated a seasoning salt and added paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder for further taste whereas staying near custom. Many merely name for “bread dough” to wrap the filling, and today, it’s frequent to make use of a thaw-and-bake white bread dough from the grocery retailer, like Rhodes model, for a weeknight shortcut. 

I vastly desire the style and consistency of do-it-yourself white bread, totally enriched with sugar, milk, butter, and eggs. Not solely do these elements add sweetness and richness to the flavour of the bread, however they create a extra tender, delicate crumb. The sugar holds onto moisture within the dough and delays the event of gluten. The fats from the dairy and eggs additional inhibits gluten improvement by coating the protein molecules, which prevents them from linking collectively. I additionally particularly developed this dough to be smooth however not cheesy, making it straightforward to work with whereas rolling and forming. Listed below are three extra ideas I’ve discovered for making the most effective bierocks.

The Greatest Approach to Form Bierocks

The very best bierocks have a bread-to-filling ratio that appears roughly equal when sliced in half after baking. They’ve meat and cabbage in each chunk and are wrapped with sufficient dough to make a uniform layer of sweetened, fluffy bread. Even essentially the most completely proportioned bierock can fall flat (metaphorically and actually) if it’s not formed properly, although. At this level, most Mennonite recipes direct the reader to easily roll the dough out and fill it with out extraneous particulars concerning measurements or do it. I’ve, due to this fact, labored by means of a decade of misshapen, deflated, and holey bierocks to seek out my favourite technique to type them. 

The primary important shaping step is rolling. The commonest drawback I’ve encountered (each in my very own kitchen and with bierocks others have made) is a tricky, bready knot within the backside of the roll. This occurs when the dough is hand-pressed or not rolled out sufficient, yielding a dense seam the place the thick edges are pressed collectively. Stretching the dough too skinny, then again, makes it susceptible to ripping and causes a lumpy, ugly high when pulled over the filling. The very best methodology I’ve discovered is a compromise between the 2: maintain the middle of every dough spherical about as thick as a storebought flour tortilla, then barely enhance the stress as you roll out towards its edges. The gradual tapering across the diameter helps create a good backside seam whereas preserving sufficient dough within the heart for a {smooth}, rounded high after it’s sealed and flipped. Loads of filling (nearly a cup per roll) additionally helps help the bun from the within to maintain it from collapsing.

As for closing up the buns, it might be tempting to try to smush all the sides collectively over the filling—it’s even how I used to be taught to do it—however this method may be hit-or-miss. A crammed-together seal is more likely to trigger the powerful, doughy bottoms I discussed above. For higher, extra constant outcomes,I like to recommend taking the time to pleat the sides one after the other, a way impressed by the identical one used to seal Chinese language dumplings like xiao lengthy bao. This methodology means that you can add just a bit dough to the seam with every pinch and yields a uniform backside after baking. Resist the urge to poke holes to launch any air you would possibly really feel contained in the closed bierocks—it received’t be noticeable when the bun proves and expands whereas cooking. The ultimate egg wash step on the raw rolls provides a shiny, deep golden end.

Prepare dinner Out the Moisture

Make sure that to prepare dinner out any extra liquid when getting ready the filling, significantly should you’re altering it up with moisture-rich elements like mushrooms or sauerkraut. You need to use a pan with a large floor space to facilitate evaporation. Although a 12-inch sauté pan or forged iron skillet will work particularly properly, you could possibly additionally use a braiser or massive Dutch oven. This recipe makes use of water to assist shortly tenderize the cabbage, however it is best to prepare dinner and stir till the cabbage is wilted and tender and there’s no seen liquid within the backside of the pan. Extreme moisture could make the smooth bread soggy, particularly when reheating.

Experiment With Your Filling

This recipe is for a Mennonite-style of bierocks, and it is the model you’ll sometimes discover in small cities all through Kansas in the present day. After you have the approach down, although, be at liberty to modify it up! Bierocks are nice canvases for artistic fillings. Cheese is a standard however nontraditional addition (I didn’t encounter it till I heard about Runza eating places as an grownup), however you may stir your alternative of shredded or cubed cheese into the cooled filling or add just a little into every bun earlier than you form it. You too can change up the kind of meat. Attempt swapping in floor turkey or thinly sliced steak, and changing some (or all) of the cabbage with sauerkraut or different greens like sliced peppers or broccoli. Including spices like taco seasoning and cotija for a Tex-Mex model, or use Italian herbs, a giant spoonful of tomato paste, and shredded mozzarella for pizza-inspired bierocks. There’s no proper or flawed means—simply essentially the most scrumptious means for you. Simply be sure you purpose for six cups of cooked filling to swimsuit this recipe’s batch of bread.

Find out how to Serve Bierocks

I like my bierocks with a giant swipe of yellow mustard on every chunk, however they’re additionally improbable with entire grain, spicy brown, or Dijon mustard. Ketchup is one other frequent dipper, however you could possibly additionally department out with barbecue sauce, steak sauce, and even brown gravy. Or, simply eat them as-is!

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