The flavorful combination of beef and cabbage stuffed in a fluffy roll makes German Bierocks the perfect hand-held food to go along with your Oktoberfest beer.
Oktoberfest in Munich
How we wish we were back in Munich right now.
Saturday marked the start of a huge, two week long celebration of German culture, heritage, and tradition.
Oktoberfest!
Some of you may be thinking, “Wait. I thought Oktoberfest was all about the beer?”
Ok, fine.
People from around the world have gathered in Munich to celebrate these things through one, much more specific thing.
BEER.
Oktoberfest: The World’s Largest Fair
This 16-day festival, held each year in Munich, Germany is considered the world’s largest fair, bringing over 6 million people to that Bavarian city each year.
To the locals the festival is known as “die Wiesn” after the name of the festival area “Theresienwiese” (literally “meadow of Therese“).
The history of this festival goes all the way back to 1810, but we’ll go into the rich history later this week.
Of the attendees, almost 3/4 are from the surrounding Bavarian region, with the last 1/4 being made up of visitors from all over the world.
These visitors consume liters upon millions of liters of Oktoberfest beer, which must meet special purity requirements.
Basically, it’s one HUGE festival!
What are German bierocks?
We thought these bierocks would be a great way to kick off the next two weeks, since, what goes better with beer, than a hand-held all-in-one meal?
Bierocks (pronounced bee-ROK) are yeast-raised rolls that are filled with a savory filling.
They originated in Eastern Europe and are very common among German immigrants to the US.
(You can find a similar hand-held meal from Eastern Europe in the Russian piroshki.)
The bread that surrounds the cabbage, beef, and onion filling in these bierocks is dense, eggy, and so delicious that it could be a meal in itself.
But it is also a perfect complement to the savory filling.
It’s sturdy enough to stand up to the filling, but soft enough that you’d swear you were eating your favorite, fluffy dinner roll.
Ingredients
There are two components to bierocks: the bread and the filling.
The bread is a basic yeast dough with milk, sugar, butter, and an egg to make it rich, soft, and fluffy.
The filling is pretty straightforward, made of sautéed beef, onions, and cabbage.
How to make bierocks
For what looks like it could be a complicated dish, bierocks are quite simple to make. The most time consuming part is the time it takes for the bread dough to rise, and that’s all hands-off time.
We make use of this time to make the filling, which is just a simple sauteed mixture of beef, cabbage, and seasonings.
Once your dough is risen and ready, you simply divide it into eight portions and roll each into a ball. These balls get flattened a bit, so you can add the filling and create a pocket.
The important part is making sure the dough gets pinched tightly closed around the filling before baking.
You don’t want any filling to spill out before you take a bite!
How to freeze and reheat bierocks
While fresh these rolls will keep for a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator, we like to make a double batch whenever we make them, because they freeze SO well.
We freeze them after baking and store them in an airtight container or zipper sealed bag. When we are ready to eat them, they just need to be thawed on the counter for a few hours (or in the refrigerator overnight).
Then a quick stint in the microwave is really all you need to get them nice a warm! (But they are even better warmed in an oven or toaster oven at 300F for 10-15 minutes.)
It’s so handy to be able to pull a couple frozen rolls out of the freezer and reheat them for a quick meal!
What to serve with bierocks
Typically bierocks are a festival food, designed to be eaten with a beer in your other hand.
That being said, we have been known to pack them for lunch or even enjoy them for a sit-down dinner.
If we desire a side, we tend towards a green vegetable or salad. And you really can’t go wrong adding a little more cabbage in the way of German sauerkraut.
Other hand pies
If you love hand-held meals as much as we do, you will want to check out these other dishes from around the world.
- Russian piroshki (very similar to bierocks)
- Egyptian hawawshi (like a hamburger stuffed in a pita)
- Panamanian carimañolas (a meat stew wrapped in a cassava dough)
- Chilean empanadas de pino (beef empanadas with a surprising flavor pop)
- Bolivian empanadas de pollo (fried chicken empanadas)
Bierocks (German Stuffed Rolls)
The flavorful beef and cabbage stuffed in a fluffy roll makes German Bierocks the perfect hand-held food to go along with your Oktoberfest beer.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 c milk, warmed to 80F
- ¼ c white sugar
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 package)
- 4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp salted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¾ tsp salt
For the Filling
- ½ lb ground beef (85-90% lean)
- ½ onion, diced
- 3 c shredded cabbage (about ¼ of a medium head)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Last But Not Least
- 1 Tbsp milk
Instructions
For the Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, mix milk and sugar to dissolve the sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the milk mixture and let stand for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast softens and starts to foam.
- Whisk the mixture to combine and whisk in 2 c of flour.
- Add melted butter, egg, and salt. Whisk to incorporate.
- Stir in the remaining flour ¼ c at a time, using only as much as you need to get the dough to come together. Turn the dough onto your counter and knead, for 10-15 min, until a soft, smooth dough forms, adding flour as needed. (Your finished dough should be tacky, but not stick to your hand or your kneading surface.)
- Shape dough into a round; place it in a greased bowl, turning to coat the dough. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
For the Filling
- While the dough rises, make your filling. In a large non-stick frying pan, brown meat over medium-high until mostly cooked, 5-7 min.
- Drain as much of the grease from the pan as you can, while not losing the meat from the pan. Return the pan to the heat and add onions. Cook 2-3 min, until they begin to soften.
- Add cabbage and cook 7-10 minutes, until cabbage is tender.
- Remove filling from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Putting it all together
- Knock back the risen dough and turn it onto your work surface.
- Divide dough into 8 balls (roughly 3 oz each). Flatten each ball to a circle 4-5” in diameter. (If the dough springs back, flatten as much as you can, cover, and let the dough rest for 3-5 min before attempting to flatten further.)
- Spoon 2 large tablespoons of filling onto the center of each circle, leaving the edges clear.
- Bring the edges together and pinch them to seal the dough completely. Continue until all the dough and filling has been used.
- Place the shaped bierocks on a greased baking sheet and let rise, covered 30-45 min, until roughly 1.5x their original size.
- During the last 10 minutes of rising time preheat your oven to 375F.
- Brush the bierocks lightly with milk and bake for 20-25 min, until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped.
- Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Notes
These rolls freeze well after baking. To eat, just take them out of the freezer in the morning and they will be thaw by lunchtime. Warm them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes in 30 second increments to heat through.
Want to convert to WEIGHT measurements? Have a look at our ingredient conversion guide.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 rollAmount Per Serving: Calories: 362
We’ve updated our pictures since we first shared this recipe on Curious Cuisiniere, but we’ve left some originals here, in case you’ve found us in the past and are looking for that old, familiar image.
If you liked this recipe, here are some similar dishes you may enjoy!
Sarah is one of Curious Cuisiniere’s founding duo. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
MrsRanchoFiesta
Thursday 29th of August 2024
Bless you, child! Back in 1981 living in South Lake Tahoe,I had a roommate from Kansas who introduced this California girl to Bierocks. She wrote out the recipe but I lost it years ago. We made dozens of them each Fall for our friends at work. I've searched for recipes and divided them in half but your recipe for 8 buns is absolutely perfect for me now, and every bit as delicious as I remembered them!
Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere
Wednesday 4th of September 2024
We're so glad you found us!
Tina Simmons
Thursday 25th of January 2024
Can you double this recipe. We have large family and 8 would not be enough...
Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere
Saturday 27th of January 2024
Yes, this recipe can easily be doubled. We do it often!
Terri
Wednesday 10th of January 2024
I keep getting spell check groukuga not gray jugs😂
Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere
Monday 15th of January 2024
Oh spell check!
Terri
Wednesday 10th of January 2024
I was so happy to find this recipe, my ex mother in law used to make these but when I tried different doughs they didn’t have the sweetness of these roll’s they were also called gray jugs! She also made a German pickle that I could never find maybe you have that too? I’ll have to look in your other recipes! Thanks so much
Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere
Monday 15th of January 2024
We're glad you found us Terri! We haven't come across a German pickle recipe yet, but now we will have to be on the lookout for it!
Joan
Wednesday 26th of July 2023
These are to DIE for. The bread is fantastic. The only change I made was to add more flavor to the filling-I added garlic and season all-it was a bit too bland for me. I also added more filling as the first batch seemed a little skimpy. Will keep this recipe forever!
Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere
Tuesday 1st of August 2023
We're so glad you enjoyed these Joan!