Runzas rethought

This was a very good batch of runzas, probably because I kept it simple.

Dough

Save All brand frozen bread dough from Albertsons.  I put three loaves in a big ziplock bag in the fridge overnight to thaw.   Preheated oven to 150 then turned off.  Oiled a very large stainless steel mixing bowl.  Put the three loaves in the bowl and set it in the oven.  Boiled 2 cups water in an ovenproof bowl and set that in the oven.  Waited two hours.

Filling


Meanwhile brown in a very big skillet, then drain off fat:
1 lb ground pork from Sprouts
1/2 lb ground beef (80/20)
2 stalks of celery minced
[1 onion finely chopped]

Add in:
1 bag of shredded cabbage (intended for cole slaw)--this is a big time-saver
Lots of fresh ground pepper
Salt if your blood pressure allows
1/2 c sauerkraut if you want to add more tang
[I've added other seasonings in the past, but this was better.]

When the cabbage is wilted cover skillet and lower heat to simmer until dough has risen.  Turn off burner.

Remove pans from oven.  Punch down dough.  Preheat oven to 350.  Grease two baking sheets.  I used my mom's heavy old Ovenex sheets that have a dimpled texture.

Flour board and rolling pin.  Pull off a lump of dough a bit bigger than a golf ball, billiards?  Roll it out to a 6" diameter circle.  Move the circle to a plate, letting it stretch a bit during transport.  Scoop about 1/3 c filling onto circle of dough.  Fold the dough over the filling, overlapping and pinching just slightly, north, south, east, west.  Gently turn the vaguely rectangular bundle over onto the baking sheet.  Place bundles 1/2" apart.

This dough made sixteen runzas.  I froze the leftover cup or so of filling to add into a future batch.  Bake 30 minutes.  Brush lightly with melted butter to make a pretty golden top.


© 2011 Nancy L. Ruder