Food Friday: Fleischperischkie

Aka: Meat buns

Ingredients

Dough

• 280 ml water
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp margarine
• 3 c flour (I usually use 1 each of white, whole wheat, multigrain)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp yeast

Filling

• 500g ground beef
• 1/2 pkg onion soup mix
• 1 c mashed potatoes (2-3 potatoes, depending on size)
• 1 can mushroom soup

Directions

1. Prepare the dough. I have a bread machine so that is how I do it, and these quantities are just right for the machine. If you don't have a bread machine or prefer to work by hand, any white or whole wheat bread recipe will work, too. Just let the dough rise once. While the dough is rising, prepare the filling.
2. If you don't have left-over mashed potatoes on hand, boil two to three potatoes until soft and then mash them. You can just retain a bit of the potato water for mashing; since they won't be served on their own there's no need to add milk or butter.
3. Fry the ground beef in a frying pan until browned.
4. Add onion soup mix, mushroom soup, and mashed potatoes. Stir well.
5. Once dough has risen once, remove from bread machine or bowl. Knead lightly on a floured surface. Divide into about four sections for easy handling.
6. Cut a piece of dough about the size of a large egg. Flatten it out. Place 1 tsp of the ground beef mixture into the middle, then fold the dough over and pinch it shut. (You might need to dab the edges with water to help it to stick.)
7. Place on a baking sheet. When the sheet is full, cover with a tea towel and place in a warm spot to let the dough rise once more. (I often just put it in the oven with the oven light on.)
8. Let rise for about 20 minutes. Once the dough is puffy, bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes or until golden.

These are nice in lunches, as after-school treats, or for a light Sunday afternoon meal served with pickles, cheese, fruit & veggies.