Bierock recipe with a twist

The bierock. Tasty meat-filled bread pocket or cultural connector? For Analisa Defiesta, it’s definitely both.

Originally from San Diego, California, Defiesta now lives in Hillsboro, Kansas, where she has embraced the Mennonite Brethren culture—and the food.

Culturally, Defiesta is half Hispanic, half Filipino and a quarter Caucasian. After moving to Kansas, she missed the food from back home, which wasn’t readily available in Hillsboro. So, Defiesta started a restaurant to continue doing what she loves: cooking for others.

“I love to cook, and I love to feed people,” she says. “Those are my passions.” 

Eventually her calling changed, and Defiesta joined Tabor College as the director of career services. But she still caters and still loves to feed people.

But let’s get back to the bierock.

A member of Parkview MB Church, Defiesta says others in Hillsboro taught her how to cook Mennonite staples such as verenika, zwieback and bierocks. But she never wanted to make the same traditional fare for others.

“I could never make it as good as them,” Defiesta says. “I cannot compare to the originals.”

However, Defiesta’s background and food knowledge gave her an idea on how to bring her heritage into the mix. 

One day, Defiesta had extra filling when making lumpia, a Filipino egg roll. The filling was similar to that of a bierock—with an Asian twist. Served with sweet chili sauce on the side, Defiesta thought it would make a good bierock.

“I tried it, and I was right,” she says.

This opened the floodgates to other food discoveries. Defiesta’s empanada filling (the featured recipe here for green chili chicken) was next, followed by a Chinese BBQ version. With each version, Defiesta was “adding my own cultural take on it.”

Now, Defiesta makes and sells her creations at farmers markets in the summer—and typically sells out of her bierocks within 20 minutes.

At Tabor, Defiesta has students with strong Mennonite Brethren roots who she loves to connect with over the richness of heritage—and food.

“We love the same God, regardless of our ethnicity or where we came from,” she says. “When it boils down to it, we’re serving the same God.”

While traditional foods remind us of a rich history, Defiesta embodies what these traditions can become—a place of connection and mosaic of flavors and cultures, melding together into a faith that extends beyond traditional family trees.

“Food has brought us all together,” she says. “It’s a way to share and celebrate our differences. 

Analisa’s bierock recipe: Bierock with a twist (Green chili chicken)

Recipe by Analisa Defiesta

I like to double the recipe as these freeze really well (if there are actually any left!). 

Dough

• 4 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs

Instead of making the dough, you also can substitute with Rhodes Bake-N-Serv Yeast Dinner Rolls.

Filling

• 8 ounces softened cream cheese
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (preferably breast, but anything will work)
• 1 cup picante sauce or salsa
• 7-ounce can mild diced green chilis
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon powdered or granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon powdered or granulated onion
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
• 2 eggs (for egg wash): In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and 1/4 cup cold water, mix well and brush wash over each bierock before baking

For the dough: 

1. Scald the milk by heating it to 180°F (82°C) over medium heat, stirring frequently. Then remove it from the heat, and whisk in the butter. As soon as it hits temperature, take it off the heat. Add the butter to the milk and stir it in; then let the milk cool a bit. You want it to be warm, but under 120°F (49°C). If the milk is warmer than 120°F (49°C), it can kill the yeast.
2. Activate the yeast by mixing it with the 1/4 cup warm water and a pinch of sugar. Let it sit for a few minutes until it gets foamy.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt together. Add the yeast mixture, eggs and milk/butter mixture. Mix until it forms a soft, sticky dough. You can knead this by hand for about 15 minutes, but it’s quite sticky. It will be easier and cleaner to use a stand mixer with a dough hook if you have one. Add a few tablespoons of flour if you need to. The dough should be soft, smooth and elastic, but still sticky.
4. Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover, letting it rise for 45 minutes. Uncover it, punch down the dough, and let it rise a second time for 30 minutes.

For the filling: 

1. While the dough rises, beat the softened cream cheese with a mixer (or by hand) until smooth.
2. Once smooth, add the remaining ingredients. Stir well, then taste and adjust the ingredients if needed.

To assemble: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease it.
2. Once the dough is fully risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 15 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and roll each ball out into a 6” (15 cm) circle (they don’t need to be perfect circles).
3. Place a heaping 1/3 cup of the filling into the center of each disk of dough and gather the edges up into the middle to make a parcel. Pinch the gathered dough together in the middle. You want to build up the dough right in the center.
4. Set the bierocks on a lightly greased baking sheet, seam side down, about 1” (2.5 cm) apart. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
5. Once risen, brush egg wash over each bierock. Bake the bierocks, one sheet at a time, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops begin to brown. Remove them from the oven and brush with melted butter. 

Serve them warm or at room temperature.

Freezing instructions

The best way to freeze and reheat bierocks (especially if you want them to taste fresh and not soggy) is to freeze them fully baked and reheat in the oven or air fryer.

Here’s the method I recommend:

Freezing bierocks (best method)

1. Let them cool completely after baking. This is very important—warm bierocks create condensation and freezer burn.
2. Flash freeze first. Place them on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze for about 1–2 hours until firm.
3. Wrap individually. Wrap each bierock tightly in plastic wrap or foil.
4. Store in a freezer bag or airtight container. Label and date them.

Freezer life:

• Best quality: 2–3 months
• Still safe longer, but texture declines.

Reheating instructions

1. Oven (BEST texture—closest to fresh)

From frozen:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place bierocks on a baking sheet.
• Cover loosely with foil for the first 10–15 minutes (keeps bread soft).
• Bake 20–30 minutes, depending on size.
• Remove foil for the last 5 minutes if you want a crisp crust.

If thawed first:

• Bake 10–15 minutes at 350°F.

2. Air fryer (Great if you want slightly crisp bread)

From frozen:

• 325°F for 8–12 minutes.
• Check halfway through.

This gives a nice bakery-style outside.

3. Microwave + oven combo (Fastest without ruining texture)

Microwave alone can make the bread chewy.

Do this instead:

• Microwave 45–90 seconds to warm the center
• Then 5 minutes at 350°F or a few minutes in the air fryer

Lacey Scully

Lacey joined the Christian Leader staff as editor in July 2025. She has more than two decades of experience in editorial writing and strategic communications, creating and editing content for newspaper, magazines, websites and email campaigns. Lacey, her husband and their two girls live in Wichita, Kansas, and attend Ridgepoint Church.