IF YOU MEET A CZECH TEXAN, he or she will politely inform you it's incorrect to use the term sausage kolache when referring to a sausage-stuffed kolache. When you scrunch up your face with confusion, the person will then kindly explain that the correct term for this savory pastry is klobasnek. But wait, let's back up here for a minute. If you're not familiar with a kolache, then you may be wondering what the heck I'm talking about. Allow me to explain.
A kolache is a sweetened yeast roll that's been stuffed with a fruit, cream cheese, or a poppy seed filling. The roll is either square or round, and there's a well in the center to contain the filling. With a klobasnek, the dough is wrapped entirely around the filling, and the only way you can tell what's inside is to take that first bite. You find these pastries all over Texas, though they were first introduced in Central Texan Czech communities, such as the small towns of West and Caldwell.
虽然这个词的起源klobasnek分sage-stuffed version is a little vague, The Village Bakery in downtown West has claimed provenance for the term. What's interesting, however, is that these Czech pastries are more associated with Southeast Texas than with Central Texas.
The two pastries are different things, but some people still insist on calling them sausage kolaches. This doesn't bother me, but I can see how it could upset some linguistic purists. No matter what you call them, however, they are good. I like to eat them for breakfast, warm from the oven when the cheese is still melted and the sausage juicy with a snap. Though they are still good a few hours later at room temperature and can easily be reheated, too.
Ingredients
Makes 8 pastries
Step 1
Over medium heat, warm the milk and 4 tablespoons of the butter until the milk is just beginning to steam, but is not boiling, and the butter is melted. Remove from the heat.
Step 2
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yeast, sugar, salt, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour. Pour in the warm milk mixture and stir until a sticky dough has formed. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, beat together the oil and egg yolks. Pour the eggs into the flour mixture and blend until fully incorporated. Slowly stir in enough of the remaining 2 to 2 1/2 cups flour until the dough comes together and is soft but not sticky. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, or until it is smooth.
Step 4
Place the kneaded dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Step 5
Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide into 8 even-size pieces. In your hands, roll the pieces of dough into balls and then flatten them into disks 4 inches in diameter. In the center of each piece of dough, place 1/2 tablespoon of the cheddar cheese, 2 slices of jalapeño, and a piece of sausage. Fold one side of the dough over the other and roll, then seal by pinching on all sides. Place on the baking sheet 1 inch apart, seam side down. Cover and allow to rise for 45 more minutes.
Step 6
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Step 7
Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Brush the tops of the klobasneks with half the melted butter. Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. After you remove them from the oven, brush each klobasnek with the remaining melted butter. Serve warm. They are best on the day they are made, but they can be tightly wrapped and then reheated, up to 2 days after baking. They can also be frozen.
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Reviews (14)
Back to TopSolid recipe! I made the mistake of replacing 1/2 the flour with fresh milled whole wheat, hoping my whole grain loving family wouldn’t notice, but they’ve had too many white flour kolaches to know the difference. I would not recommend doing that unless you’re dealing with kolache newbies. ;)
Lpenney
San Antonio, TX
6/20/2021
As a veteran bread baker I can assure this is the correct amount of yeast for a batch this size. Also that though the packet is 2 1/4 tsp you can use that or 1tablespoon of yeast from a jar or bag. It is close enough that it will not affect the taste or the outcome of the product in any way. Also in yeast dough the amount of flour actually varies with the humidty of the air. It generally works best to use the smallest measurement first and then if it is still too sticky and more a little at a time until you get the correct result.0
Anonymous
Utah
9/12/2020
Best Kolaches dough recipe on the web. I know because I’ve tried many of them.
Bluesrhino
Tulsa, Ok
4/19/2020
Such a great recipe. I always add a tablespoon of yeast, and they turn out perfect every time. I also don't overknead the dough; I just allow allow the dough to come together until it's well mixed and no longer sticky to the touch - maybe 5 minutes or less using the dough hook attachment on my stand mixer. 3 1/2 cups of flour is the magic amount for me (your flour would have to be super old to ever need the entire 4 cups. I usually get the 3 cups of flour and add a little to the dough as it's mixing until it comes together. I also add 1 tsp of salt (traditionally the dough should be sweeter, but I prefer savory flavor). I also always get screwed up on the butter with the way the recipe is written. The butter should be one stick, divided. Every time I make this I throw a whole stick of butter in the pan and have to fish 4 Tbsp out! I wouldn't melt more than 1-2 Tbsp to brush on the dough. I always wind up having too much melted butter at the end.
pancakefrompele
Dallas, TX
12/30/2018
Seems like 2 1/4 tsp of yeast or 3 tsp of yeast shouldn't be a non-starter for a recipe. Measuring error.
Anonymous
2/2/2018
I didn't even add all of the ingredients and I still couldn't get all of the flour incorporated. And I had no clue how much yeast to add because one packet is 2 1/4 teaspoons. Not one table soon.
Thecrazycook
1/17/2018
Dry
atxdiamond
Indiana
4/8/2017
One package of active dry yeast measures 2 1/4 teaspoons, not one tablespoon, so not sure which way to go on this recipe. Do I use the 1 TBSP measurement or one packet?
Anonymous
11/13/2016
This recipe works really. Excellent, yeasty type roll. I did add 2 TB of my sourdough starter and instead of kielbasa, I used venison pan sausage cooked in a little log shape. I would cook this again!
jeyster
Texas
3/25/2016
I've made different variations of this for years. Instead of the peppers, I used sauerkraut (squeezed dry) with a little grainy mustard with the kielbasa. Also, I chopped cooked onions with ham, which is my all time favorite. I would cook the onions with salt and pepper then throw in the food processor with chopped ham to almost a deviled ham constancy. YUM!
pamela52
Boca Raton, FL
12/15/2015
Thank you so much for adding this recipe. This is one food I really miss eating!
babelsgp
Manchester, NH
1/18/2015
I made this recipe with sweet italian sausage. I cooked it in evoo with onion and garlic. I used more cheese and jalapeno. Added 1/2 cup sugar and let the dough rose at least 2 hours, the dough didn't rise in an hour. They were amazing! I'll try with hot italian sausage and turkey jalapeno sausage. The extra sugar gave the rolls a sweet taste, but not too sweet. They were perfect!
amandyp898
Northeast Ohio
12/18/2014
Delicious! I made them 1/2 the size, with smaller sausage pieces, & they were perfect. My Texan partner agrees.
connipride
Seattle, WA
9/29/2014
These were tasty but not as light and airy as I get in donut shops in Texas. Maybe I overworked the dough.
Sue1951
Houston, TX
8/27/2014
