Seattle has been my home for about two years now, and after being here, there are certainly a lot of things I don’t miss about Texas (the long commutes to get anywhere, summer mosquitos with more bloodlust than Patrick Bateman), but there are also things I miss every waking minute of every day. Okay, I exaggerate, but I do miss easy parking, wearing sandals for 90% of the year, and my Monday morning kolaches.
Kolaches are a Czech soft yeast pastry that’s kind of like a soft dinner roll, and traditionally they’re filled or topped with fruits or cottage cheese. The Texas kolache is a variation of this, filled with sausage, cheese, and a slice or two of pickled jalapeño. Most bakeries and donut shops in the Lone Star State sell kolaches just as regularly as they sell burnt drip coffee.
It was very much a routine to grab a donut (or two) and a kolache (or three) to kick off my Monday mornings — I liked to think of it as a “starting another work week” treat. To my dismay, since moving to Seattle, I’ve discovered that kolaches just aren’t a thing here. The closest thing to a kolache I’ve been able to find are pirozhki (Russian hand pies), and while also delicious, they’re still not kolaches.
So what’s a homesick Texan to do? Why, see if the Homesick Texan herself had ever made kolaches, and good news! She has! I can find no fault with the dough recipe, so the only modification I made was to change the filling from sweet to savory for my version. Yummm.
I whipped these up in the morning before work and enjoyed my first morning kolache in months — this time, accompanied by a damn good cup of coffee, thanks. I brought the rest to the office (still warm from the oven!) where within minutes of setting them down, my co-workers swarmed and devoured them. How’s that for an endorsement?
Sausage and Cheese Kolaches
From Homesick Texan, with a filling adjustment
Yield: ~18 kolaches
Prep Time: 2 ½ hours
Cook Time: 15-18 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours (including proofing time)
For the dough:
3-4 cups all-purpose flour
1 packet instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk (I used 2%), warm to between 100-115 °F
2 large eggs + 1 egg for egg wash
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp salt
For the filling:
9 bun-sized hot dogs or sausages of your choice, cut in half to make 18 pieces
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
pickled jalapeños (optional)
olive oil
Combine 1 cup of flour with the warm milk, yeast, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Let it stand (covered with plastic or a damp dish towel) until doubled, about 45 minutes.
In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, salt, and melted butter. Add this to the yeast mixture and whisk thoroughly.
Either with a spoon or with a paddle attachment on a stand mixer, stir in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough feels soft and just barely tacky, but not sticky.
Put on the dough hook and knead the dough on medium speed for about 20 minutes or until it passes the windowpane test (tear off a piece and stretch it until it’s thin enough for light to pass through — when it can do this without tearing, it has passed the windowpane test). Add in more flour if needed, a little at a time. You can also turn it out on to a floured surface and knead by hand for about 10-15 minutes until it passes the windowpane test.
The resulting dough should feel soft and pillowy, but it shouldn’t stick to your fingers or the bottom of the bowl.
Collect the dough into a ball and put it in an oiled bowl covered with plastic or a damp dish towel and let it rise at room temperature for an hour, or until doubled in size.
As the dough rises, fry the cut sausages with a bit of olive oil until they have a nice sear on the outside and ends. Drain on a paper towel.
Once the dough is done proofing, punch it down and divide the dough into 18 even pieces, or just pinch off egg-sized pieces one at a time. Each piece should be about 50 grams each.
Roll each piece into a ball, and then gently stretch it out into a small rectangle shape with the short end facing you. In the middle of the rectangle, place a generous heap of cheese. Top this with a slice or two of jalapeño (if using), and then top that with a sausage. Fold the top flap of the dough rectangle down and gently roll the entire thing towards you so that the sausage is encased. Pinch the ends shut a bit if you’d like. Repeat until you’ve formed all of your kolaches and put them all on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment.
As you let these rise (covered with plastic) for 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375°F.
After this rise, make the egg wash by beating one egg together with a splash of milk. Brush the kolaches with egg wash. Bake them for 15-20 minutes, or until they’re nicely browned and your kitchen smells heavenly. Let them cool a bit on a wire rack and serve warm.
