Since Czech immigrants first brought kolaches to Texas in the nineteenth century, everything from fried potatoes to venison has been tucked into the breakfast pastry’s pillowy embrace. The sausage kolache, in particular, is a uniquely Texan creation. It comes from Wendel and Georgia Montgomery’s Village Bakery, founded in 1952 in the Texas town of West. Wendel saw the traditional Czech pastry as a vehicle for capitalizing on Americans’ love of hot dogs. He even trademarked his creation as a klobasniki, which means “little sausage.” So while anyone can sell a sausage kolache, only Village Bakery can sell the original klobasniki. We’ve taken Wendel’s stroke of inspiration a step further by stuffing the pastry with a spicy mix of crumbled breakfast sausage, jalapeño, and pepper Jack cheese so there’s a bit of savory filling in every bite.
Stuffed-Sausage Kolache
Yield: Makes 24 kolaches
For the filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 jalapeños, seeded and minced
1 pound pork breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups shredded pepper Jack cheese
For the dough
1 tablespoon plus 1 cup warm milk (103 to 110℉)
1 teaspoon plus 6 tablespoons sugar
2 envelopes (4 ½ teaspoons) active dry yeast
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon for the bowl
3 large egg yolks
4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the mustard drizzle
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
Preparation
- For the filling
- Melt the butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeños and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the black pepper. Transfer the mixture to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the cooled sausage mixture with the cheese; set aside.
- For the dough
- In a 4-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk the warm milk and 1 teaspoon sugar together. (The milk needs to be warm––103 to 110℉––but not so hot that it kills the yeast. Check the temperature with a kitchen thermometer.) Add the yeast and stir until dissolved. Let the yeast sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Whisk 12 tablespoons of melted butter and the egg yolks into the yeast mixture.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the flour, the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar, and the salt together. Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook; gradually add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and mix on low speed until no dry flour remains, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and knead until a dough forms in the bowl but still sticks to the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes (the dough should be smooth and glossy).
- Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered mixing bowl, turning it to butter all sides. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Assemble the kolaches
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Punch down the dough and divide it into four equal portions. Place each piece of dough on a lightly floured counter and knead for 1 minute, until uniform and not sticking. Shape 6 dough balls of equal size from each quarter. Flatten the dough balls with your hand, shaping them into disks 2 to 3 inches wide. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sausage mixture in the center of each and warp the edges around, sealing the dough with your fingers and forming a small ball. Place the stuffed rolls seam-side down on the prepared baking sheets. Continue until all the dough and filling have been used. Cover the rolls with a clean towel and let rise in a warm spot for about 20 minutes.
- Brush the rolls with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.
- For the mustard drizzle
- Combine the mustard and honey in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about 15 seconds, then drizzle on the baked kolache or serve on the side.
Recipe from Garden & Gun’s The Southerner’s Handbook.Garden & Gun has affiliate partnerships and may receive a portion of sales when a reader clicks to buy a product. All products are independently selected by the G&G editorial team.