Kolache are good any time of day, as a quick breakfast walking out the door or on the porch with a beer after work. These sweet, buttery rolls come from Czech parts of Texas and they can be stuffed with any combination of meats and cheeses. The filling possibilities are endless – and I’m looking forward to some sweet rolls! – but you can never ever go wrong with sausage + cheddar + jalapeno.
This dough is loosely adapted from the fantastic Homesick Texan Cookbook
I have to be honest: this dough looks like a nerve-wracking mess. The entire time it was rising I was certain that there was no way this sticky stuff could puff up into rolls. I added a full extra cup of flour, I overmixed it, nothing changed. So I decided to just go for it, see what happened in the oven, and Kirk would help eat through whatever happened.
STRAIGHT-UP MAGIC IS WHAT HAPPENED. These gooey melted little dough balls became light, fluffy, perfect rolls. I got no fewer than four high-fives over this unexpected success.
So what I’m saying is don’t stress about the dough. It is totally unlike any other bread dough I’ve ever made, but even if you add too much flour (guilty) and overmix it (guilty) it’ll still come out beautifully.
As usual, zero authenticity claimed here. Apparently savory meat-filled kolache are actually known as klobasnek, and the usual Czech Texan filling is a full section of fat bratwurst instead of diced pieces.
I like the smaller pieces that get more evenly dispersed through the dough, making pockets of gooey cheddar. YOU DO YOU. This would be just as delicious with ham or mushrooms inside!
Sausage Cheddar Jalapeño Kolache
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup milk
- 3/4 cup + 1 T. butter
- 2 cups flour
- ½ T. active dry yeast
- 2 T. sugar
- ¼ t. salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 T. vegetable oil
- 12 oz. sausage cooked & crumbled
- ½ cup cheddar cheese finely shredded
- 1-2 jalapeños minced
- coarse salt for topping
Instructions
- Heat the milk and ¾ cup butter over medium heat until the butter is fully melted.
- In a large mixing bowl, preferably a stand mixer, combine ¾ cup flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
- Pour in milk & butter mixture and stir until combined. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Whisk together the egg yolk and oil. Add to dough and mix until fully incorporated.
- Slowly add remaining 1¼ cups flour. Dough should be very soft. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth.
- Cover with a damp towel and let rise for an hour, until roughly doubled in size.
- While dough rises, mix together the sausage, cheddar, and jalapenos.
- Divide the dough into 8 balls. Stretch into a 4” circle in your hands and place an eighth of the filling in the center. Pinch the edges together and place seam-down on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
- Repeat for the rest of the dough. Cover the tray lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°. Melt remaining 1 T. butter in the microwave.
- Bake at 375° for 17-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Immediately brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Serve warm from the oven or heated up for roughly 30 seconds in the microwave.
Hi Kate! Can you clarify the instructions a bit? The step that asks to combine 3/4 cup butter with yeast – is that supposed to be 3/4 cup flour? I just tried to make the dough assuming it meant to say flour and it turned out way too hard, so now I am on attempt number two with both flour and butter – but wanted to clarify with you in case this one doesn’t work either! I think there may be a couple words missing…
Hi Kathryn! Good catch, that instruction was incorrect and worded quite poorly as well – I’ve rewritten the first few instructions to hopefully be clearer. In addition to the 3/4 cup flour, as you correctly guessed, there’s 3/4 cup melted butter as well that gives the dough an amazing elasticity. It sounds like your second attempt might be right so I’m hoping it comes out nicely! Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention, I really appreciate it!