Keep Calm and Eat a Kolache!!!

Kolaches

Cooking Time: 15-20 Minutes; Yields 4-6 People

Ingredients 

Kolache Dough

4 and 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

2 envelopes rapid rising yeast (1 envelope is 2.5 tsp; this recipe needs 5 tsp)
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. warm water
1 c. sour cream (8oz)
1/2 c. butter; melted
2 eggs

Kolache Filling

***Bacon and Eggs...
2 slices cooked bacon; chopped
2 eggs; scrambled
1 heavy pinch shredded cheddar cheese
***Ranchero...
1/2 Jimmy Deans Spicy ground sausage; browned
2-3 eggs
1/2 can rotel; drained
1 heavy pinch shredded cheddar cheese
***Sausage or Jalapeno Sausage...
4 small sausage links or jalapeño sausage links; baked
***Ham and Cheese...
2-3 slices ham; chopped
2-4 T shredded cheddar cheese

Cooking Instructions

Kolache Dough

1. This is when a mixer comes in real handy.  If you have a standing mixer attach the dough hook.  If you don't have a standing mixer you can use beaters but you will have to finish with your hands.

2.  To the mixer add 1 and 1/2 c. flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.  Give it a small mix to combine all the ingredients.

3.  In a small sauce pan over medium heat add your butter, sour cream, and water.  Melt all of these ingredients together.  Per LJ's (Tanner's grandma) recipe it says "to mix until very warm or reaches 120-130 degrees F."  To be very honest I temped the melted mixture and killed the heat when it reached 115 degrees F.

4.  Slowly pour the melted butter mixture into the flour mixture.  Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.

5.  Next we are going to add 1 c. flour and our eggs to our dough mixture.  I start with the flour first just to cool down the dough; making sure I don't scramble the eggs.  Beat the mixture for another 2 minutes on high speed. 

6.  Stir in the remaining flour (2 c.).  This will create a pretty stiff dough.  

***TIP: I removed the dough from my mixer and finished it by kneading it; allowing all the ingredients to combine thoroughly 

7.  Place the dough in a bowl and cover tight with plastic wrap.  Place the dough in the refrigerator for 2-24 hours.

***TIP:  I personally made my dough the night before and then finished the kolache process in the morning.  It also allows for fresh kolaches in the morning. 

8.  Time to remove your dough from the refrigerator and make into balls (a little bigger than golf balls).  I use a pastry cutter to make all of the balls even.  Cut the dough in half, quarters, eighths, and so on.  I get 16 balls total from this dough.

9.  Roll the balls out and let rest for 15 minutes on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.  During that 15 minutes I normally make the filling for the kolaches.  See below instructions for how to make different types of filling.

10.  After the balls have set for 15 minutes and your filling is done it is time to stuff them.  Make a deep and wide indentation on each ball by pushing outward towards the edge; creating a disk shape.  Fill each ball with 1-1.5 T of filling.  Wrap the dough over the filling mixture and seal by pinching all sides together.  Place on the baking sheet 2 inches apart, seam side down.

***TIP: the sausage links are the easiest to create

11.  Repeat until all the balls are stuffed with whichever fillings your prefer

12.  After all your balls have been stuff cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until they double in size.  It normally takes about 1 hour.

***TIP:  I actually turned my oven on to 170 degrees F while making the balls.  I then turn the oven off, placing the balls in my slightly warm oven to rise.  If it is a warm day in the summer your counter top should work just fine.

13.  FINALLY....the kolache balls have doubled in size and it is time to bake these suckers.  Place your oven at 350 degrees F and bake for 10-20 minutes.  

***TIP:  My convection oven took 12 minutes; a non convection oven might take a little longer.

14.  Remove when the tops are golden brown and enjoy a small piece of food from the Czech settlers that immigrated to Texas.  LJ's family is apart of those Czech settlers and I found this recipe after she passed.

15.  Enjoy

Kitch.en [kich-uhn]-noun: a gathering place for friends and family; a place where memories are homemade and seasoned with love.

Tanner and LJ

Fillings

1.  Bacon and eggs:  Cook the bacon and pat dry.  Chop into small enough pieces to stuff the kolache dough with.  Scrabble eggs like normal and add cheese to the eggs.  Combine both ingredients and stuff the kolache dough.

2.  Ranchero:  Brown your ground sausage.  Before the sausage has finished cooking add rotel.  Strain the sausage and rotel mixture until all the grease has drained.  While the sausage is draining scrabble your eggs like normal and add cheese.  Mix the sausage and eggs together and stuff kolache dough.

3.  Sausage or Jalapeño Sausage Links:  Place the sausages on a sheet pan.  Bake at 400 degrees F until browned (about 5-10 minutes).  Remove and cut the sausages lengthwise (it's easier to form the dough if you half the sausage).  Stuff the kolache dough

4.  Ham and Cheese:  Cut deli sliced ham into small pieces.  Mix the ham with cheese and stuff the kolache dough.