When we first moved to Texas I worked in an office in south west Houston. Every Friday the company provided breakfast in the break room, usually consisting of sausage kolaches.
Kolaches are a stuffed pastry, usually filled with fruits or poppy seeds, but more commonly in Texas, stuffed with sausage.
According to Wikipedia "Kolaches are a type of pastry that holds a dollop of fruit rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough. Originating as a semisweet wedding dessert from Central Europe, they have become popular in parts of the United States"
The History Kitchen has a wonderful article about the history of this fun pastry, and also an easy to follow, and more traditional recipe for the fruit filled ones here: The History Kitchen
I never heard of Kolaches before I moved here, but they're sold all over Texas in small, family owned bakeries and large, chain stores like Kolache factory, where you can even order them online to be shipped anywhere in the U.S! They have tons of different varieties there, my favorites are the Potato, Egg and Cheese ones. mmmmm!
Photo from Kolachefactory.com
The history of kolaches in Texas is interesting. In
the mid 1800's many czech's settled in Texas, bringing the traditions
of this dish with them. Over the years they have become more of a
breakfast food here. Their hand held size makes them a convenient choice
for a quick and filling treat.
According to The Homesick Texan "West, which is situated almost halfway between Austin and Dallas, is a hamlet for the descendants of Czech immigrants—it’s the “Czech Heritage Capital of Texas.” And what you’ll find there is one of the tastiest pastries ever made—the kolache. "
According to The Homesick Texan "West, which is situated almost halfway between Austin and Dallas, is a hamlet for the descendants of Czech immigrants—it’s the “Czech Heritage Capital of Texas.” And what you’ll find there is one of the tastiest pastries ever made—the kolache. "
When i was first introduced to them at my job I was like,
"what is that??"
I realized they were some kind of bread or bun thing, but when I learned they were stuffed with a smoked sausage I wanted no part of it. I wasn't ready to step outside of my comfort zone, and as a Jersey Girl that meant Italian sausage, of course. Kielbasa, and German wurst, but a Texas smoked sausage?
Erm. No thanks!
So this went on for a while. I politely refused each Friday, while secretly yearning for coffee and a buttered roll, until one day curiosity overcame me and I asked a coworker to show me the inside of one after she bit into it, and what I saw put me into jaw-dropping shock...
It was a PIG-IN-A-BLANKET!!!
Who knew??
I remember at first, rejecting the idea of having a movie-night snack for breakfast, but after a moment I thought, why not? and grabbed for one. Yumm!
Fridays were forever changed!!
I was beginning to embrace living in Texas and ready to let go of my buttered roll!
So there's no need for me to make a kolache. I can get them all over the place.
What I DO have to make are pretzels
Growing up in NJ, a hot, chewy, soft street-pretzel was always just a quick drive over the George Washington bridge any time I wanted one.
It's not that I ran to the city for a pretzel every week, it's that I could. Any time. All the time. And now I can't.
I'm a pretty happy person. Mostly because I am 100% aware that being happy is:
I'm a pretty happy person. Mostly because I am 100% aware that being happy is:
1. A choice and
2. My responsibility
so if I want them and I'm going to be sad about it then I have to get them or make them.
I already know I can't get them so I make them.
So now we begin to imagine our two worlds colliding. We want to TEXify our pretzels!
We want to JERZify a kolache! BAM! Pretzel Kolaches!
I'll spare you the details of 2 dozen fails and half a dozen almosts, and bring you right to the crowning glory of deliciousness.. The very hight of foodgasmic fantaliciousness!
the Pretzel Kokache!
Ingredients
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
5 1/2 cups flour plus more for dusting
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp ginger
1 stick butter, softened.
3 T honey
1/2 cup finely minced raw onion
1 1/2 cup stout beer
32 Little smokies
1/3 cup baking soda
Egg wash
Coarse sea salt
Directions
In warm mixer (I rinse under hot water than towel dry) combine warm water and yeast. Allow 5 minutes to grow.
In separate bowl mix dry ingredients; flour, salt, mustard and ginger. Set aside
To the yeast add the butter, onions and honey and mix on medium speed with whisk attachment for 1 minute.
Remove whisk and attach dough hook.
On medium speed.. Alternately add the flour mixture and the beer, starting with the flour. Combine for 5 to 7 minutes until dough comes off the sides of bowl.
Cover with plastic wrap and then a tea towel and allow to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
When the dough rises to the top of the bowl you're ready to make the kolaches.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
It should be pretty sticky now, and you'll need plenty of flour to work it into a manageable ball, and then into kolaches. The idea here is simply to use enough to keep it from sticking to you. Through this kneading and shaping process I add between 1 1/2 to 2 cups of flour.
Pound the air out of the dough then fold it into itself until you have a soft, large ball. About 5 minutes.
Using a smooth, sharp knife, cut the ball in half. Then cut each half in half so that you have 4. Now cut those 4 in half to make 8, then those 8 in half to make 16, then those 16 into 32.
Whew!
Now you're going to take them one at a time, slap them down flat and then turn it into itself (with flour) until you've made a ball.
Press your thumb into the center, then press 1 sausage into it.
Press it in then bring the sides together and pinch to seal
Roll it between your hands to smooth it out, using flour to keep from sticking. Line on greased cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap.
It takes about half an hour for the second rise, but it takes about half an hour to roll them out, so set the oven at 425 degrees now, and get a pot onto the stove with 2 quarts of water and 1/3 cup baking soda to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.
Finish rolling out your kolaches then starting with the first 4 or 5 that you rolled, drop them into the simmering water for 30 - 40 seconds on each side.
Remove them, pat dry with tea towel and replace on greased cookie sheet.
Once you have a full sheet stop..
Score the tops
Brush them with egg wash
Grind sea salt over them
Pop in oven for 17 minutes
Finish another tray.. Ect. The batch makes 32 kolaches, about 3 trays. I serve them with honey mustard.
If you love my recipe leave me a note and Like Me on Facebook.
If you're interested in some other great kolache recipes, try these links:
Dang these look so good! If I have time one of these days, I'll make 'em!
ReplyDeleteShut. Up! What a brilliant idea. The kolache belt is my home. I grew up eating these almost everyday. My favorite of all, sausage rolls. I'm going to have to make some of these.
ReplyDeleteSaw your post on FB and had to drop by and Congratulate you on these lovely rolls. Beautiful just Gorgeous! Great Job! ❤️
ReplyDelete