It may come as a surprise that one of the most Texan dishes out there was brought to the Lone Star State by Czech immigrants. Kolaches can be sweet or savory; you might find these pastries filled with cream cheese filling, fruit filling and topped with powdered sugar.
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In the 1950s, Village Bakery in West, Texas, put an even more American spin on the Czech kolache recipe with the creation of the klobasnek or klobasniky, which is a sausage kolache. It looks a little like the breakfast version of a pig-in-a-blanket, but this savory kolache recipe is so much better.
To make a klobasnek, full-size sausages the size of hot dogs are the best way to go. Choose a jalapeno sausage for an extra kick or a cheese-filled sausage for a cheesy version of this American-Czech recipe. To enjoy a Cajun-themed sausage kolache, go for Andouille sausage.
What Are the Ingredients in a Kolache?
Kolaches are essentially the healthy cousin of doughnuts and can often be found in donut shops. The kolache dough starts with a basic pastry dough like a donut: active dry yeast, warm milk, room temperature unsalted butter, large eggs, sugar, and salt, then add your and all-purpose flour. Start with the yeast and warm milk in a small bowl and let it sit and bubble for a few minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients and knead together the yeast dough. You can use whole milk, 2%, or whatever you have on hand.
Lyndsay Burginger
A stand mixer with a dough hook makes the process much easier, but you can also mix everything by kneading it in a large bowl. Once the dough comes together, let it rise in a warm place, then divide it into 12 dough balls. Each of those sections is rolled out into a rectangle and topped with shredded cheddar cheese, jalapeño slices, and a cooked sausage link then rolled back up and placed on a baking sheet, seam-side down. Total time is only half an hour!
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the kolache on the baking sheet. While the oven preheats, let the kolache rest, then bake until golden brown. While they're going to smell amazing, give the pastries a chance to cool before you try them because they are going to be hot, hot, hot just like Central Texas!
This post was originally published on August 20, 2021.
READ MORE: A Czech-Texan's Plea: 'Stop Calling Sausage Pastries Kolaches'
Homemade Texas Sausage Kolache
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 1/4 tsp yeast (One packet)
- 2/3 cup lukewarm milk
- 6 tbs melted butter, cooled
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cups flour
Filling
- 12 fully cooked sausage links (We like using pork)
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup jalapeño slices
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (or whichever bowl you plan on mixing everything in), combine the yeast and water. Let rest to proof about 5 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, add milk, butter, eggs, sugar, and salt until evenly combined.
- Add 2 cups of flour to the milk mixture and mix until blended. Add 2 more cups and mix until blended. Add the remaining 3/4 cup and continue mixing. If the dough still sticks to the side of the bowl, continue adding flour about 2 tbs at a time until the right consistency is reached.
- Lightly grease the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
- Meanwhile prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.
- Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions. Roll each into rectangles about 5 inch by 2 1/2 inch long.
- Sprinkle 1 tbs cheese in a line down the middle. Layer on a few jalapeño slices, then lay on the sausage. Wrap the sausage in the dough, pinching to seal.
- Transfer the kolache to the baking sheet, and place seam side down. Let rest for 30 minutes while the oven preheats to 350 F.
- Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
- Let cool about 20 minutes before serving.
