Texas Kolaches

 The best Texas Kolaches Recipe with an easy, pillowy soft yeast dough, plus recipes for both sausage AND ham and cheese fillings!

Texas Kolaches

Ingredients:

FOR THE DOUGH:

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 2 ¼ teaspoon rapid rise (or instant) yeast
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten

FOR SAUSAGE KOLACHES:

• 8 small smoked sausage links, split lengthwise and cut into 3" pieces (we used Slovacek's Bar-B-Que Seasoned Link Sausage)
• FOR HAM AND CHEESE KOLACHES:
• 16 thinly sliced pieces of deli ham
• 8 slices of American cheese, halved

Instructions:

MAKE THE DOUGH:

1. Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat to melt. Do not allow to brown. As soon as the butter has melted, add the milk and stir until blended. Set aside.
2. Add the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low until combined.
3. Switch out the paddle attachment for the dough hook and add the milk/butter mixture, as well as the egg and the egg yolk. Mix on low for about 1 minute, then, increase the speed to medium (#6 on Kitchenaid stand mixer) and knead for 8 minutes.
4. In the meantime, add about 3 cups of water to a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Then, grease a large bowl. You'll also need to arrange your oven racks so that you can fit the saucepan on the floor of the oven with a rack situated above it. Your large bowl will go on top of the rack. The bowl does not need to be oven-safe.
5. Once the dough has finished kneading (it will soft and somewhat sticky), use floured hands to form it into a ball and transfer it the greased bowl. Place the saucepan of boiling water on the oven floor and the bowl on the rack above it. Close the oven door and allow the dough to proof for 1 - 1 ½ hour, until it has doubled in size.
6. Remove the bowl from the oven (leave the saucepan in) and punch down the dough. On a floured work surface, divide it into 4 equal pieces, and then divide each of those pieces into quarters. You should have 16 pieces of dough.
7. Roll the dough into balls and transfer to 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them about 2 to 3 inches apart. Close the oven door and allow to proof for 90 minutes.
8. Remove both pans and the saucepan from the oven and preheat it to 350°F.

TO MAKE SAUSAGE KOLACHES:

1. Wrap each dough ball around a piece of sausage until it is fully enclosed and pinch to seal any seams.

TO MAKE HAM AND CHEESE KOLACHES:

1. Place a piece of cheese in the center of a slice of ham and fold over/wrap the ham to enclose the cheese.
2. Wrap each dough ball around the ham until it is fully enclosed and pinch to seal any seams.

BAKE:

1. Place seam-side down on the baking sheet and bake for 22-25 minutes, until golden in color. Allow to cool slightly, serve, and enjoy!