Houston Ham And Cheese Kolaches Recipes

Steps:

• SPONGE: Mix together yeast and 2 cups of flour. Add the rest of the sponge ingredients. Mix with spoon until thoroughly combined and then put in your refrigerator overnight. (this time is not in the cook time).
• The next morning, stir the sponge lightly and add the salt. Begin adding flour until it forms into a dough ball. If there is little humidity, this could be as little as one cup. If you are here in Houston, I usually end up putting in a couple and then kneading another half cup.
• Once you have a doughball, Let it rest for 20 minutes.
• Knead for 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface, adding flour as needed. The dough should be very easy to knead, fairly loose.
• Place kneaded dough into a bowl, lightly oiled and turn dough so that it is covered with oil. Let it rise until doubled in size, about an hour. Meanwhile, mix together ham and cheese.
• Punch down dough.
• Divide into 32 small balls (divide in half, then divide in half again, and again, etc.). Take each ball and flatten with your hand to a 3" circle. Place one tablespoon ham and cheese mixture into the center of each circle and close into a ball, twisting the opening closed. Make sure the opening is well sealed, or the kolaches will burst open in the oven.
• Place filled balls seam side down onto greased cookie sheets (I use 2). Cover and let rise again for half an hour. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
• Brush kolaches with melted butter. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden colored. You don't want these to get brown, or they will be too dry. Just golden, like biscuits or dinner rolls.
• Baked kolaches can be frozen, thawed, and reheated in the microwave.

Steps:

• Ham and Cheese Filling: In a bowl, combine 1 cup diced ham, 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, and 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard.
• Stir to blend well.
• Refrigerate until ready to use.
• For Egg Glaze: In a small bowl, combine 1 egg white and 1 tablespoon water.
• Beat lightly to blend.
• For kolaches:In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, cheese, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt.
• Heat water and butter until very warm (120º to 130ºF).
• Gradually add to flour mixture.
• Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Add egg and 1 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed.
• Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
• Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into 16 equal pieces; shape each into a ball.
• Cover; let rest 15 minutes.
• Place balls on greased baking sheets 2 inches apart.
• Make a deep and wide indentation on each ball by pushing outward toward edge, leaving 1/2-inch ridge around outside.
• Fill with Ham and Cheese filling.
• Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Brush surface of dough with Egg Glaze.
• Bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes or until done.
• Remove from sheets; serve warm.
• Refrigerate leftovers.
• BAKING TIP:When you use two baking sheets or pans in the same oven, be sure to stagger them.
• Heat rises and stacking one pan directly above another causes the bottom pan to bake faster than the top.
• Bakers should also rotate the sheets (top to bottom and bottom to top) and turn the sheets 180 degrees (back to front) halfway through baking.

Steps:

• Prepare 1 batch of Sylvia's Kolache Dough (#238688) per directions through step 9. (Note that I use my countertop mixer with the dough hook rather than mixing by hand and usually need about 6 1/2 cups of flour vs. the 6 that Sylvia calls for).
• Divide the dough into 12 equal parts.
• Roll into round balls and then one at a time:.
• Roll out each dough ball into an oval about 8" x 6".
• Layer 3 slices of deli ham and 1/3 cup of shredded cheddar in the middle of the oval.
• Bring the long ends up and together on top of the cheese (make sure to wrap it up!). Pinch the dough together to seal.
• Bring the short ends up and together on top of the 1st layer of dough. Pinch the dough together to seal.
• With your hands, roll each dough pocket around to smooth the seams and shape into a 4"x3" pocket (about 1 1/2 inches thick).
• Arrange on a greased baking tray.
• Brush the tops with melted butter.
• Bake 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees until done.
• Eat hot (very!) or allow to cool completely and store in the fridge. (Note: Let the pockets cool before putting them in bags - otherwise the moisture will condense in the plastic bag and make the dough a bit soggy).