Tiffany's Authentic Kolaches

Thanks Tiffany Urbanovsky for all your research and testing for this recipe!

SUPPLIES
liquid & dry measuring cups
small mixing bowl
large mixing bowl
whisk / immersion blender / blender*
spatula
plastic wrap
oil
2-3 baking sheets
parchment paper

DOUGH
Wet Ingredients:
3 packets of dry active yeast
1/2 cup milk or water (to activate yeast)
2 tsp sugar (to activate yeast)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk - lukewarm
2 eggs
Dry Ingredients:
4-5 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt

FILLINGS
Meat - link sausage (most traditional), lil smokies (what most local bakeries & donut shops use), or ham. Shredded cheese is also great with any of these meats.
Cream cheese - combine 8 oz. softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 egg white, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp lemon zest.
Fruit - if you can find it, use Solo brand pastry & cake filling. Otherwise use pie filling with a little cornstarch mixed in to thicken it.

DIRECTIONS
Making the Dough:
1. Activate yeast per package instructions.
2. In a small mixing bowl, blend together melted butter, eggs, sugar, and milk.
3. In a large mixing bowl, measure 4 cups bread flour and 1 tsp salt. Stir to disperse salt.
4. Dump all wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients and wait 5 minutes before mixing.
5. Using a spatula stir wet and dry ingredients until just combined. This will be a very soft dough.
6. Dump the soft dough onto a floured surface and knead approximately 10 times. If the dough still seems very wet, add a little more flour during the kneading process.
7. Transfer to an oiled or parchment-lined bowl** and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the dough ball to avoid developing a skin.
8. Rest in a warm space until the dough has doubled in size.
Baking:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Once the dough has doubled in size, take golf ball-sized pieces of dough, gently form into a round or oval shape*** and place on a baking sheet approximately 1 1/2 inches apart until baking sheet is full.
3. For klobasniky (sausage kolache) ONLY - Wrap the dough around meat.
4. Cover baking sheet with oiled plastic wrap and place in a warm space.**** The proofing time varies here--try to pull them out again once the proofed dough balls are just touching their neighbor.
5. For klobasniky ONLY - Put straight into a preheated oven. Bake for a total of 10-14 min. Check every 5ish min for browning.
6. For fruit / cream cheese kolaches, take proofed dough balls and use your fingers to create a deep well in each ball (make bigger than you think necessary as they will close back in as they bake).
7. Put a small dollop (a little less than a Tbsp) of the filling of your choice in the well.
8. Cover again with the oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 5 minutes.
9. Remove plastic wrap and bake in a preheated oven for 10-14 minutes. Check every 5ish minutes for browning.

Notes from Tiffany:
*I prefer to use an immersion blender to make sure the eggs and butter are well incorporated, however a mixing bowl and whisk or a regular blender will also work.
**In previous years I have proofed my dough in large mixing bowls in a warm room, however this year I used an instant pot on the yogurt setting and it cut down significantly on the proofing time. If you have an IP, I would recommend this method!
***round if making fruit kolaches, oval if you are making sausage klobasniky
****I used my microwave as it is directly above my oven and gets nice and warm inside when my oven is on. Makes for a great proofing cabinet!