I once thought Paleo Kolaches were merely a fantasy, until I finally nailed the recipe…
In Texas, there were two favorites when it came to weekend breakfast treats: Shipley Donuts or savory Kolaches. Kolaches (kuh-law-cheez) are a Texas-Czech pastry brought over by Czech immigrants and originally focused more on sweet fillings like fruit and jam. Over time there were adaptations and sausage became a popular option, as well as ham and cheese. While the official name of the sausage filled kolaches is actually Klobasnek, any Texan you meet will call them kolaches just the same. And you will 100% find little packs of yellow mustard wherever they are baked. It’s the law.
When I wrote Down South Paleo, I had visions of including Paleo Kolaches in the book, but alas, I had not been able to nail a recipe I felt good enough about sharing. I have craved this pillowy meat filled magic for years now and finally am able to share this recipe!
This is a yeast based dough. It comes together VERY easily but does take time to rise. Once the dough is risen, you can fill it with any variety of your favorite fillings, including the traditional sausage links or sweet fillings if you prefer. There is no limit to the possibilities and I think you’ll have fun trying out different varieties and ideas.
It’s worth mentioning that I have not tried subs on ANYTHING. The recipe is written this way because after trial and error, this is what worked. I don’t know if almond flour would work in place of potato. I don’t know if there’s a way to make it egg free or if chia/flax/gelatin eggs would work (I suspect not). I don’t know if cassava flour would work in place of tapioca or how it would be rewritten to be nightshade free. All this to say, if you would like to experiment with the recipe, I think that’s great, but I cannot tell you what the outcome might be or if it would be anything like the original recipe I’ve created here. Recipe development is costly and time consuming as well so when I am able to really nail a recipe, I am over the moon to stop there! Thank you for keeping this in mind as you take your own food intolerances and preferences into account.
Paleo Kolaches
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water (120 degrees)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 packets of rapid rise yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons per packet)
- 3 eggs, whisked
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- 1 cup potato starch
- 3 tablespoons olive or avocado oil
- 3 tablespoons psyllium husk powder
- 1 package PRE-COOKED nitrate free bite sized sausages, 4 brat sized sausages or 5 hot dog sized sausages. You can use a variety of sausage types. The traditional ones are hickory smoked or jalapeno but you can really use whatever you have convenient to where you live. I used chicken, turkey, and pork sausages in these kolaches, experimenting with a variety of types. The higher quality, the better of course. You can also include cheese in yours which is not strictly paleo but is tolerated by some.
Instructions
- Combine the warm water and maple syrup; stir quickly and then stir in both yeast packets
- Set the yeast mixture aside for 5 minutes to bloom while you continue mixing the other ingredients in a separate bowl
- In a clean medium sized bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients except for the psyllium husk
- Stir them well with a whisk until no clumps remain, then pour in the yeast mixture
- Last, add in the psyllium husk powder and whisk quickly; cover the bowl once the mixture is combined well and set it aside for at least 30 minutes to rise. It will almost double in size
- While your dough is rising, preheat your oven to 350. When your dough is risen, pinch off a piece of it that can fully encase the sausage size you chose. The dough will continue to rise when it bakes so you want JUST ENOUGH to encase the sausage completely with a thin layer. By encase, I mean you want to completely wrap the sausage in the dough, no seams or open spots. It’s not tricky, I promise!
- Now bake for around 15 minutes. Your kolaches will start to brown slightly on the outside. If your sausages are bigger, you may need a few extra minutes of cook time to make sure the dough bakes through closest to the sausage.
- Once baked through, allow to cool just slightly and then serve warm with mustard
Jennifer I am about to cry with happiness. You probably don’t remember me but I commented on your blog before asking about paleo kolaches. They are the one thing I miss more than anything since going gluten free after my celiac disease diagnosis. Thank you so much. Seriously. It sounds stupid but I really missed this Texas comfort food. I cannot wait to try this recipe <3
I am now permanently transplanted from Texas to Florida. They have no idea of what kolaches are. I hate to admit breaking down and having them whenever I’m back in Texas, but they are simply that good. You have given me the best gift of 2018 with this recipe. My husband loves them, too. However, the recipe I have for the wheat flour based kolaches
makes 24. Since my husband can’t eat 24 of them, I rarely make them. This recipe is perfect! I can’t wait to try them.
Enjoy Jody!!!
Looks great-how much water though? 1/2 a what?! Thanks, Lucy
Corrected! 1/2 cup. Thanks!
Could these be made ahead of time? Make the dough and put in fridge and bake in the morning?
Possibly! I just haven’t tried that myself yet!
If one wanted to leave out the syrup or honey, would you make up the difference with just not water? I really want to try this but can’t have either of those ingredients. Thanks!!
You could try, you just use them for the yeast to bloom a little more.
Hello! I made these tonight and something went wrong, but I’m not sure what! The “dough” was so soupy after I mixed the dry ingredients with the water, honey, and yeast and although I let it set a full 30 minutes it never thickened. I panicked and added about a half to three fourths cup of gf flour mix just to thicken it into anything I could wrap around the sausages since I had company coming and was trying to see if I could salvage the dish, but I cannot figure out where it went wrong?! Also when you first mix all of the other ingredients in the beginning besides the water, honey, yeast, and later the psyllium, the ball of eggs, starch, salt, etc… cant really be “whisked” its more of a play dough consistency once its all bound, is that correct? … then once I added it to the water, honey, and yeast it took quite a bit of mixing and stirring to get it to meld altogether, but once it did, and even after adding the psyllium it was like cake batter. Any thoughts? The end result with the added flour was edible, but I was hoping it would have been a success with the original instructions!
I’m so sorry to hear that. You used a total of 2 cups of flour plus another 3/4 cup and it was still thin? That’s surprising and I’m not sure why. You could definitely add the ingredients separately but ultimately it should not be runny at the end. I wish I was in your kitchen so I could help troubleshoot!
Yes, I used a cup each of the potato starch and tapioca starch and after the 30 minutes it was still soupy so I threw in gf flour to thicken it up just enough to get it to where I could wrap the sausages. It was still edible, but what should the consistency be of the dry ingredients before you add them to the yeasty water and honey, and once that’s mixed, what should the consistency resemble then as well? Itd be neat to see a video of the process. I loved the overall flavor of the dough though. If I can get it right there way it’s supposed to be im sure they’d have been even better!
How much water did you add? I’m wondering if it was the brand of your flours but I tested this recipe over and over and I’m trying to think what could be the issue. How big were your eggs? Large/extra large? Even still I wouldn’t have expected soupy. It should be an airy sticky dough. I’ll see if I can do video clips soon. I’ll post them on IG stories when I do.
PSA, make sure you buy potato STARCH and not flour…oops! For some reason that was all my grocery store had, and it didn’t quite work (dense and not at all fluffy). My dough didn’t rise but I went with it and ended up baking them for about 20 extra minutes. They’re meat wrapped in a dough which is always good, so it could be much much worse 🙂 can’t wait to try them with the correct ingredients!
Oh bummer! Can’t wait to hear how round two goes!
Have you tried to make this without the yeast at all? My mom is allergic to yeast so we might try it out this weekend!
I haven’t but I don’t think the dough will rise properly without it unfortunately.
I have not tried it without the yeast but I suspect it will not rise properly without.
My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.