When it comes to food, inspiration can come from anywhere. More often than not, I am driven by  cravings for something delicious, fantastic food photos or crazy new recipes. For this post, the ingredient itself was the inspiration. I don’t normally stock peaches, but standing in the grocery store I had to have them. So the peaches were snapped up and promptly taken home. But that’s where it ended. I had no recipe in mind for my lovely peaches…until I found the Kolaches.

Yup, kolaches. The peaches were meant to be a part of a breakfast bun. Have you heard of the them? Well, unfortunately for me, I have never had the pleasure…up until now. So do you want the good news first or the bad? Good news? Alright, these rolls are wonderfully delicious,  highly addictive and very versatile.  Not only can they be filled with peaches, but sausages, eggs, poppy seeds, cheese and even  pineapples! I could literally eat kolaches everyday for the rest of my life and be happy. Now for the bad news – they require a lot of work and planning. The dough has to rise, be deflated, refrigerated, then put out to rise all over again.  Now I understand, this is all pretty standard when it comes to making dough, but there are so many  things that could go wrong that it’s bound to drive me crazy.

My first attempt failed miserably due to the yeast and the fact that I did something to kill it along the way.  I am still not quite sure what the culprit was that caused my dough to fail. Maybe, the temperature in my house was too low to make the dough rise, or maybe the water that dissolve the yeast was too hot. Who knows. All I can say is that my second attempt was much better (thank goodness, cuz I think I would have lost it having used 17 cups of flours already, UGH) Apparently, I need to move down to Texas to get my fill Kolaches, as I am told they’re in abundance at the local bakeries. But I will say this, I will definitely make the effort to make kolaches if I have guests staying over or coming for breakfast. They will definitely impress!

Peach Kolaches (From: the Pastry Queen, Rebecca Rather) Dough 2 cups milk 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast 1/2 cup lukewarm water (110 to 115 degrees) 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons salt 8 1/2 cups all purpose flour Peach Filling 2 cups pitted, chopped fresh peaches 1 cup good quality jam Streusel Topping 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 3 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces.

To make the dough: Warm the milk in a medium saucepan set over medium heat until it begins to steam and form a skin; do not boil. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes until registers 100 to 115 degrees on a candy thermometer. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Melt the butter in the microwave or a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Add the cooled milk and the yeast mixture. Gradually add the flour to the batter, 2 cups at a time. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix the flour with the wet ingredients. Keep adding the flour until it is completely  incorporated and the dough begins to hold together. Use a light touch; don’t pound or overwork the dough or you’ll get tough kolaches. The dough will be sticky, moist and light.

Lightly grease a large bowl with vegetable oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size. 1 to 2 hours approximately (a dent should remain when the dough is touched lightly). Leaving the dough in the bowl, punch it down until it deflates (1 to 2 punches with your fists will do). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Grease a 12 x 17 inch baking sheet with butter or cooking spray. With lightly oiled fingertips, shape the dough into 2 1/2 inch diameter balls, about the size of a small lime. Arrange the balls evenly on the baking sheet, 3 across and 6 down.

To make the filling: In a small bowl, combine the chopped peach with the peach jam.

To fill the kolaches, use your thumb or finger to make a generous indentation in the middle of each dough ball, being sure not to pierce the bottom of the dough. Mound about 1 heaping tablespoonful of peach filling in the indentation. Cover the rolls with a clean tea towel and let the rolls rise in a warm, draft-free place until almost double in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To make the streusel topping: Use your hands or a food processor fitted with a metal blade to mix the flour, sugar, and butter until crumbly. Scatter the topping over the kolaches just before baking.

Bake the kolaches until lightly browned on top. 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool the kolaches for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.