Feast Your Eyes On The Making Of Kolache Shoppe’s Super Bowl Inspired, Sausage & Gravy Stuffed Kolaches

With the big game just a few days away, restaurants across Houston are prepping like crazy for the Super Bowl crowds to descend. At beloved Space City institution Kolache Shoppe, the talented bakers on staff are preparing to serve up sausage and gravy-stuffed kolaches in collaboration with Lee’s Fried Chicken & Donuts.

Available in limited quantities from today until February 4th, the sausage & jalapeno gravy kolache is stuffed to the brim with breakfast sausage and a generous helping of Lee Ellis’ bacon-jalapeno infused gravy. Take a look behind the scenes of the making of this decadent breakfast treat, and try not to drool on your screen.

Every morning, Kolache Shoppe bakers arrive at 3 a.m. to start preparing dough for the day to prepare for filling when the rest of the team arrives at 5:30 a.m. Making the semi-sweet dough takes approximately 30 minutes per batch and on average, bakers make between 6 and 8 batches of kolache dough every day.

The mixture runs for about 10 minutes to activate the yeast and then flour, butter and any remaining ingredients are added and let run an additional 10 minutes to fully incorporate all of the elements. The finished dough is left to rest in the mixing bowl for another 5-10 minutes or until it rises slightly.

The dough is then turned out onto the prep table and portioned into 8-pound dough balls and then further as needed for individual servings. Dough is divided into 3.4 oz portions referred to as “breakfast balls” and lined up onto trays in rows. The trays are placed in the fridge to limit rising until ready for their sausage & gravy filling.

Chilled breakfast sausage is crumbled and mixed with just over two cups of chilled jalapeno cream gravy from Lee’s Fried Chicken and Donuts. This mixture produces enough filling for about twelve kolaches.

A board is dusted with flour, and one at a time, the dough balls are flattened to make room for the filling. Using a scoop, each kolache is filled with the sausage-gravy mixture, and slices of pickled jalapeno gild the lily.

It takes an experienced and patient hand to properly and efficiently close up the bulging pocket of dough, especially when filling threatens to escape. Once the edges are sealed, the ball gets a light roll to ensure uniformity and then set aside on a flour surface.

The finished breakfast kolaches are lined up on a tray by the dozen with space to allow for additional rising during resting and baking time. The tray is placed inside a plastic bag, then heads into the fridge where it will rest until it’s time to bake the next morning.

To finish, the kolaches are baked in a 300-degree oven for about 45 minutes, or until they’re perfectly golden brown, at which time you’ll want to devour at least a dozen.