519.Mango Kolache # Bread Bakers

Taking tropical fruit to Europe

     I just recently joined a new group which bakes. Different groups have different rules and different themes. I am excited and the same time a bit apprehensive. I am hoping I will be able to meet the requirements. As soon as the host for the month Pavani of Cook’s Hideout set the theme for August, which is bread made with summer bounty, I thought “it’s not really summer in my part of the world”. We are going through what is known as the rainy season. However, we are blessed with sunshine throughout the year. So I guess you can say that we perpetually have summer whole year round. Well, living at the coast, the first summer ingredient that came to my mind was mango. Combination of mango and a bookmarked recipe resulted in a mango kolache. Thank you so much Pavani for the wonderful theme.
   Kolache is a Czech bread usually baked during celebrations. It usually consists of a yeast sweet dough in a round shape with a topping of a sweet mixture.Either fresh, tinned or dried fruits like peaches and plums, cream cheese, poppy etc are some of the more famous fillings. Modern times means more modern fillings like blueberries, cherries, apricots are more popular. Some add posipka (streusel) on top. For more details about the history of kolache please visit this link.
   The sweet yeast dough is enriched by using butter, milk and egg. The texture of the dough was much like a brioche. The bread turned out soft and pastry like. I should have brushed the buns with egg wash before filling the dents. I forgot to do that and as a result you will see the white ring around the filling.
   So followers enjoy a treasure trove of summer bounty breads made by the group members.

MANGO KOLACHE  
Makes 12 -15
Recipe adapted from Saveur

For the sweet yeast dough :

3-3½ cups plain flour (all purpose baking flour)
¾ cup warm milk
1 egg
2¼ tsp instant dry active yeast
¼ tsp salt
4 tbsp soft butter
6 – 8 tbsp sugar
1 tsp grated lemon rind (zest)

For the filling :

1 cup diced ripe mango (peeled)
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp cornstarch (cornflour)
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp cardamom powder (elachi)

For egg wash :
1 egg
2 tbsp water

extra flour for dusting
extra butter for greasing

Preparation of the dough :

1. Mix flour, sugar, salt, lemon zest and yeast in a big bowl.
2. Add egg to the warm milk and whisk it lightly.
3. Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour.
4. Make a dough and knead it, adding butter at intervals till you get a smooth and silky dough.
5. If the dough is too sticky, add little flour but not too much. Shape the dough into a big ball.
6. Grease the bowl with butter. Put the dough into the bowl. Cover with a cling film.
7. Let the dough rise till its double the size in a warm place. This will take about 2-3 hours.
8. Gently press the dough with your knuckles. Working on a board or work top dusted with flour, shape the dough into a rope. 
9. Cut into 12 -15 parts.
10. Roll each part into a ball. Cover with a tea towel. Let the balls rest for 10 -15 minutes.
11. Prepare the egg wash by whisking the egg and water lightly.
12. Shape each part again into a round ball. Place on a greased or lined baking sheet.
13. Using a rolling pin, make a dent in the middle of each ball.
14. Brush the buns with the egg wash.
15. Fill the dent with 1 tsp of the filling.
16. Let the buns rise for 30 – 45 minutes till they are double the size.
17. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
18. Bake the kolache for 15 minutes or till they are golden brown.
19. Remove them from the tray and let them cool on a wire rack.
20. Serve with tea or coffee.