Bubbat Transformed

This is another of our family recipes, which my sons pointedly mentioned, I haven't made for quite a while.  Bubbat is a Russian Mennonite recipe with a long tradition.  We liked the idea of mixing bread and sausage however, I had some problems with the original recipe.  The original recipe used 3" lengths of pre-cooked sausage pressed into the rolled out bread and didn't include any vegetables.  That method was just too greasy for us, and was solved by slowly browning the chopped sausage before incorporating into the rolls.  The vegetables add great flavor and accent the sausage  without compromising the lightness of these rolls.  We would bake these up before car trips and hand one to the boys when they were hungry,  for a nourishing snack.  Bubbats are easy to prepare, do not require a lot of kneading, and make great school or work lunches.  If your not a fan of caraway seeds, rosemary is a fine addition. 

A light and airy freshly baked Bubbat with meaty bits.

Bubbat

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm milk

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2-4 cups unbleached white flour

1 lb precooked smoked beef sausage or Kielbasa

1 small onion chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper

1-2 finely chopped celery stalks

1 Tablespoon caraway seeds

1-3 finely chopped and seeded Jalepeno

Slice the sausage in half lengthwise, then cut each half, in half again.  Chop the sausage lengths into equal bite size portions.  Cook the sausage in a little olive oil on medium heat, until the fat is rendered out of the sausage and it is well browned.  Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and place on a plate with a paper towel to absorb any remaining grease.  While the sausage is cooking, cut up the onion, green pepper, celery stalks and jalapeno.  Keep the onion separate from the other diced vegetables.  When the sausage is done, drain the grease from the pan, add a little olive oil and cook the chopped onion for about 3 or 4 minutes, just before the onion starts to turn translucent, its done.  Remove the onion from the frying pan onto a plate with a paper towel to drain and cool. 
Put the yeast in a large bowl, stir in the warm milk (90-100 degrees) and sugar until the yeast is dissolved.  Add the egg and salt, mix well then stir in the flour a cup at a time until you have added 2 cups of flour.  Then add the raw celery, green pepper, caraway and Jalapeno along with the cooked sausage and onion.  Mix well and continue to add flour until you have a stiff dough and its difficult to stir.  Turn the dough out onto a floured board, knead while adding flour until you have a smooth cohesive dough (couple of minutes).  Place dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for one hour.

The Bubbats rolled and cut out.  They'll need to rise for 30 minutes before baking.

Punch down dough, turn dough onto a lightly floured counter.  With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about a 1/2 " thick and evenly cut the dough into about 20- 24 equal rolls.  We dip each side into a little flour for ease of separation and evenly space the rolls on a large oiled cookie sheet.  Cover with a towel and let rise for about 30 minutes until almost double.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes at 400, then lower heat to 350 and cook 20 minutes more.  Brush tops of bubbat with butter for a softer crust.  After bubbats have cooled refrigerate any leftovers.

Finished Bubbats,  Pass the mustard please.