Kolaches: A sweet escape
This past weekend we had two days of spring-like weather. There were warm breezes, sunny skies and no need to wear more than a jacket and a light scarf. Unfortunately, it was just a tease and we’ve since returned to below-zero, bone-chilling temperatures. But still that taste, that amuse bouche of future pleasant days gave me a mild case of spring fever.
Spring is one of my favorite times of year: the trees in bloom, the packing away of heavy coats, the longer days, and the arrival of strawberries and asparagus are all cause for celebration. And when I was in school, the season also meant a break—a perfect excuse to hit the road. There was no shortage of places to explore in Texas, but one of our favorite journeys was the annual trek to the Hill Country so we could witness the bluebonnets in full bloom. But as glorious as Texas’ state flower may be, I’d say one of the best parts of the trip was a pit stop made in the tiny town of West.\
West, which is situated almost halfway between Austin and Dallas, is a hamlet for the descendants of Czech immigrants—it’s the “Czech Heritage Capital of Texas.” And what you’ll find there is one of the tastiest pastries ever made—the kolache. This sweet, soft, yeasty roll filled with either apricots, prunes, cheese, poppy seeds or sausage is always an excellent excuse to stop the car, stretch your legs and chow down. Everyone in the state loves kolaches, and while you can sometimes find them in the big cities, for some reason they just taste better in West. Perhaps it’s the water, or perhaps it’s the history, or perhaps it’s the competition between all those Czech bakeries serving their interpretation of the same treat, but most will agree that if you want the best kolaches, you must travel to West.
Sadly, I haven’t been to West in years. But fortunately, last Thanksgiving, my uncle who lives in Austin made a stop and brought a big box of kolaches to my grandparents’ farm. He arrived the day before I did, so in order to insure that my kolache-mad family wouldn’t devour the whole lot, my grandmother hid one in the cupboard for me until I arrived from New York. My family teased me about this special treatment, but after one delicious bite into the pillow-like pastry that soon gave way to the sticky center of sweet prune puree, I was immediately fortified against their good-natured ribbing.
The kolache comes from a large family. I’d say it’s a distant relative to many pastries, such as a Danish, a klobasnek, or even hamentaschen (the two seem to favor the same fillings), but there’s just something about that roll, a certain flavor that makes it stand unique. I’ve never seen them in New York City, but as I was thinking about spring and road trips, I got a craving. I hadn’t made them before, nor had anyone in my family, so I scoured my cookbooks and the Internet in search of a recipe. I discovered several, but which to choose? Would you believe it took me three tries to get that pastry to taste as it should? The first two recipes I made were almost there, but something was always a bit off—either the dough was too stiff or the dough was too sweet. But on my third attempt I took what I had learned and came up with something that felt authentic.
So while making kolaches in Manhattan is akin to making bagels in West, I do think these kolaches are about as close to that little town in Texas as you can get. For me, it’s a taste of road trips, wildflowers in bloom and a hint of warmer days on the horizon. And if you’re looking for a sweet escape, perhaps you will enjoy them, too.
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Kolaches
Ingredients
Ingredients for the dough:
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm whole milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup melted unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Ingredients for the filling:
- 1/2 pound dried fruit apricots or prunes
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
Ingredients for the posypka:
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- To make the dough, in a large bowl, combine the yeast, warm milk, sugar, and 1 cup of the flour. Cover and let it rise until doubled in size.
- Beat together the eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry), and salt. Add the egg mixture to the yeast mixture and blend.
- Stir in about 2 more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be soft and moist. Knead dough for about 10 minutes on floured surface. Don’t worry, it’s a joy to knead as the dough is smooth and highly malleable. Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise covered until doubled in size—about an hour.
- After dough has risen, punch it down and pull off egg-sized pieces. In your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about 3 inches in diameter. Brush with half the remaining melted butter. Place flattened pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover ,and let rise again for another half-hour.
- Meanwhile, to make the filing, place the fruit in a pan, cover with water, bring to a boil, then cook on low for 15 minutes, adding sugar to taste (I find the fruit sweet enough so I don’t add sugar, but you may prefer it sweeter), cinnamon, and lemon zest. Mash with a potato masher until you have a puree.
- To make the popsyka, stir together the flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon until crumbly.
- After the second rising of the dough, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much) and fill with one tablespoon of fruit filling and sprinkle with the posypka.
- Bake in oven at 375° F for 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with remaining melted butter when you take them out of the oven and serve warm.
One of the few advantages of driving across Toledo was stopping at the National Bakery on Whitimore St. for apricot kolaches. They had lots of good stuff (none of that 1950's bakery stuff that was actually worse than store bought). however, the ladies at the National had to close shop; so gone but not forgotten. Thank you for the recipes.
Coming from a bohemian in Texas I have to show y'all the light…kolaches do NOT contain sausage! Those are klobasnikis or klobasniks. We have a kolache/klobase festival in my hometown, so if any of yall come down you will have the lingo right!
I'm partial to agreeing with Dorin above, although I think it's okay to call a sausage wrapped in pastry dough a "kolache," especially in Texas. On that note, my wife and I recently returned from a trip to Prague where we were schooled by our hosts that one is a kolach, more than one are kolache. After 35 years of eating them, I find it hard to change my Texas bohemian vernacular. Either way, thanks for posting the recipe. I'm going to try it out this weekend!
We moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana last winter and have since discovered that food just isn't the same up here. I was born and raised in Texas and actually grew up in College Station, just up the road from the Kolache festival. My husband had a hankering for kolaches and we searched the city and couldn't find any so we made yours. They are spot on and SO delicious! 🙂 THANK YOU THANK YOU, from one Homesick Texan to another.
I am making a big batch of Kolaches with sausage and would like to share them with family but want them to get them hot and fresh. So need info on the best way to keep store them. can they be frozen before or after cooking?