Czech Kolaches

Before you start

Kolaches are soft, slightly sweet yeast buns with a pocket of filling in the center. They come from Czech baking traditions and became a fixture in central Texas, where Czech immigrant communities kept making them. The classic fillings are fruit (apricot, prune, cherry) and sweet farmer's cheese or cream cheese, often topped with posypka, a crumbly sugar and butter streusel.

The dough is rich with butter, egg and milk, so it stays tender for a day. The key steps are a second short rise after making the wells, so the edges puff up into a soft rim, and a thick filling that holds its place. Runny jam boils over and leaves a hollow; cook fruit fillings until they mound on a spoon. In Texas, sausage-filled buns are usually called klobasneks rather than kolaches.

Ingredients

• Dough500 g (4 cups + 2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
• 65 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
• 7 g (2¼ tsp) instant yeast
• 7 g (1¼ tsp) fine salt
• 250 ml (1 cup + 1 tbsp) whole milk — warmed to about 38°C (100°F)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 85 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter — melted and cooled, plus 2 tbsp for brushing
• Apricot filling150 g (1 cup) dried apricots — chopped
• 180 ml (¾ cup) water
• 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Cheese filling225 g (8 oz) cream cheese — softened
• 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp lemon zest
• Posypka30 g (¼ cup) all-purpose flour
• 30 g (2½ tbsp) granulated sugar
• 20 g (1½ tbsp) cold unsalted butter

Method

1. Mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Add the warm milk, egg, yolk and melted butter and mix on low until combined, then knead on medium-low for 6 to 8 minutes, until smooth and soft. The dough will be very tender and slightly sticky.
2. Cover and let rise until doubled, 60 to 90 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the apricot filling: simmer the apricots, water and sugar, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the fruit is soft and most of the liquid is absorbed. Blend smooth with the lemon juice and cool. It should be thick enough to mound on a spoon.
4. For the cheese filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar, yolk, flour and zest until smooth. Refrigerate until needed. Rub the posypka ingredients together with your fingertips into coarse crumbs.
5. Divide the dough into 16 pieces of about 62 g. Shape into tight balls and set 8 on each parchment-lined sheet, 5 cm (2 in) apart. Flatten each to about 6 cm (2½ in) across. Brush with melted butter, cover and proof for 40 minutes.
6. Flour the bottom of a small cup about 4 cm (1½ in) across and press it firmly into the center of each bun, leaving a 1 cm (½ in) rim. Let the buns rest 15 minutes, then press the wells again if they have puffed up. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
7. Fill each well with about 1 heaping tablespoon of filling, half with apricot and half with cheese. Sprinkle posypka around the edges.
8. Bake one sheet at a time for 15 to 18 minutes, until the buns are golden and the cheese filling is set. Brush the rims with melted butter straight from the oven and cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a rack.

Tips for success

• Press the wells deep. A shallow well puffs up during baking and pushes the filling off the bun.
• Thick store-bought fruit butters and pie fillings work if you are short on time. Avoid loose jam.
• Brushing the rims with butter after baking keeps the dough soft and gives a glossy finish.

Substitutions

Dried apricots

Pitted prunes or dried cherries cooked the same way. Prunes give a deeper, richer filling.

Cream cheese

Farmer's cheese or well-drained ricotta for a lighter, tangier filling. Press out the moisture first so it does not run.

All-purpose flour

Bread flour gives a chewier bun. Add 15 ml (1 tbsp) more milk.

Variations

Fresh peach kolaches

Cook 250 g diced peaches with 50 g sugar and 1 tbsp cornstarch until thick, then cool before filling.

Poppy seed kolaches

Simmer 100 g ground poppy seeds with 120 ml milk, 50 g sugar and 1 tbsp butter until thick, and use it as a traditional filling.

Troubleshooting

Filling overflowed and burned

The filling was too loose or the wells too shallow. Cook fruit fillings thick and press the wells firmly twice.

Buns are dry the next day

Overbaked or too much flour. Pull them when golden, and store them airtight as soon as they cool.

Wells disappeared in the oven

The buns were overproofed before pressing. Press them after about 40 minutes, then rest only 15 minutes before baking.

Storage

Fruit kolaches keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day. Cheese-filled kolaches must be refrigerated within 2 hours and eaten within 3 days; rewarm at 165°C (325°F) for 5 minutes. Freeze baked kolaches for up to 2 months.

Safety notes

Raw dough and filling contain raw egg and uncooked flour and should not be tasted. Refrigerate cream-cheese kolaches. Contains wheat, milk and egg.