Kolaches are soft, enriched dough, yeast-leavened pastries often filled with sweet cheese custard, fruit preserves, or spiced poppy seed paste. They are originally from the Czech Republic but are also a Texas staple and popular in parts of Iowa because of large-scale immigration to these and other areas of the U.S. between 1850 and 1920. (The word kolache is actually the plural of kolach in the Czech language, but in the U.S. adding an s to pluralize kolaches is common.)
Ready to bake
Our recipe for kolaches uses high extraction all purpose flour for more flavor and nutrients, but the milk in the recipe is given as a range so that flour substitutions are easy. The sweet cheese filling is relatively standard for American kolaches, but we skipped the sweet fruit preserves and simply added seasonal blueberries for a pop of flavor and juiciness. For a sweeter experience, fruit preserves and posypka (streusel) are options; and maková náplň (poppyseed filling) or spiced prune jam are neat traditional choices.
See the Photo Gallery after the recipe for step-by-step visual instructions.
Kolaches are delicious Czech pastries that are popular in parts of the U.S. too, especially Texas. They’re made with an enriched yeast dough, sweet cheese filling, fruit preserves, poppy seed paste, or a spiced prune jam. In this recipe, we use sifted whole grain flour for extra nutrients and flavor and fresh fruit to top the sweet cheese filling.
Total Time
1 hour, 15 minutes
Ingredients
Dough
- 360 grams all purpose high extraction flour (2 3/4 cups) *
- 40 grams sugar (scant 1/4 cup)
- 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast (5 grams)
- 1/2 tsp salt (3 grams)
- 154-200 grams warmed milk, 70-90°F (3/4 cup +- 1 1/2 Tbsp)
- 1 egg **
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (2 grams)
- 43 grams unsalted butter, room temp, cut in pieces (3 Tbsp)
- to brush on the dough before baking, 1 egg beaten
Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese (227 grams)
- 50 grams sugar (1/4 cup)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (4 grams)
Topping
- 1 cup blueberries or chopped fruit or jam of your choosing
Instructions
- In a warm kitchen with a dough temp of about 80°F, the first rise takes a little over an hour and the final proof about 45 minutes. Expect longer rise times in cooler temps.
Filling Prep
- You can make the sweet cheese filling ahead. Cover and refrigerate it until the final proof. Add all the filling ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix until fully combined.
Dough Mixing and First Rise
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the hook attachment, combine the dough ingredients minus the butter and holding back some of the milk. Mix for several minutes on medium speed, adding milk as needed to make a smooth, strong dough.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the pieces of butter, and mix for another 3-4 minutes until the dough is wrapping around the hook.
- Cover and let rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours depending on temperature.
Pre-Shaping and Final Proof
- Line a half sheet pan or two smaller baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough in 12 pieces (~57 grams) and roll them into balls, placing them on the sheet pan with space in between. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let the dough rise again until double in size, 30-60 minutes depending on temperature. See the photos in the gallery below for target dough expansion.
Final Shaping, Filling, and Baking
- Preheat the oven to 350°F convection bake or 375°F standard bake.
- Dust the top of each dough ball lightly with flour and press a well into the dough with the bottom of a glass that is about 2 1/4 inches diameter (a pint glass works well). Repeat pressing the glass into the dough if it bounces back or use your fingertips to stretch the dough until the well remains.
- Brush the perimeter of the dough with egg wash.
- Fill the wells with the sweet cheese and top with berries. Press the berries into the filling a bit so they don’t roll off when the cheese filling puffs during baking.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the internal temp of a kolach is over 190°F.
- Let cool a bit before serving. Store kolaches in a covered container in the refrigerator and microwave them for a few seconds to warm them up before eating.
Notes
* Flour substitutions are fine. Simply hold back some of the milk and add it as needed to make a supple, elastic dough.
** Most recipes call for yolks only. Feel free to use two yolks here instead of one whole egg.
I appreciate you sharing this blog post. Thanks Again. Cool.