Kolaches
Submitted by judygwen on September 24, 2010 at 9:28 pm

DESCRIPTION
Originally a Czecheslovakian treat, this sweet breakfast treat has made a new home since the early 1800's in Texas, specifically in the town of West, near Waco in Central Texas.

SUMMARY
Yield 36 kolaches Source Adapted from Mrs. Jerabek’s Kolache Recipe, The Ranch, middle November 1998 edition, original recipe from Kolace, Progressive F File under
Breakfast Pastry Sweet Roll

INGREDIENTS
Dough ingredients:
6 cups flour mixture - 20 oz pastry or cake four, and 10 oz bread flour
1/2 tsp ground mace or nutmeg, pinch ground allspice, pinch ground clove
2 yeast cakes or 2 pkgs active dry yeast and 1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup water at room temperature
3/4 cup butter, plus 1 to 2 Tbsp melted for brushing on dough later
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. lemon zest
2 cups whole milk, room temperature

INSTRUCTIONS
I worked on perfecting the original of this recipe published in The Ranch, middle November 1998 edition, called Mrs Jerrabeks Kolache Recipe (original recipe from Kolace, Progressive Farmer December 1963), for almost two years. Here is the result, a sweet, soft yeasty roll filled with a topping of your choice.

1 recipe Posypka (follows this recipe)

Preserves or other fillings (suggestions and recipes follow this recipe)

Making the dough:
6 cups flour mixture - 24 oz pastry or cake four, and 6 oz bread flour
1/2 tsp ground mace or nutmeg, pinch ground allspice, pinch ground clove
Mix together and set aside.

2 yeast cakes or 2 pkgs active dry yeast and 1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup water at room temperature
Dissolve yeast in water and sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar. Set aside for now.

3/4 cup butter, plus 1 to 2 Tbsp melted for brushing on dough later
3/4 cup sugar
Cream together.

2 egg yolks, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. lemon zest
Add to creamed mixture and mix

Add dissolved yeast and water mixture, with about 1/2 of the flour mixture, and mix SLOWLY.

2 cups whole milk, room temperature
Add all of milk to the mixture.

Continue mixing slowly and add remaining flour a little at a time, or stir in with wooden spoon, until dough becomes glossy.

Cover dough in the bowl, let rise in a warm place until about double in bulk, about 1 hour.

After the dough has risen, cut off small portions of dough about the size of a medium egg. Shape into balls, and place on a parchment covered cooking sheet about 1 inch apart. (Optional: brush with melted butter to improve flavor.) Cover loosely and let rise until light, about 1-1/2 times the original size (about 1-2 hrs). They will probably end up touching each other, but that is OK.

Make a small indentation in each piece with a small spoon or back of a small scoop and place 1/2 to 2/3 tsp filling in the indentation. Sprinkle with posypka topping and bake in a preheated oven at 425o

Yield: 3-4 dozen kolaches depending upon size

Posypka topping
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
3/4 to 1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp melted butter

Mix together until it resembles coarse meal. Store in refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

Homemade Filling suggestions (you can use preserves bought at the store, but these taste much better!)

Strawberry I
8 oz. strawberries hulled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup water
Combine berries sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water in a 2 quart pan over medium-high heat. Cook until thick, 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat, mash berries until chunky. Let cool.

Strawberry II
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 egg white
1/4 cup sugar
4-5 fresh hulled and sliced strawberries
Combine. Refrigerate until used.

Poppy Seed
1 cup poppyseeds
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup chopped nuts
Dash of cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until it thickens, stirring often. Cool.

Apricot I
4 oz. dried apricots, finely chopped, or pitted prunes
3/4 cup suar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup water
Combine the fruit and 3/4 cup water in a 2 quart sauce pan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until the water is evaporated and fruits are plumped. Add sugar, lemon juice and 1/4 cup water and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

Apricot II
Cook 10 oz package of dried apricots slowly in enough water to cover until fruit is soft and water is cooked out. Do not cover or fruit will darken. Add 1-1/2 cups sugar or more to taste and mash until well blended. Filling for about 2 dozen kolaches.

Prune
Cook 1 pound of prunes slowly in water to cover until soft and tender. Remove stones from cooled prunes and add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and mix well. Do not overmix or prunes will lose their color. Filling for about 2 dozen kolaches.

Note if using cottage cheese as a filling, be sure to enclose cheese in the dough. Spread dough balls out, place cheese in the middle and pinch all sides together to seal completely. Placed the sealed side down on the greased pan and brush with melted butter. Let rise until light, sprinkle with posypka topping and bake as directed. You may substitute Bakers Cheese if it is available.

If you use a commercial cottage cheese use this recipe:
1 pint dry curd cottage cheese
1 8-oz package cream cheese
Pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
Grated zest of one lemon
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Mix together until blended. If cheese is too moist, add very finely rolled crackers, a few tsp as a time to absorb the liquid. If using country-style cottage cheese, cream cheese can be omitted or used for added flavor, according to taste.

Cream Cheese
1 – 8 oz package cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine and blend thoroughly. Refrigerate until use. After make indentations in dough, put some of cream cheese mixture in indentation and top with scant 1/2 tsp preserves.

Cottage Cheese I
4 oz cottage cheese
2 oz cream cheese, at room temp
3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1 egg yolk
Place all ingredients in medium bowl and beat with wooden spoon until smooth.

Farmers Cheese (Cottage Cheese II)
1 cup Farmers or cottage cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg white
3/4 cup raisins
2 Tbsp dark rum or marsala
Lemon zest
Combine until smooth. Refrigerate until used.

comments
Submitted by kelseyf on Wed, 2010-10-27 10:15.
I had to develop a Kolache formula for a project in college. Mine were never quite right. I'll have to try these!
Submitted by martibeth on Wed, 2010-11-03 21:03.
What a coincidence to see this recipe. I just made kolaches this past week, using a different recipe; that one called for quite a bit of sour cream. I suspect the kolaches I made were bigger too; they were close to 2 ounces each. I made the 4 traditional fillings: Poppyseed (which I ground in a real poppyseed grinder), apricot, prune, and cottage cheese. All in all, they turned out well, although the dough was very sticky, so I think I'll try this recipe. It actually sounds very similar to the dough I use for making nut rolls, although that dough rests overnight in the fridge, and contains very little yeast. Thanks for posting this recipe.
Submitted by fried on Mon, 2010-11-08 00:31.
Thanks for the receipe. I love Kolaches! I'm part Czech and my grandmother used to make all of the traditional fillings, such as, prune, cheese, and apricot. I make the Kolache dough in my bread machine. With all the different Czech Cookbooks I have, I've made a pineapple filling, which is very good, and a cherry filling that's also very good. Next time I make a filling, I'm going to add rum to the pineapple filling to see how it turns out.