How to make Traditional Czech Bohemian Koláče Pastries

“These Czech Koláče (Kolache) pastries are made from an old traditional recipe from Bohemia and they have been making it for centuries. Koláče are made by every family and for special occasions, they make it especially with different fillings. I’m dismayed to find out that it’s the new hot trend in baking and they are calling this the Hipster doughnut! The recipes travelled with the immigrant communities to the US in the mid 19th Century and they have adopted it as their won. What? Somewhere in Texas, there is a big community of Czechs busy baking these pastries into the 21st century.

Recently, the Budweiser Budvar team spent a day with some old ladies in Borovany,  a few minutes away from České Budějovice in South Bohemia. They have been baking Koláče the same way for hundreds of years. The team spent the day with some ladies from the village who foraged for some wild blueberries in the woods before baking.

The Budweiser Budvar beer is not just for drinking at a bar. These bakers had each opened a bottle before their baking session.

The “Peter Vok” Kolache is named after a nobleman from the area. He was from the aristocratic Rosenburg family, was well travelled and was an envoy to Elizabeth I’s court. This Kolache shape is said to have been made to honour him as it is shaped like their family crest, a five petalled red rose.

Baking koláčes and drinking Budvar

We had a go at baking some Kolace. The method is not very complicated and we learnt some new Czech baking techniques too. As the ladies in Bohemia said, all the recipes and methods are handed down through the family. Everyone has their own take on it. Every region has a different filling; fruits, fruit jams, curd cheese, nuts and raisins. The poppy seed filling recipe below is one that is quite commonly used.

The dough has melted butter, sugar and egg yolks and is quite rich but really delicious.

An alternative filling is with curd cheese. You make a small round dough with a deep indentation. Pipe a curd cheese mixture in the middle and top with some blueberries or other fruits. Bake as in the recipe.

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Traditional Czech Bohemian Kolache Pastries

These are very typical for South Bohemia but is also found in the wider surrounding areas. The dough is very versatile and can be made with all manner of fillings. The traditional one for festivals and special events is a poppy seed filling. The more common every day one is using blueberries as these are found growing wild abundantly in the local woods. 

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course: Tea

Cuisine: Czech

Servings: 12 pastries

Author: May

Ingredients

FOR THE KOLÁČE DOUGH:

• 1 kg plain flour.
• 150 g castor sugar.
• 150 g unsalted butter warmed and melted.
• 3-4 egg yolks.
• 40 g fresh live yeast or 2.5tsp instant yeast (added together with the flour).
• 500 ml milk.
• Lemon zest.
• 1 tsp salt.
• Fine breadcrumbs for the blueberry tray bake koláč.

FOR THE EGG WASH:

• 1-2 large eggs beaten.

FOR THE KOLÁČE CRUMBLE:

• 80 g butter.
• 80 g castor sugar.
• 100 g–140g plain flour.

FOR THE CURD FILLING:

• 250 g soft curd cheese if the curd is too dry, add a bit of milk or cream.
• 50 g–70g castor sugar.
• 1 egg yolk.
• Pinch of lemon zest.
• 1 whipped egg white.
• Optional extras: raisins cranberries, dark rum, vanilla.

FOR THE POPPY SEED FILLING:

• 250 g ground poppy seeds.
• 500 ml milk.
• 100 g castor sugar.
• 1  tsp cinnamon.
• A dash of dark rum.Optional extras: raisins finely chopped walnuts or hazelnuts, cocoa, ground clove, plum jam.

FURTHER FILLINGS:

• You can use whatever you have ready-made around such as fruit jams, for a really easy filling.

Instructions

• FOR THE DOUGH
  
• Crumble the yeast into a bowl with a glug of warm milk, stirring gently.
• Cover with a tea towel and leave somewhere warm for about 15 minutes.
• Once the yeast has begun to come alive, add the egg yolks, about half the flour, caster sugar, melted butter and a little more milk.
• Mix with a wooden spoon, then add the remaining flour until the mixture can be worked into a smooth dough.
• Pat it into a ball and leave for another hour to prove. Once it's doubled in size it is ready for its fillings. 
  

FOR THE KOLÁČE CRUMBLE:

• Use good quality unsalted butter. Rub the ingredients together by hand until it achieves something like the consistency of grated Parmesan.

FOR THE CURD FILLING:

• Mix curd with the egg yolk, lemon zest and sugar until it has a smooth texture. Add any extra ingredients and, finally, add a whipped egg white, gently folding it in.

FOR THE POPPY SEED FILLING:

• 
• Add the ground poppy seed mix to hot milk in a saucepan and simmer, but do not boil.
• When the mixture begins to thicken, add sugar and all the remaining ingredients.
• Leave to cool and use for filling.

Putting it all together

• Make a long sausage of dough and cut into small round balls. 
  
• Using fingertips, press down on the dough until it forms a flat circle
• Add a heaped spoonful of the poppy seed filling to the centre. Fold the dough over to completely seal the filling in. 
  
• Press the seam together and seal with a bit of water. 
  
• Place the Kolace seam side down on the baking tray. 
• Flatten the dough parcel and using scissors, make 4 cuts to create 5 "petals" in the dough as in the photo to create the rose shape. 
  
• Brush egg wash on the pastries. 
  
• Place a sliced almond on each petal and sprinkle over the crumble liberally. 
  
• Bake in a hot oven (200°C) for about 20 minutes until brown and leave to cool. 
  

Budweiser Budvar is not the same as the American Budweiser

Budweiser Budvar has been brewed for over a thousand years and they are still making it in the same brewery using the same recipe and ingredients sourced locally. It is quite a unique product, made in small batches that is managed by a brewery manager who has to test each batch for quality based on his years of experience.

 EatCookExplore was a guest of Budweiser Budvar