:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20250319-SEA-Kolaches-DebbieWee-Beauty1-14-4b7f121265f94f6aa0abd55545969b7a.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1440&ssl=1 "A Texan Chef’s Secrets and techniques for Pillowy Mushy Berry and Candy Cheese Kolaches")
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Why It Works
- Enriching the dough with milk, butter, and egg yolks, offers the kolaches a pillowy, tender texture.
- Rubbing the streusel topping combination collectively by hand creates a sandy texture that’s simple to sprinkle on prime of every pastry.
- Brushing the formed uncooked dough items with egg wash earlier than baking enhances browning and creates a lovely sheen on the kolaches.
The very best factor about being from Texas is that there are such a lot of methods to be a Texan. Texas has a various culinary background—it’s not all simply smoked ribs and brisket down right here. One can find quite a few cuisines celebrated all through the state, lots of which had been introduced right here by completely different immigrant populations. A dish that embodies the Lone Star State’s fusion of cuisines is the kolache. Originating from the Czech Republic as a well-liked Easter deal with, these pillowy gentle pastries are well-liked all through Texas all 12 months lengthy. Texan variations are sometimes heaped with the standard Czech candy fillings like fruit jam, poppy seeds, or a candy cheese, whereas savory variations in Texas may be crammed with absolutely anything (I’ll get into that beneath).
Within the mid-1800s Czech immigrants began settling in Texas. (In keeping with the Texas State Historic Affiliation, the abundance of excellent, comparatively cheap farmland in Texas undoubtedly offered the chief motivation for this wave of Czech immigrants.) By the early 1900s Czech bakeries had been discovered all through the state. Kolaches turned a staple breakfast and snack for locals and vacationers alike. Right now kolaches are in all places up and down Freeway 35, the artery that runs via the state from prime to backside.
Severe Eats / Debbie Wee
As a child from Garland, Texas, I’ve loads of fond reminiscences of taking adolescent highway journeys with my associates to the thrilling metropolis of Austin, and a spotlight of those excursions was at all times stopping by the town of West alongside the way in which to select up kolaches earlier than hitting Travis County. Czech Cease in West was (and nonetheless is) considered one of my favourite kolache bakeries. Their kolaches are bursting with fruit fillings, together with strawberry, blueberry, and apricot.
Kolaches are nonetheless considered one of my favourite consolation meals and I’m grateful that now as an grownup I can get up any morning in Austin and drive ten minutes to a bakery the place I’ve my decide of kolaches with a wide range of inventive, flavorful fillings. However for these of you who aren’t in Texas or inside driving distance of a Czech bakery, my recipe beneath is a superb stand-in for that have.
Completely different Sorts of Kolaches
In Austin, the town that’s been my dwelling now for a few years, you may have your decide of nice kolaches with a variety of fillings. As talked about above, you’ll discover kolaches with conventional Czech fillings like apricot, poppy seed, berry, plum, and candy cheese—each individually or generally fruit and cheese baked collectively in a single kolache—however you’ll additionally see an array of savory kolaches, with their very own Texan spin on them, together with ones full of jalapeños and cream cheese, in addition to my favourite, boudin—a rice and pork sausage initially from Louisiana.
As a Texan chef, I’ve even put my very own inventive spin on kolaches for the supper golf equipment I host. I’ll serve South Indian–fashion kolaches, together with one crammed with confit complete carrots and one other with mango- and saffron-infused cream cheese. I’m presently engaged on a recipe for a savory kolache crammed with brûléed queso. The purpose is that in Texas, there’s no fallacious technique to fill a kolache.
Severe Eats / Debbie Wee
The Kolache Fillings
Whereas kolaches fillings can run the gamut, and there’s infinite room for creativity with them, my recipe beneath is a basic tackle candy kolaches. I’ve included two conventional filling choices: strawberry jam (however you may substitute together with your most well-liked berry) and a sweetened cream cheese filling. The fillings are each easy to arrange and may be made a few days earlier than you’re planning to fill and bake the kolaches. Every filling recipe is written to make sufficient for a full batch of kolaches, however in case you’d wish to make each, halve every filling to arrange six of every (or double the dough for a full batch of every).
The Kolache Dough
Whereas kolaches are thought-about pastries, they aren’t made with a basic flaky, crumbly pastry dough. As an alternative, kolache dough is an enriched bread dough that’s pillowy and lightweight, however nonetheless has a definite bread-like chew that’s sturdy sufficient to assist a beneficiant portion of filling. To attain the proper dough texture, the yeasted dough is enriched with milk, egg yolks, and butter. The added fats of all three substances coats the flour throughout kneading, which limits the gluten improvement barely to create a extra tender dough. A prolonged kneading of the dough within the stand mixer traps air within the dough, so when proofed and baked the dough has a light-weight, springy texture.
The ensuing dough is gentle sufficient that when formed into spherical buns and gently pressed down within the middle, the buns will maintain their scooped form for the fillings to be nestled into. I like to recommend utilizing the underside of a greased two and a half– to three-inch diameter mug, glass jar, or measuring cup to get a superbly spherical indentation.
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Ending the Kolaches
As soon as the kolaches are formed, the sides are brushed with an egg wash to boost browning within the oven and to create a lovely sheen, identical to my favourite bakery variations. A heaping tablespoon of the filling of your alternative is added to the divet in every bun. As soon as crammed, the kolaches get a beneficiant sprinkle of a cinnamon-spiked streusel topping recognized in Czech as posypka, then all 12 kolaches are match onto one sheet tray. It’s not solely OK however really most well-liked that their edges contact and fuse collectively whereas baking—one other “recent from the bakery” visible cue.
Allow them to cool for at the least half-hour so the filling can agency up, then get pleasure from them heat or at room temperature. These candy pastries are an ideal addition to any vacation breakfast unfold and are additionally fantastic as a day snack with espresso or tea.
A Texan Chef’s Secrets and techniques for Pillowy Mushy Berry and Candy Cheese Kolaches
Cook dinner Mode
(Hold display awake)
For the Strawberry Jam (see notes):
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1 pound (453 g) strawberries, trimmed and halved
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2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice from 1 lemon
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2/3 cup sugar (4.5 ounces; 130 g)
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1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for desk salt use half as a lot by quantity
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
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8 ounces (226 g) cream cheese, softened
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1/4 cup of sugar (1.75 ounces; 50 g)
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1 egg yolk
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2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
For the Posypka (Streusel Topping):
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1/4 cup all-purpose flour (1 2/3 ounces; 50 g)
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1/4 cup sugar (2.16 ounces; 60 g)
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1/4 teaspoon floor cinnamon
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1 1/2 tablespoons butter (28 g), reduce into 4 items, softened
For the Kolache Dough:
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240 ml (1 cup) heat milk
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85 g (6 tablespoons) melted butter
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2 egg yolks
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420 g all-purpose flour (15 ounces; 3 cups)
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9.5 g immediate dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
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100 g sugar (3 1/2 ounces; 1/2 cup)
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3 g Diamond Crystal kosher salt (1 teaspoon); for desk salt use half as a lot by quantity
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1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon milk for the egg wash
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If Making With Strawberry Filling: In a small saucepan add strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt and cook dinner over medium warmth, stirring sometimes till berries break down, combination thickens, spatula leaves path that doesn’t fill in instantly and jam is diminished to about 1 cup, about quarter-hour. Let cool off warmth for 10 minutes, then switch to a meals processor and purée till easy. Switch to a small bowl or clear glass jar and refrigerate till prepared to make use of.
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If Making With Cream Cheese Filling: In a meals processor, add cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Course of till properly mixed and sugar dissolves, about 1 minute, scraping down the perimeters of the meals processor jar as wanted. Switch to a bowl and refrigerate till prepared to be used.
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For the Posypka (Streusel topping): In a bowl, whisk flour, sugar, and cinnamon to mix. Add butter and rub between fingers till combination resembles moist sand. Cowl and refrigerate till prepared to make use of.
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For the Kolaches Dough: In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk collectively milk, melted butter, and egg yolks to mix (butter could type clumps; that is wonderful).
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Within the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk flour, sugar, yeast, and salt to mix. Match stand mixer with dough hook, and with mixer working on low pace, slowly pour milk combination into flour combination, and knead on low pace till no dry flour stays, about 2 minutes. Improve pace to medium and knead till dough clears sides of bowl however nonetheless sticks to backside, 8 to 12 minutes.
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Switch dough to a greased bowl and canopy with plastic wrap. Proof at heat room temperature (70 to 74℉) till dough it doubled in dimension, 60 to 90 minutes.
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As soon as dough has risen, line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; put aside. Modify oven rack to center place and preheat oven to 350℉ (175℃). Punch down dough and switch to a calmly floured work floor. Roll dough right into a 3-inch broad log, then reduce and portion dough into twelve 2-ounce items.
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Type every dough piece right into a tough ball by pinching and pulling dough edges underneath in order that prime is easy. On clear counter, cup every ball together with your palm and roll into easy, tight ball.
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Prepare dough balls on ready parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced evenly aside in 3 rows of 4. Brush tops with remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter. Cowl loosely with plastic wrap and let proof at room temperature till hyped up however not fairly doubled in dimension, 30 to 60 minutes.
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Grease the underside of a glass jar, cup, or a measuring cup with 2 1/2- to 3-inch diameter, and make a deep indentation in middle of every dough ball by slowly urgent cup into the dough on sheet. The indentations must be deep sufficient to suit about 1 tablespoon of filling.
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Brush ready egg wash evenly over the dough. Divide your alternative of both the strawberry or cheese filling evenly amongst kolaches (about 1 heaping tablespoon per kolache) and easy with again of spoon. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over kolaches.
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Bake till golden brown, about half-hour, rotating sheet midway via baking. The kolaches’ edges will contact and fuse collectively when baking. Let buns cool on pan for at the least half-hour, then fastidiously pull aside. Serve heat or at room temperature.
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Particular Gear
Small saucepan, meals processor, 2-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, stand mixer with dough hook attachment, parchment paper, a glass jar, cup, or a measuring cup with 2 1/2- to 3-inch diameter
Notes
This recipe may be simply doubled and baked in batches.
The 2 most typical kolache fillings are fruit jam and cheese. This recipe consists of each filling choices, with every filling recipe written to make sufficient for a full batch. If you happen to’d wish to make each, halve every filling recipe to arrange 6 of every or double the dough to make a full batch of every.
Retailer-bought fruit jam of your alternative could also be substituted for freshly made, however you might want to scale back it additional in an effort to get a thick sufficient consistency that the jam does not run out of the kolaches whereas baking.
Make-Forward and Storage
The fillings may be made and refrigerated for as much as 4 days earlier than utilizing.
The baked kolaches may be saved in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 3 days.
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