Kolaches (aka kolace, kolach, or kolack) are Czech pastries that come in the shape of squares or circles and have fillings of fruit, cheese or meat. They are popular in Texas, and my friends all seem to have their favorite Kolache spots. Our favorite is Weikel's in La Grange, where they make very soft kolaches. My goal has always been to make them as soft as theirs, and these kolaches with sour cream in the dough come close.
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It took me a while to learn to make very soft, light textured kolaches. First, I tried a recipe made with shortening and evaporated milk. They were okay. For the second recipe, I used 1 cup of mashed potatoes. Those were good too, but denser that I'd hoped. For the third try, I made these kolaches with sour cream. They were the best so far -- light and pillowy soft. Note: I've since tried other recipes, but this one is a top favorite for softness.
Soft, Light Textured Kolaches
To get the light texture I use good quality instant yeast, bread flour and sour cream. Milk and butter are also key ingredients, as are egg and sugar. However, I think what really gives kolaches the soft texture is the sour cream. You have to use just the right amount, though. I have another recipe that calls for a full cup of sour cream, and while the bread comes out soft, it is slightly heavier.
Another way to help get that soft texture is to bake the dough close enough so that the rolls touch each other when they rise in the oven. It's okay to use different pan sizes based on what you have, but I like to go with two 9x13 inch pan.
400 Degrees F. Baking Temperature
Another thing to know about kolaches made with sour cream is they don't brown as quickly. The acid in the sour cream curbs the maillard reaction to some extent, so to get the pastries to brown it helps to bake them at a fairly high heat. These bake at 400F. In my old oven they were quite brown in 18 minutes, but in my Blue Star they take 23. Bake times vary, so be sure to check early.
I added more notes to the recipe along with this visual that shows four different steps.
Older Photos
Kolaches are shaped like circles or squares. Here are some old photos of a circular shaped batch.
This is one of my usual kolache recipes now, but I have other good ones. Another fun one that does not call for sour cream is Easy Tangzhong Kolaches. It's a little more involved since you are combining Japanese technique with Czech, but it's not exactly difficult. But the recipe here is a little easier.
Recipe
Kolaches With Sour Cream Dough
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter cut into chunks (56 grams)
- ½ cup milk whole best but reduced fat okay
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup sour cream full fat
- 3 cups bread flour (380 to 420 grams)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast (SAF or Platinum)
- ⅓ cup sugar (65 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing
Crumb Topping (Posypka)
- ⅓ cup sugar (65 grams)
- 2 ½ tablespoons flour (20 grams)
- 4 teaspoons softened butter (VERY soft) (16 to 18 grams)
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon or a splash of vanilla
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened (230 grams)
- ¼ cup sugar (50 grams)
- 1 large egg yolk
- Pinch of lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Pie Filling or Preserves
- 1 cup I use whatever pie filling or preserves I feel like. Cherry pie filling is a favorite.
Instructions
- Put the butter, milk, water and sour cream in saucepan set over medium heat. Bring milk to a boil, then let cool to 130 degrees. Note, the milk will start to boil first and the butter and sour cream will start to melt and lump. You can turn off the heat at this point and insert the thermometer.
- While the milk mixture is cooling, put 2 cups (260 grams) of the bread flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl -- - preferably a stand mixer so you can use your dough hook. Add the milk mixture and stir until mixed, then stir in the egg. From this point, add remaining flour by quarter cups until you have a soft dough. This dough is slightly sticky, though it should be less so after kneading.
- Put the bowl on the mixer stand and knead with the dough hook until it is smooth and elastic. The dough might stick to the side of the bowl as it is being kneaded. Stop the mixer every couple of minutes and scrape side of the bowl. It will be sticky, yet still elastic and have some snap to it.
- Transfer to a bowl lightly coated in oil or melted butter. Roll it around so it is coated in the oil, then cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
- Punch dough down and turn out onto lightly floured surface. Pinch off 16 equal size portions and shape into little balls. Alternatively, you can pat the dough into a big rectangle and cut into squares if you want square kolaches. Place 8 balls (or squares) on each of two parchment lined 13x9 inch pans spacing about an inch apart. Alternatively you can do this on baking sheets. Brush with melted butter.
- Cover loosely with a greased sheet of plastic wrap and let rise for an hour.
- While rising, mix together ingredients for the topping and filling.
- Make an indentation in each risen ball and fill with about a tablespoon of cream cheese filling. Brush gently with butter and sprinkle the topping over the bun and filling.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and let the buns sit while the oven preheats.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 400F. Let cool slightly before serving. The ones filled with fruit are really good hot, but the cream cheese ones are better warm or even at room temperature.
Posypka
- To make this crumb topping, mix together the flour and sugar, add a pinch of salt, then add soft butter and a splash of vanilla or a pinch of cinnamon. Stir until crumbly.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Mix together softened cream cheese and sugar, then stir in the egg yolk and lemon zest.
Anna says
Sue, I know what you mean about it not always being easy to find tasters, but these freeze well :).
Wendy, thanks so much for sending me the recipe! I'm going to make it as soon as I buy the pudding.
Cynna, your version sounds delicious! It sounds as if they might have a texture similar to rugelach (which I love). The ones I've been making or pretty light and fluffy -- almost like doughnuts.
Cynna says
Great topic! I am half Czech, so when I was growing up there was always a tray of kolache in my paternal grandmother's kitchen. She never passed down the recipe, but through much trial and error, I have come up with a recipe that brings me back to my childhood. My recipe has cream cheese (my favorite version) or creamed cottage cheese in the dough--no yeast. Grandma always filled them with a walnut mixture, and so do I, with powdered sugar sprinkled on top. Also, she always rolled and sliced them before baking--they were never open-faced. They are totally, deliciously addicting and freeze well--if there are ever enough left to freeze!
Wendy says
The kolaches look yummy! I'm going to send you recipe for a version my boyfriend's grandmother used to make that uses vanilla pudding! While I haven't had a chance to try her recipe yet (appears to make like 6 dozen), I thought I'd still share with you since it's a true hand-me-down through at least 3 generations that I know of.
Sue says
These look so good. You are making me want to bake again! I simply don't have enough eaters around for regular baking.
I was going to give the brownie bark five stars but comments are closed. Thanks for that recipe!
Joanna @ the knitlit twit says
Oooh, yum! I love kolaches, but I feel like the perfect one is a mystery to me, it's hard enough to find in a Czech bakery, much less make at home. Plus, I'm a coward about yeast. These look delicious though, sour cream makes everything better.