Koláče Recipe

Name: Koláče
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 55 min
Yield: 20 servings
Cuisine: Czech
Ingredients: 500 g strong bread flour; 7 g instant yeast; 70 g caster sugar; 1 tsp salt; 200 ml lukewarm milk; 2 eggs; 70 g butter, softened; 1 lemon, zest; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 150 g plum jam; 150 g curd cheese; 30 g caster sugar; 1 egg yolk; 150 g ground poppy seed filling; 1 egg, for glazing; 2 tbsp icing sugar

Koláče

Soft Czech yeast pastries topped with sweet poppy seed, curd cheese and plum jam fillings, risen for 90 minutes and baked for 20 minutes.

1 hr 5 min prep and cooking plus 1 hr 50 min Rising 2 hr 55 min start to finish Serves 20 servings Medium

Why This Is Worth Making

The name koláče means wheels, and each pastry is a round of soft dough with a hollow in the middle, filled with a spoonful of poppy seed, sweet curd cheese or plum jam. They are among the best known of Czech sweets, taken to the American Midwest by immigrants, where they are still baked.

The dough is enriched with eggs, butter and milk, and flavoured with vanilla and lemon zest. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, and let it rise for 90 minutes. Divide into 20 balls and flatten each, leaving a thick rim. Press a deep dent into each centre with the back of a spoon, so the filling stays in. Let them rise again for 20 minutes.

Spoon in the fillings: ground poppy seed cooked with milk and sugar, curd cheese mixed with egg yolk and sugar, or thick plum jam. Brush the rims with egg and bake at 190°C / 375°F for 20 minutes, until golden. Dust with icing sugar while still warm, and top with crumbly streusel if you like. They are best on the day, with coffee.

Build the Meal Around Koláče

Coffee
Tea
Hot chocolate

How to Make Koláče

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

Mix the flour, yeast, 70 g sugar, salt, milk, 2 eggs, butter, zest and vanilla and knead for 10 minutes. Leave to rise for 90 minutes.
Divide into 20 balls and flatten each, leaving a thick rim. Press a dent into each centre. Leave on lined trays for 20 minutes.
Heat the oven to 190°C / 375°F. Mix the curd cheese with 30 g sugar and the yolk.
Fill 7 with plum jam, 7 with curd cheese and 6 with poppy seed. Brush the rims with the beaten egg.
Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Dust with the icing sugar.

Notes From the Method

Press a deep dent for the filling.

Do not overfill.

Dust with sugar while still warm.

Storing and Reheating

Best the day they are made. Freeze for 1 month.

Questions and Answers

How long does Koláče take to make?

45 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour 50 minutes of Rising, so allow 2 hours 55 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 20.

Koláče Nutrition

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.

216Calories

7gProtein

29gCarbs

8gFat

2gFibre

8gSugar

140mgSodium

Vegetarian

Koláče

Build the Meal Around Koláče

How to Make Koláče

Notes From the Method

Storing and Reheating

Questions and Answers

Koláče Nutrition

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Build the Meal Around Koláče

How to Make Koláče

Notes From the Method

Storing and Reheating

Questions and Answers

Koláče Nutrition

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

You Might Also Like

Medovnik

Pao de Deus

Ube Cupcakes

Vánočka

Danish Pastries

Adjaruli Khachapuri

Keep the recipes you want to come back to