This base dough will work for both your sweet and savory desires. Easy and epically fluffy, you’ll wonder what took you so long to try your hand at this classic Czech-Texan pastry.
Kolache Dough
Makes enough for 12 kolaches or klobasniky
Ingredients
- 4 to 4¼ cups (500 to 531 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
- ⅓ cup (67 grams) granulated sugar
- 2½ teaspoons (7.5 grams) kosher salt
- 1 (0.25-ounce) package (7 grams) instant yeast*
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup (180 grams) whole milk
- ⅓ cup (76 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup (60 grams) water
- 2 large eggs (100 grams)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 1¼ cups (156 grams) flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and nutmeg at medium-low speed until well combined.
- In a medium saucepan, heat milk, butter, and ¼ cup (60 grams) water over medium heat until an instant-read thermometer registers 120°F (49°C) to 130°F (54°C). Add warm milk mixture to flour mixture; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs; beat at medium-high speed for 2 minutes. With mixer on low speed, gradually add 2¾ cups (344 grams) flour, beating just until combined and stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
- Switch to the dough hook attachment. Beat at medium speed until a soft, somewhat sticky dough forms, 6 to 8 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl and dough hook; add remaining ¼ cup (31 grams) flour, 1 tablespoon (8 grams) at a time, if necessary. (Dough should pass the windowpane test [see Note] but may still stick slightly to sides of bowl.) 4. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until doubled in size, 40 minutes to 1 hour.
Notes
*We used Red Star Organic Instant Yeast
Test the dough for proper gluten development using the windowpane test. Pinch off (don’t tear) a small piece of dough. Slowly pull the dough out from the center. If the dough is ready, you will be able to stretch it until it’s thin and translucent like a windowpane. If the dough tears, it’s not quite ready. Beat for 1 minute, and test again.
Test the dough for proper gluten development using the windowpane test. Pinch off (don’t tear) a small piece of dough. Slowly pull the dough out from the center. If the dough is ready, you will be able to stretch it until it’s thin and translucent like a windowpane. If the dough tears, it’s not quite ready. Beat for 1 minute, and test again.
This is not a true Hungarian kolache dough. Kolaches are made with butter and cream cheese. No yeast or milk or any liquid is used to make the delicate Christmas kolaches with jam or walnut (I prefer pecans) filling for the bite size little purses. Your recipe is more for cinnamon rolls and other sweet rolls.
Sorry to disagree Shelley…sort of…I think you are thinking of kolacky which is a pastry and doesn’t use yeast. KOLACHE is Czech not Hungarian (which is where kolacky comes from). KOLACHES are a sweet yeast dough with a center well, most traditional ly filled with a poppy seed filling. They are EXTREMELY popular in central Texas due to the heavy population of Czech/Polish/German immigrants. I have also made KOLACKY which are also called Hungarian Nut Rolls. I certainly understand how these 2 get confused since the spelling and region are so similar. To further confuse things others mistake KOLACKY for RUGALACH
I disagree. My mother in law was czech and made her kolache with butter, cream cheese and flour. I have carried on the tradition.
There’s quite a few old tales in Texas. Having grown up there I learned this quickly my first time in Prague. Kolac is Slavic language word used in Czech, Hungarian polish, etc. Order a kolac in the Czech Republic. You’ll revive nothing of the sort we are used to in Texas. Not even from the old Nors bakery. The next day I explained what I was looking for and the entire hotel had them waiting for breakfast as a result of my request. Traditional Czech Kolach is more like an unsweetened (like a biscuit with cheese or other spread.
Thank you for sharing this! I recently moved to LA from Houston and I’d missed Texas kolaches so much. I filled the dough with sausage and cheese and they tasted exactly like the ones back home! Great recipe. 🙂
How long do you bake it for and what temp? The last steps are missing???
Hi Kelly,
Thank you for your question!
This recipe is just for the dough. We have two recipes on the site that use the dough, each having you bake at 375°F (190°C) for 13 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 190°F (88°C) to 200°F (93°C). I’ve linked both recipes below:
Apricot-Filled Kolaches with Lemon Glaze
Klobasniky (Savory Kolaches)
Hope this helps, and happy baking!
This is the correct dough, but I don’t remember my grandma using nutmeg. It is absolutely a raised dough. She was born in what is now the Czech Republic in 1899. All of her siblings were born there as well, and all the sisters baked. I’m 69 and I remember her making these. I’m not even sure they had access to Philadelphia Cream Cheese there.
they are not really using Philadelphia Cream Cheese – in the Czech Republic and Southern Germany they are using Quark what is hard to get in the US
it mentions eggs, but they are not in the ingredients list. So how many eggs?
Hi! The eggs are the last ingredient in the ingredient list in the recipe. This recipe calls for 2 large eggs. Happy baking!
I believe this dough is a traditional Czech recipe for kolaches, but also agree that there was no nutmeg in my grandmother’s recipe. My grandmother’s family emigrated at turn of 20th century from what was then Bohemia, and the yeast dough was what she used. She commonly made with prune filling, but her family also made with apricot filling in center.
This is a wonderful recipe! I let the dough rise overnight in the fridge for the first proof so I could finish them off in the morning. This makes a soft, fluffy, and well hydrated dough that works really well for both savory and sweet. Twelve portions results in rather large Kolaches. I will probably turn this into 18-20 portions the next time.