A what kind of morning?
It’s a Texas thing, bordering on obsession in some parts of the state. Good kolaches are amazing: yeasty and tender, a resilient bread that’s light, buttery, and oh-so-slighty sweet.
What is a Kolache?
And how the heck do you say it?
Pronounce it: koh-LAH-chee.
In Czech, kolo means circle or wheel, a logical name for a round sweet roll. The correct word to refer to a single pastry of this kind is kolach, while kolache (koláče), is the plural. . . However, in Texas, most people say “kolache” and “kolaches.” Kolaches have sweet fillings, traditionally poppyseed, apricot, cherries, or sweetened cream cheese.
What about a kolache with sausage, you ask? Technically, a savory version should be called a klobásník (or klobasniky). However, unless you are speaking with a Texan of Czech ancestry — they all get called kolaches.
Between 1851 and 1890, there were several waves of immigration from Moravia and Bohemia in what is now the Czech Republic (then part of Austria) to Texas. They settled in the blackland prairies of the coastal plains of of the state, in an area now referred to as “the Czech belt.”
Aren’t we blessed they opened bakeries and shared their kolaches with the rest of us? It’s now a Texas tradition to make kolache “rest stops” at bakeries whenever we take road trips through the Czech belt — Hruska’s Bakery in Ellinger, Texas, on the road between Houston and Austin comes to mind.
One key to good kolaches? Allowing the dough to rise multiple times. At least three times — though I’ve seen one recipe that requires the dough to rise five times. That is why good kolaches are so light and fluffy. This is time consuming, and since time is money, some places cut corners.
If you are visiting Texas, anywhere in the Houston, Austin, or San Antonio regions, you should be able to find a bakery selling kolaches. I recommend reading reviews of several places before choosing where to get your kolache because as we discovered on our kolache adventure, they can vary radically.
Kolache Crazy
This weekend, I brought kolaches home from four different places: The Kolache Shoppe, Olde Towne Kolaches, River Oaks Donuts, and the Kolache Factory.
Let’s start with the bad. The Kolache Factory chain does not make good kolaches. The bread is heavy and under-browned — nothing like it should be. Their sweet kolaches are, well . . . just sad. They taste like flat tires with a dollop of sweet, rubbery goo.
The thing the Kolache Factory does well is their savory fillings, which are good. This means that people eat them despite their lump-of-bread delivery system. My daughter and her friends would have nothing to do with them after tasting the better kolaches. The flatness of their bread suggests they aren’t letting the dough rise the multiple times it takes to produce good kolaches.
River Oaks Donuts makes some of the most creative doughnuts in the city, and also sells a small selection of savory kolaches (if we are being correct, klobasniky). These are good, due in large part to the amazing sausage they use: from Prasek’s Hillje Smokehouse in Sealy, Texas.
The sausage is cut in half, which makes the filling-to-bread ratio work well. While not as fluffy as the ones from the Kolache Shoppe, the bread wasn’t heavy, and the nice brown on the roll added to the overall flavor. I would eat these again, but only when I am making a doughnut run, since this is a secondary product for the bakery.
Olde Towne Kolaches and the the Kolache Shoppe made our tasting into a neck-and-neck competition — at least with the sweet versions. Both bakeries produce gorgeous kolaches. The favorite from Olde Towne was the cream cheese kolache; we loved the filling, which was only mildly sweet, with the faintest hint of lemon.
In the end, we selected the Kolache Shoppe as our winner. What made the difference? The lightness of the bread and the quality of the fillings.
The Kolache Shoppe fruit fillings are thoughtfully, purposefully made. The tartness of the cherries comes through. No shortcut, out-of-the-can pie filling going on here.
We had one final morning of kolaches from the Kolache Shoppe, just to be sure we had found our favorite 🙂 . They did not disappoint.
Ever Heard of Czech-Mex?
Like many ethnic foods people love, kolaches get fused with other things.
So Czech-Mex. Yes, it’s a thing. Imagine that a breakfast taco and a klobásník married and had babies. What might the outcome of this union be? Well, a jalapeno, sausage, and egg kolache AND a chorizo and egg kolache — and the great state of Texas is quite happy about the whole thing.
Do you have a favorite kolache shop? Let me know, and we’ll get a list started!
| Like it? Share it! 🙂 | |
|---|---|
 |
 |
I am definitely one of those people who said, “A kolache? What?” Also something I said: “Czech-Mex? What? What’ll they think of next?” But in all seriousness, I loved the history lesson and had no idea that so many Czech people had immigrated to Texas. Also, kolache look divine and I absolutely want to try one right now. I’d probably start with the sweet kind over savory, but they all look delicious!
What?! I’ve been to the Czech Republic and to some Czech neighborhoods here in the States and somehow I missed out on kolache?! I guess I’m not too surprised. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so don’t always notice the sweets and baked goods around me, but now I feel like I need to go back.
I didn’t know there is a big population of Czech in Texas. Neither am I familiar with cuisine from that part of the world. So this is something new and interesting to me! The Czech Mex version seems to have the best of both world! I will definitely have that!
Czech-Mex.. Love it. Jenn is going to Austin in a couple of weeks. I should see if she can bring a Kolache home with for me. The look really good, especially the savory sausage not Kolaches.
Ed, you’ll have to come to Texas yourself. Kolaches are short-lived things, as all bread-realated creations are. Not sure a kolache flown back to Florida would be worth eating.
I so love how honest you were with these Now I know exactly what to enjoy and what to avoid. Cream cheese filling is one of my faves too 🙂
Some people say that there is no true ‘American’ food, but we’ve definitely done a good job of putting our own spin on other countries’ foods! Czech-Mex was fun to read about… and looks tasty too (although I wonder if I could find a gluten free option somewhere?!). Up in Michigan we have a love for Paczkis (pronounced Poon-sh-kee) which is a Polish pastry. It is funny how different regions have appropriated different traditional foods… that is one great thing about immigration, in my opinion!
I don’t know about gluten free kolaches . . . but I have found vegan versions.
I have never heard the term kolache but I have seen them, just never knew what they were called! I would want the ones with cream cheese the most or the savory ones as I’m not big on pastries with fruit in them for some reason. There’s a recipe that requires the dough to rise 5 times? Holy cow I can’t imagine how long that would take to make, but I bet it’s yummy!! I will have to try these out when I go to Austin!
Well, as long as you avoid the Kolache Factory, you’ll probably find some good ones. This Eater article on kolaches in Austin has a promising list: https://austin.eater.com/maps/best-kolaches-austin
I loooove pastries but I’ve never heard of a kolache! These obviously aren’t ones I could eat but almost everything is being veganized these days so it’ll definitely be my mission to find a vegan one when I’m around this are! I’ll be in Austin next month – do you know if its a thing there?
You can get your vegan kolache on — Capital City Bakery in Austin has you covered!
That’s a pastry I have definitely NEVER heard of and it looks pretty darn delicious. I love finding regional dishes like this that have a story and a deep connection to tradition. I will now have to be on the look out for these at Eastern European bakeries!
Yes, a good kolache is hard to beat. I can smell them right now as I think about them.