Kolache

A friend of mine was telling me about buying kolache at a bakery recently and wanted to know if I ever bake them, hint hint.  I told her to never buy them again and to just place an order with me.  The store bought kolache are always stale and they use that gloppy pie filling that is sold in the plastic sleeves in the grocery store.  Bleck!

For the dough: 

1 C. milk
10 T. melted butter
1 large egg plus 2 large yolks.  Save the whites for brushing.
1/3 C. sugar
2-1/4 tsp. rapid rise yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-1/2-4 C. flour

Mix together and knead until you have a smooth ball of dough.  Place it in a buttered bowl and cover it and proof until doubled.

Once it has doubled cut it into 16 pieces.  Cover them and let them rise until doubled.

Grease the bottom of a 1/4 cup measuring cup and press down firmly in the middle of each ball.

Kolache are named after the Old Slavic word, kolo which means circle or wheel.  You can see why.

Brush them with the reserved egg whites.

Then fill them with your favorite filling.  I have been making lots of jam with local strawberries so I used my own strawberry jam.

Bake them at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  They should just be turning golden.

Don't overcook them because they will be too dry.

I like to drizzle them with a vanilla glaze.

The buns themselves are not very sweet.

They should be a light, fluffy bun with a sweet filling.  You can make a filling using cherries, blueberries, peaches, apricots or anything that floats your boat.