Grandma Marie’s traditional Czech kolache (bread recipe)

To make Kolache Dough:

1. Measure out the sugar, then sprinkle a pinch of it into a small bowl with the warm water and yeast. Stir to dissolve, then set aside for about 5 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
2. Heat the milk in a small pan until you see bubbles at the edges. Cut up the 4 tablespoons of butter, then stir it into the hot milk to melt along with the rest of the sugar. When the butter is melted, crack in the eggs and beat them until you get a smooth mixture.
3. Mix the flour and the salt in a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, then make a well in the center. Pour the milk/butter mixture into the well, then the yeast mixture.
4. Stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon to make a shaggy dough.
5. For kneading, by machine, switch to the dough hook on your mixer and let the mixer run on low speed until you get a smooth, sticky, elastic dough, about 5 minutes To knead by hand: turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and use a bench scraper to slap the dough down, then bring the edges towards the center. Repeat this motion for 10 minutes, until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Resist the urge to add more flour. This should be a soft dough, and most of the stickiness will go away after the dough has risen.
6. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 1 hour or preferably, refrigerate overnight. Meanwhile, make the fillings.

Posypka topping:

Mix the posypka ingredients together in a bowl, then refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, use a spoon to scrape the sides of the bowl to break up the mixture and form crumbs. You can further break up the crumbs with your hands, but I think pea-sized crumbs look the nicest, though you can make them finer.

Cheese filling:

1. Be sure to drain off any whey from the cheese you’re using by setting the cheese in a colander inside of a bowl. If you’re using cottage cheese, pulse it in a food processor or with a stick blender for a smoother texture. From there mix the cheese filling ingredients in a small bowl. You can keep the cheese filling in the fridge for 1 week.

Blueberry filling:

1. Pour the blueberries in a skillet over medium heat with a splash of water, then cover. When the berries have started to defrost, add in the sugar and cinnamon.
2. Continue to cook the berries until they start to thicken. Mash them with a potato masher or stick blender. When the jam is thick enough to coat a spoon, add in the lemon zest.

Dried fruit filling:

1. Place your dried fruit of choice in a small pot, then add water to just cover the fruit. Bring the fruit to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes.
2. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let the fruit sit for another 15 minutes.
3. Drain the fruit, reserving a small amount of the soaking water.
4. Pulse the fruit in a food processor with the allspice and vanilla and lemon juice until smooth with a little texture. The mixture should be about as thick as a nut butter, but if it seems too thick, add in up to 2 tablespoons of soaking water and pulse to loosen up the mixture.

To form kolache:

1. Turn out the risen dough onto a lightly floured counter. Pat it down, then divide into 24 pieces. Form your hand into a dome, then roll into a ball using the tension between the counter and your domed hand in a circular motion to shape each piece into a ball.
2. Line 2 sheet trays with parchment paper, then place the formed dough balls to rest, covered for about 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
4. Use your fingers to make an indentation in the center of one of the dough balls on one of the prepared sheet trays. Repeat this for all of the dough balls. From here, use your fingers to stretch and spread out the dough into a wider, shallow well in each kolac. Kolache are about the filling, so be sure to spread out the dough to make room for a good amount of filling.
5. Continue to shape and spread out the dough balls, then fill each with a good sized spoon of your filling of choice.
6. Cover the kolache with a clean kitchen towel to rise for another 30 minutes until nice and puffy.
7. Before you bake them, brush the kolache with beaten egg white, and sprinkle with about a tablespoon of the posypka or a few flaked almonds.
8. Bake the kolache for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and your kitchen smells awesome. Brush the warm kolache with melted butter.
9. Kolache are best the day that they’re made, but you can keep leftovers at room temp for a couple days in an airtight container or freeze them for about 1 month.