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Wednesday, October 17, 2001
Perfect kolaches
Local woman's secret recipes make for a good social occasion
By Leanne Libby
Caller-Times

George Gongora/Caller-Times

Rosalie Bohuslav bastes kolache dough. She lets the dough balls rise on a cookie sheet before making cavities in them for the filling. Bohuslav, who said she’s been making kolaches for about 40 years, used to co-own The Cake Shop on Kostoryz Road.

Rosalie Bohuslav opens her front door, wreathed in smiles and white hair, looking like Mrs. Santa Claus' long-lost twin.
   "I'm Rosalie, or Grandma Rosie if you like," she says.
   She leads the way into the kitchen of the home she has lived in since 1949, a baker's dream with its long counters and two sinks.
   Bohuslav explains that her name is Czech for "glory to God." Small wonder, then, that she's known for baking heavenly treats, including kolaches.
   In between raising a son and four daughters, Bohuslav turned her baking talents into a thriving business. Today, when she's not spoiling her 16 grandchildren, she still spends plenty of time whipping up the sweet stuff. And since October is Czech Heritage Month, we asked her to share some of her secrets for perfect kolaches.
   Background Czech
   Kolaches are not a speedy project, but they make for a good social occasion. There's time to talk while the dough rises for an hour.
   "The old-timers say it's better if you knock it down," said Bohuslav, 72, referring to the practice of kneading the dough after the hour elapses and letting it rise again.Bohuslav traces some of her roots to Pilzen. She hasn't made the trip, but she hosted a second cousin a few years ago who didn't speak a lick of English. Fortunately, Bohuslav speaks Czech, so the visit was a success.

George Gongora/Caller-Times

Rosalie Bohuslav’s kolaches cool on a wire rack. She uses a variety of fruit fillings but also makes a cottage-cheese filling. ‘Most people say, “Yuck, cottage cheese,” but it’s always our most popular one,’ she said.

   Bohuslav bastes kolache dough with melted Oleo, a fat substitute, and talks about how she came to be fluent in Czech.
   "My husband's mother didn't speak English, although she could understand it," Bohuslav said. Out of respect for her mother-in-law, Bohuslav only spoke to her in Czech.
   Bohuslav remembers her mother-in-law making Czech favorites.
   "On any Saturday, you would find her making kolaches and noodles and simmering chicken," she said. "On Sunday, at noon, there would be kolaches and chicken noodle soup."
   Cooking was a way of life for Bohuslav as she grew up in a Czech and German community near Shiner. She was more than happy to be sent in from the farm to bake bread or start a meal. She even remembers cooking on her wedding day, 53 years ago.
   "I made the pudding," she said. "I had my veil in the chicken noodle soup."
   Kolaches for a crowd
   Using a long-handled teaspoon, Bohuslav neatly spoons cottage cheese filling into the pastry dough cavity she's created with her fingers.
   "Most people say, 'Yuck, cottage cheese,' but it's always our most popular one," she said.
   Fruit fillings, she said, should be prepared ahead of time so they have a chance to cool before going into the dough.
   "You can cook a lot of the fruit, freeze it and keep it on hand," she said. "In the old days, there was no refrigeration, so they probably made the prune and apricot ones because they would keep."

George Gongora/Caller-Times

Rosalie Bohuslav spoons filling into kolache dough. She recommends making the filling ahead of time so it is cool to the touch before it is spooned into the dough.

   She said the sky is almost the limit when it comes to creating kolache fillings. She frequently fills hers with prunes, apricots, cottage cheese, cherries or pineapple.
   Bohuslav's recipe makes about six dozen kolaches. If she wants a smaller batch, she's likely to whip out her wooden rolling pin and roll out the leftover dough. After sprinkling it with cinnamon and sugar, she rolls it back up, slices it and places the slices on a cookie sheet. Into the oven it goes, and out come homemade cinnamon rolls.
   She did it so often when her children were growing up that they would come home from school, glance at the plate of fresh-from-the oven rolls, and ask what there was to eat.
   Bohuslav was a stay-home mom until she enrolled in a cake class at Del Mar College. She started making wedding cakes and doing a little catering. Soon, she and a friend had a following and opened The Cake Shop on Kostoryz, which they operated for 20 years, finally closing their doors in 1994.
   They served up kolaches three times a week. Frankly, Bohuslav grew tired of them and tried to stop. Her customers wouldn't hear of it.
   "They wanted them, especially at Christmas," she said.
   Fresh-baked bliss
   Bohuslav adds crumb topping to colorful rows of cottage cheese, cherry and prune kolaches. When they come out of the oven, she drizzles a glaze of equal parts powdered sugar and water over them.
   "I bake them light so they stay soft, but my husband likes them brown," she said.
   Either way, the result is sweet and gooey. Sweet enough to satisfy, but not so much that your teeth hurt.
   Bohuslav still enjoys baking. She'll make kolaches for her grandchildren to take to their teachers. She's been known to travel with her heavy-duty mixer so she doesn't get stuck making them by hand. After 40 years of making them, Bohuslav could probably make kolaches in her sleep. It's not as easy as she looks, though, and she said beginners should have patience.
   "I always say it's just like typing," she said. "You can teach someone how to do it, but until they practice..."

   GRANDMA ROSIE'S KOLACHES
   3 cups warm milk
   ¾ cup melted Oleo or butter
   ¾ cup sugar
   1 tablespoon salt
   3 egg yolks
   7 cups flour
   3 tablespoons dry yeast
   Place ingredients in mixer in the order listed above and blend on medium speed for 10 minutes. (The longer you beat it, the nicer the dough.)
   Let rise for 1 hour. (If you're in a hurry, speed up the process by placing the container of dough in a container of warm water for 40 to 45 minutes.)
   Work dough into balls and place on cooking sheet coated with cooking spray. Let dough balls rise for 15 to 20 minutes. Using fingers, press down in middle of dough to create cavity for filling. Add filling and crumb topping and allow kolaches to rise again while oven preheats (about 10 to 15 minutes).
   Bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 375 to 400 degrees.
   Yield: About 6 dozen
   Source: Rosalie Bohuslav

   COTTAGE CHEESE FILLING
   24 ounces cottage cheese
   ½ cup sugar
   ¼ cup dry tapioca (to absorb moisture)
   Combine and spoon into kolache dough.
   Yield: Fills 2 dozen kolaches
   Source: Rosalie Bohuslav

   BASIC FRUIT FILLING
   16 ounces fruit (such as prunes or apricots)
   Enough water to barely cover fruit (about ¼ to ½ cup)
   1 cup sugar
   1 dollop butter (about a tablespoon)
   Boil fruit and water until fruit is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, mash and add sugar and butter. Allow to cool, and spoon into kolache dough.
   Yield: Fills 2 dozen kolaches
   Source: Rosalie Bohuslav

   PINEAPPLE FRUIT FILLING
   1 14-ounce can crushed pineapple, with juice
   ½ cup sugar
   2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
   1 dollop butter
   Place ingredients in saucepan and simmer on medium heat until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool and spoon into kolache dough.
   Yield: Fills 2 dozen kolaches
   Source: Rosalie Bohuslav


   ½ cup sugar
   ½ cup flour
   3 to 4 tablespoons butter
   Combine and sprinkle on top of filled kolaches for a crunchy, crumbly topping.
   Yield: Covers 2 dozen kolaches
   Source: Rosalie Bohuslav


Contact Leanne Libby at 886-3615 or libbyl@caller.com

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