Zoe Bator Portfolio

By Zoe Bator

Texas might be most notable for the Mexican influence on its regional cuisine, with new Tex-Mex businesses sprouting up often — Pew Research center estimates that 17% of Mexican restaurants in the U.S. are housed in Texas. However, the smaller (but equally as mighty) Czech population has made Texas a place to enjoy the classic Czechia delicacy: the kolach.

Spelled kolache in the states, the square-shaped bread has a hole in the middle — like a doughnut — but is typically filled with a fruit compote, a sweet cream, or most commonly in Texas, savory sausage.

The city of West, Texas, is the mecca for the kolach and all its variations. Although in America, the kolaches are most often known to be pigs in a blanket (pork sausage wrapped in bread), the culturally accurate term for a savory kolache is ‘klobasnek’ or ‘klobasniky’ for plural, which literally translates to ‘little sausage’.

“I normally stop at Czech Stop on my way home from UT during Thanksgiving or Christmas to reward myself during the drive,” Jonathan Kimmel, Austin-to-McKinney commuter, said. “I had no idea how rich the history was.”

Many will stop at one of the road stops such as Little Czech Bakery (also known as Czech Stop) or Slovacek’s right off exit 353 trading in their American McMeal with all its drive-thru convenience for a less conventional model.

The Czech population has been vigilant in its efforts to preserve their community along the Czech belt of Texas. Polka dancing and folk songs reside not only in family homes but in regional festivals. The cornerstone of cultivating community remains at the forefront.

Czech populations now are seen vastly across Central Texas, I-35 is somewhat of a Czech historical pilgrimage. From the Czech Heritage Museum in Temple down 75 miles to the famed kolache bakeries in West (home to festival Westfest), any Austin-to-Dallas traveler, knowingly or unknowingly, witnesses the result of Eastern European migration patterns.

Czech immigration combined with American farming patterns and Texas taste buds congealed to form a new fusion food: Tex-Czech. There has been some push and pull, as with any fusion cuisine. Larger franchises like Shipley’s Donuts and Kolache Factory have profited off of American reluctance to educate themselves on the history of the Czech classic.

The savory klobasnek may not always be accurately referred to and The Kolache Factory probably won’t rebrand their business to be ‘The Klobasnek Factory,” but now that Texans have claimed the dish as a regional staple, it’s crucial to learn the history.

Family farming and baking practices were at the forefront of Czechlosavkian life in America since the first big waves of immigration after the mid 19th-century exodus from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The 1862 Homestead Act, granting settlers free land in exchange for the promise of farming helped aid Czech immigration. The sheer amount of farmable land in Texas led to migrants’ desire to settle there.

At Little Czech Bakery, everything seems authentically preserved. Connected to a Shell gas station, they traded in the glitz and glamor for cultural credibility. As opposed to the sheer surface area that is intrinsic to other escapades in American consumerism, like popular reststop chain Buc-ee’s, Czech Stop is no bigger than a typical gas station.

The line was a mishmash of Baylor college students, West parents with their younglings and the curious travelers who happily extended their road trip ETA for some sweet or savory sustenance. A line looped from the clear cases at the front around to the 12-pack boxes of beer on the fridge wall and eventually out the door. Above the transparent cases was a sign indicating the mass of ingredients the bakery used per week — hundreds of pounds of apricot, cherry, and the old faithful cream cheese.

Behind the counter is a bevy of yeast-filled morsels that have been sufficiently sugar-dusted. Another counter hosts the klobasniky, with options filled with the typical kielbasa all the way to more experimental efforts — BBQ pork and even pepperoni. At the end of the day, bread is a great vehicle to get any meat, cheese, or cream variety into your mouth.

Kolaches (By The Homesick Texan)

Prep Time 2 hours

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 18 kolaches

Author Lisa Fain

Ingredients

Ingredients for the dough:

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm whole milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Ingredients for the filling:

• 1/2 pound dried fruit apricots or prunes
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

Ingredients for the popsika:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. To make the dough, in a large bowl, combine the yeast, warm milk, sugar, and 1 cup of the flour. Cover and let it rise until doubled in size.
2. Beat together the eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry), and salt. Add the egg mixture to the yeast mixture and blend.
3. Stir in about 2 more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be soft and moist. Knead dough for about 10 minutes on a floured surface. Don’t worry, it’s a joy to knead as the dough is smooth and highly malleable. Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled in size — about an hour.
4. After the dough has risen, punch it down and pull off egg-sized pieces. In your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about 3 inches in diameter. Brush with half the remaining melted butter. Place flattened pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover, and let rise again for another half-hour.
5. Meanwhile, to make the filing, place the fruit in a pan, cover with water, bring to a boil, then cook on low for 15 minutes, adding sugar to taste (I find the fruit sweet enough so I don’t add sugar, but you may prefer it sweeter), cinnamon, and lemon zest. Mash with a potato masher until you have a puree.
6. To make the popsika, stir together the flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon until crumbly.
7. After the second rising of the dough, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much) and fill with one tablespoon of fruit filling and sprinkle with the popsika.
8. Bake in the oven at 375° F for 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with remaining melted butter when you take them out of the oven and serve warm.

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If you want to get involved with the Czech-pat community in Texas. There is a link to the Facebook group here.