After writing about hometown beer joints (see August 15 the post )writing about the evolution of kolaches seemed inevitable. Although expounding on kolaches can be sweet, it can’t be short, like I like to keep my blog posts. There’s so much to say, I could easily fill a small book. So this is only part one, with two more (at least) to come.
           The idea of writing about kolaches came to me a few mornings ago when I woke up to a memory of the aroma of them baking in the oven. My mouth started watering, and for a moment, I thought I was in my room on South Harrison Street in West, and my mother was doing her thing. Then I realized I wouldn’t be having a kolache for breakfast: it’s 2022; I live 2300 miles from my hometown; and mom was now baking kolaches in Heaven for dearly departed Czechs. I wanted to pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep. But, to quell that moment of homesickness, I meditated on the delightful pastry.
           Kolache baking, and eating, were a huge part of growing up and my Czech heritage. When I was little, I believed that kolaches were a well-kept secret in Central Texas. Then in 1977, West began celebrating its Czech heritage with the annual WestFest, held during Labor Day weekend, and thousands of people are drawn to my hometown. But that’s not all. Twenty years later, the Texas State Legislature designated West as “The Kolache Capital of Texas.” Now the secret was really out.
           If you’ve been living in an underground bunker, on the moon, or have just arrived from another country besides the Czech Republic, you might not know much about kolaches. So I’m here to educate you (I used to be a teacher). Kolaches are a yeasty pastry in two varieties: sweet or savory, with both made from the same dough recipe. To make a sweet or fruit kolache, wait till the dough has risen twice, pinch off a small portion, flour your hands, and roll the dough into a neat little ball, smaller than a squash ball but bigger than a ping-pong ball. Then, with the back of a spoon, create an indentation in the middle of the ball, fill it with fruit, and call it a kolache. If you use pork sausage, take a healthy inch of link sausage, hide it in the middle of the dough, and call it a klobasnek. (Leftover dough can also be used to make yummy cinnamon rolls.)
           Don’t think I’m going to give you the recipe now. That’s coming later. I need to muster up some courage for that.
           The aroma of kolaches baking is heavenly. My mother usually baked them on Saturday mornings. As soon as she slid the pan from the oven, I’d grab an apricot one, bite into it, and burn my mouth. The pain was always disregarded, and the next kolache, much cooler, was awaiting.
           Traditional fruits used as a filling are apricots, prunes, and apples. Occasionally, my mother would get creative and use cherries or pineapple for the filling: but apricot and prune were, and still are, my favorite. Sometimes she used sweetened cottage cheese. For savory kolaches, there was pork sausage, usually made by my dad.
           When I was growing up, the Village Bakery was the only bakery in West. It opened for business the year I was born, but we rarely patronized it because we always had kolaches at home. As time went on, another bakery or two would pop up, and in 1983, the Czech Stop/Little Czech Bakery opened, conveniently located right off the highway. West soon became a regular stop for I-35 travelers. Its long counter lines were a signal for other entrepreneurs to open their own bakeries. Nowadays in West, along with the Czech Stop, you’ll find Slovacek’s, Oak Street Bakery, and Gerik’s Ole Czech Bakery.
           Kolaches are now popular all over Texas, and beyond. And I’m elated to report that a Google search turned up a Texas couple who had moved to Stanwood, Washington. For me, that’s just down the backroad to Seattle. They’ve opened a bakery: The Flying Kolache. So next weekend I’m heading that way to sample their fare and take a bite out of my homesickness. Wish me luck and Bon Appétit.  Watch for The Evolution of Kolaches: Part Two—The Recipe; and Part Three—Buc-ee’s.
Kolache Links:
Note: the photos used in this post came from Czech Stop/Little Czech Bakery.