Great-Grandma Sophia's Poppy Seed Kolaches

Paco’s Remake Kolaches

Based on Great-Grandma Sophie's Poppy Seed Kolaches Recipe

Makes about 2 dozen Kolaches

Poppy Seed Filling

1 pound poppy seeds

2 cup milk

½ cup unsalted butter

1 ½ cup white sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

⅛ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs, beaten

Additional butter, melted, to brush tops of kolache

Additional white sugar, to sprinkle tops of kolache 

Filling Directions – Make-ahead with enough time to cool

1. Grind the poppy seeds in a mill or coffee grinder. *May need to put through the grinder twice to get a fine consistency, coffee grinder did a much nicer grind than my food processor.
2. Combine the milk, butter, sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan. Cook on low heat, stirring often until the sugar dissolves. Gradually pour half of the hot milk into the beaten eggs, whisking constantly. Slowly return the egg and milk mixture to the saucepan.
3. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a metal spoon. (Run your finger down the coated spoon; it should draw a clear line.) Add the poppy seeds and stir well to blend.
4. Remove from heat; cool before using. Store unused filling in the refrigerator for up to five days.
   

Sweet Bread Dough – do not double; not enough room in the stand mixer

1 cup milk (scald as directed below)

1 cup unsalted butter (slice up the butter into small chunks to melt faster)

2 tablespoons yeast

¾ cup of warm water

1 teaspoon white sugar

5 large eggs

¾ cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

6-8 cup flour

Sweet Bread Dough Directions – 

1. In a saucepan, add milk and cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly using a wooden spoon or silicone whisk.
2. Once you see your milk become frothy, (you do not want to boil) remove from heat and add in the butter to cool the scalded milk down, continue stirring. Once the butter is melted, set aside.
3. Combine yeast, warm water, and sugar in a medium glass bowl and cover. Let stand until yeast is dissolved and foam grows.
4. Meanwhile, in the stand mixer, beat eggs until lemon colored. 
5. In the stand mixer, add sugar, salt, and milk/butter mixture. Mix using the wire whisk attachment for a few seconds.
6. By this time, your yeast should have doubled in size. Add in the yeast to the stand mixer and stir for a few more seconds.
   
7. Using the dough hook attachment, stir in flour, one cup at a time, scraping the sides after each addition. Once you have added 6 cups, only add a ¼ c at a time. You may end up not using all the flour. Stop adding flour right before the dough starts to form a ball around the hook and stops sticking to the sides of the stand mixer bowl. It will have an elastic consistency.
8. Continue to ‘mix’ in the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for another 5 to 10 minutes to ‘knead’ the dough.
9. Spray non-stick cooking spray to coat the sides and bottom of a large bowl; a bowl large enough to allow your dough to double in size.
10. Scrape dough into a large bowl, and spray the top of your dough with the non-stick cooking spray.
11. Spray plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray and loosely cover the bowl. Set bowl in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
12. Repeat steps 1 through 11 if making a 2^nd batch.

Making a Kolache

Preheat Oven to 400°F

1. Once the first batch of dough has risen, punch down dough.
2. Pinch off a chunk, large enough for you to roll out a large rectangle, about 7” x 20”, onto a lightly floured surface.
3. Use a pizza cutter and sub-cut rectangle into smaller rectangles about 3” x 5”.
   
   
   
4. Spoon about 2 tablespoons full of poppy seed filling.
5. Roll up and pinch edges.
6. Place, seam side down, in a parchment paper-lined glass pans 9” x 13” pans. Cookie sheets will work in a pinch.
7. Once the pan is full, brush the top with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar.
   
8. Let rise for 20 minutes.
9. Bake at 400° for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
10. Brush again with butter and sprinkle with sugar.
    

I hope you enjoy making these as much as I have. I have been able to vacuum seal these and freeze them to use at a future time. 

I’ve also used other fillings such as cherry pie filling, a sweetened cream cheese filling, and other fresh fruit made into a pie filling consistency. See below for Apricot Pie filling and Blueberry Pie filling.

Apricot Pie Filling

2# sliced apricots

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons corn starch

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

splash or two of lemon juice

Mix dry ingredients in sauce pan. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low-medium until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently.

Blueberry Pie Filling

2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup lite karo syrup

1/2 cup water

3 tablespoons corn starch *had to add more after karo (will test this again in the future attempts)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix dry ingredients in sauce pan. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low-medium heat until sugar dissolves and sauce thickens.

The sweet bread dough can also be used for Apple Cinnamon Rolls or Paco’s Pull Apart Apple Bread.