Name: Traditional koláče like grandma's – with farmer's cheese, poppy seed and plum butter
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 9
Ingredients: 360 ml milk (lukewarm); 2 teaspoons dried yeast (approx. 7 g) or 20 g fresh; 70 g granulated sugar; 560 g all-purpose flour (+ for dusting); a pinch of salt; zest of 1 organic lemon; 115 g softened butter; 1 egg for brushing; 370 g full-fat soft quark (farmer's cheese); 120 g powdered sugar; 1 egg yolk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 packet vanilla sugar); 40 g raisins (soak beforehand in rum or hot water – optional); 60 g ground poppy seeds; 80 ml milk; 60 g powdered sugar; 40 g raisins (optional); 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; 1 tablespoon softened butter; thick plum butter or dense fruit jam (so it doesn't run during baking)

Preparation procedure

Yeast starter Divide the lukewarm milk: into 100 ml stir in the sugar and yeast, let stand for 10 minutes until foam forms on the surface. Set the remaining milk aside.
Dough Sift the flour into a bowl, add the salt and lemon zest. Stir in the risen starter, the remaining milk and the softened butter. Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for 60 minutes (the volume should double).
Fillings Farmer's cheese: Beat the quark with the sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and raisins. Poppy seed: Cook the poppy seeds in milk with sugar (2–3 minutes), stir in the raisins, let cool. Streusel: Rub the flour, sugar and butter between your fingers into a crumbly mixture.
Shaping the pastries Turn out the risen dough, briefly work it and divide into 18 equal pieces. Shape each into a ball, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and lightly flatten. Let rest for 15 minutes, then make an indentation in the center (e.g., with the bottom of a glass). Fill the indentation with filling (farmer's cheese/poppy seed/plum butter). Brush the edges with beaten egg, sprinkle the surface with streusel. Let rise for another 10–15 minutes directly on the baking sheet.
Baking Bake at 180 °C for about 18–20 minutes until golden. After removing from the oven, transfer the pastries to a wire rack and let cool.

Number of pieces

18 pastries (approx. 11 cm in diameter)

Total time

Dough and fillings preparation: 20 minutes
Proofing: 60 minutes
Shaping + final proofing: 30 minutes
Baking (in two–three batches): 2 × 20 minutes (depending on baking sheet size)

Total: approx. 2 hours 50 minutes

Conclusion

Traditional koláče with farmer’s cheese, poppy seed or plum butter are part of the Czech confectionery gold. The basis is a proper yeast dough, patient proofing and quality fillings. Don’t be afraid to mix – fill half the koláče with farmer’s cheese, the other half with poppy seed and the rest with plum butter. The result? A colorful tray that disappears faster than you can say “koláček”. Save the recipe – you’ll come back to it whenever you want the scent of home.

Traditional koláče like grandma's – with farmer's cheese, poppy seed and plum butter recept

For 9 portions

Ingredients

Yeast dough:

Farmer's cheese filling:

Poppy seed filling:

Crumb topping:

Other possible filling:

Preparation procedure

Number of pieces

Total time

Conclusion

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