Czechs in Iowa

Kolaches

Family lore has it that my grandmother met my grandfather on 16th Avenue (Cedar Rapids) and anyone who knows the history of Cedar Rapids will immediately associate that avenue with the Czech population that came to Cedar Rapids in the 1850s.  Many immigrants settled in that area and worked in meat packing plants - most notably the Sinclair meatpacking plant owned by T.M. Sinclair.  Sinclair was an Irish immigrant himself and made it a point to hire immigrants as workers in his plant (Sinclair is also part of the history of the Brucemore Mansion in Cedar Rapids - check here for that story).   Cedar Rapids was not the only Iowa spot that Czech citizens came to.  Many settled in the Spillville area in Northeast Iowa.  In fact Antonin Dvorak spent a summer in Spillville, composing music and living among other Czech.

My Day With Anka by Nan Ferring Nelson (HarperCollins, 1996) is actually based on the author's own childhood - a childhood spent in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a center of Czech immigration in earlier decades.  The book is described in a Kirkus review as, "Nelson's first book ... Karrie, a little girl who looks forward to her time with the family's nurturing, maternal housekeeper, Anka. Anka is a Czechoslovakian immigrant who bakes kolaches and other good things, cleans the house, and makes everything fun. In a day of making the house shine, Karrie learns humor, creativity, and tolerance for others with different backgrounds. Anka is a real charmer, bringing memories of her trip to America into everyday activities: The vacuum cleaner is a train to Prague, and the window-washing water is the Atlantic Ocean. The story is loving and respectful, but remains very much a tale of several decades ago; Farnsworth's acrylic on canvas illustrations are muted, warm, and comfortingly nostalgic.".  Bill Farnsworth created wonderful illustrations for the book.  In the book Nelson talks about the savory Czech Kolaches open faced and filled with delicious fruit filling.   Farnsworth was only able to find closed Kolaches popular in larger cities, so Nelson's father who still lived in Cedar Rapids went to a local bakery and shipped a dozen or more kolaches to the publishing party in New York.  A painting of those kolaches ended up on the jacket flap of the book.  They look just like the kolaches often sold in Cedar Rapids -- and made during Nelson's childhood and mine as well.
Here's a great recipe for authentic Czech Kolaches:

1. Dissolve:
   2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
   1 tablespoon sugar in warm milk [2 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)].
   Let Stand for 10 minutes 
2. While the yeast mixture is standing, mix in a large bowl:
   2 cups flour
   1/2 cup sugar less the 1 tablespoon used with yeast
   4 egg yolks
   1 teaspoon salt
   1/4 cup butter, softened
3. Stir in the yeast mixture and an additional 3 3/4 cups to 4 1/2 cups flour as needed - mix until smooth and a stiff dough is formed.
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. 
5. Add additional flour, if necessary. 
6. Place dough in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. 
7. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 
8.  Punch dough down and allow to rise again. 
9. Roll out on floured surface to 1/2-in. thickness. 
10. Cut with large glass or 2-1/2-in. cutter. 
11. Place on greased baking sheets; let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. 
12. Firmly press indentation in center and fill each roll with a heaping tablespoon of filling. 
13. Brush dough with egg white. 
14.  Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until rolls are light golden brown. Yield: about 28 rolls. 

You may used canned filling - prune, poppy seed, cherry, lemon, or my favorite apricot filling.  But my preference is to make my own from scratch.  Here is one recipe for poppy seed filling -- and the apricot filling.

Poppyseed filling

• 1 cup poppy seed
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup chopped dates
• 1/3 cup chopped nuts
• Dash of cinnamon
  
  Combine the filling ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until it thickens, stirring often. Set filling aside to cool.

Fruit Kolache filling

• 1/2 pound of dried fruit such as apricots or prunes, raisins, cherries, whatever you wish.
• Sugar to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• Lemon zest

Soak the dried fruit in water for a few hours or overnight.
When fruit is re-hydrated, cook on low for 15 minutes, adding sugar to taste, cinnamon and lemon zest. Mash with a potato masher until you have a puree.

Find a copy of My Day With Anka, bake some kolaches -- read and enjoy.
Sharron