Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Kolache Kreations in Ellicott City

New bakeries are popping up along the western run of Rte 40 in Ellicott City, and Treetop Tom turned me onto one hoping to import the kolache from Texas to our area.

I had already been thinking about a trip to the new Bon Appetit when Tom emailed me a photo and a report about Kolache Kreations:
A kolache (also known as kolacky, kolach or kolace and don't even get started on how it's supposed to be pronounced: Ko-LATCH, Ko-LAHTCH-see, Ko-LOCK-eh etc., ad infinitum) is a Czech pastry consisting of a light bread roll/biscuit hybrid either topped with fruit and sweets (apple, cherry, cream cheese etc.) or surrounding a sausage/pepper filling like a miniature pepperoni roll. They are especially popular in Texas, Oklahoma and parts of the midwest where eastern European families settled. 
I had read about them, but until this last week had never tried them. A young couple (Ileana Fernandez and her husband, whose name I didn't catch) from Texas have opened a small bakery specializing in the toothsome treats on Frederick Road at the old consignment shop at Kiwanis-Wallas fields in Ellicott City. They also sell other confections including cinnamon rolls, cakes by the slice, coffee, bubble teas, smoothies and ice cream. 
The kolaches are much denser than an ordinary flaky danish and not as sweet, and still warm from the oven on a Saturday morning they are a little round bite of heaven (they also reheat well in the microwave). If you're a hungry expatriate Texan or just a lover of good baked goods I heartily recommend this place. 
Sunday morning I rushed out to confirm Tom's report.  Kolache Kreations is a small building about a half-block off Rte 40.  In one room, they have set up a casual bakery.  In the other, they're selling a mix of jewelry, candles, toys and other gift items.  They even have a heater on the porch so you could warm yourself with coffee and a treat on a brisk day.

The kolaches are definitely worth a wait on the porch right out of the oven.  They're a light white dough with yeasty bite.  So yeasty that the woman who ordered before me asked if there was beer in the batter.  No beer.  It's all yeast, and that flavor went great with the sausage stuffed in the savory kolache that I ordered.  I'm down on cheese in breakfast sandwiches.  The Kolache kolache overflows with cheese, which would work for people don't want breakfast sandwiches limited to "egg and bacon on a roll."

Next time, I'll go sweet.  Tom wrote that the fruit-topped kolache were delicious and even reheated well. The blueberry ones looked luscious, and they were right out of the oven on Sunday morning.  I only passed because I had already eaten a red bean donut at Bon Appetit.  Kolache Kreations had other breakfast pastries, along with bubble teas and ice cream.  So they'll be cozy in this season, then refreshing when the heat returns.  Please let the heat return one day.

(Update:  See the comments below about the many varieties -- and about special orders.)

Kolache Kreations 
10455 Frederick Road 
Ellicott City, MD 21042 
410-988-3193

NEAR: Kolache Kreations is just off Rte 40 west of Bethany Lane.  Frederick Road intersects with Rte 40 twice, so there are actually two traffic lights where you can turn onto Frederick Road.  Kolache sits just north of the western intersection.  It's in sight from the turn lane if you're coming west from Rte 29.

Kolache Kreations on Urbanspoon

11 comments:

  1. I make a sweet variety of kolachky every Christmas. They are always a huge hit. :)

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  2. I stopped there last Tuesday and picked up two kolaches. Not sure how old they were, but they looked like they had been baked the day before. One was a "sausage/cheese" kolache (which is basically a pig in a blanket with cheese), and it had a bit of cheese but certainly not overflowing as you couldn't see any cheese protruding. The sausage was an itsy bitsy breakfast sausage - like one of those little Bob Evans links you see at the supermarket. The second kolache was a cherry one - basically the same dough as the sausage/cheese kolache, but with some cherry pie filling sitting on top of it. They were about $2 each - I didn't think they were any thing extraordinary to make it worth the trip. Maybe if they were actually freshly made I would have a different take. All together, this was a disappointment.

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  3. To Anonymous,

    The Kolaches made at Kolache Kreations are made every morning. They are not made the day before. You probably went a little too late.

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  4. I loved the kolaches, they were fresh as the ones I had in Houston, had a homemade taste not like "Kolache Factory," ones. I also had their Caramel Apple cider, and it was wonderful! Will be back again.

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  5. OK, I wasn't overly excited about the filling (sausage/cheese). It's ok, but not as tasty as my aunts made. BUT the roll is very good. I love yeasty rolls and this one is very good!

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  6. Seems like the kolache is getting quite a bit of attention so I went today to see what the buzz is all about.

    In general, I loved the store front and got a little history lesson on the store. It was originally a general store back in the 50's. Some ladies commented to the owner that it was nostalgic to see the store come back to a store that neighborhood children and adults can enjoy daily (toys, jewlery, hershey ice cream, smoothies, lattes, pastries, and more). Patio rocking chairs with a heater outside is a nice touch. One of the ladies commented that she remembering coming to the general store with her grandfather as a child to buy candy. Funny how fond traditions cycle thru time and is especially nice to hear during the holidays.

    Since the sausage and cheese kolache seems to be well reviewed, I tried the cream cheese kolache which was perfectly sweet and a great combination with the yeasty roll as described on other posts. My peppermint mocha latte was excellent, consistent flavor down to the bottom of my cup!! Highly Recommend....

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  7. I stopped by this morning and tried a "hot" sausage kolache and an apple. The sausage, not really spicy, went very well with the yeasty wrapping of dough. It wasn't messy (no cheese in this version) at all and was easy to hold and eat. Good on-the-go food.

    The apple was just OK. It's not that I think they made it wrong, it's just that I didn't grow up eating sweet Kolache so it's not to my taste.

    I also tried their hot spiced cider with caramel syrup and it was really, really good. I will go back for the cider. They also have ice cream and smoothies that I want to try.

    They mentioned that business has picked up and they think part of it is because of favorable mentions in the blogosphere.

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  8. The owner came in early yesterday to bake a dozen kolaches up fresh for a 7:30 am pick-up so I could take them into work while they were still warm. Included in the mix were several cinnamon & nut kolaches that were the crowd favorite. Can't say enough about this place and the friendly folks who work there. Well done!

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  9. I'm looking forward to going bakery-hopping on my holiday break. :)

    ~Kate

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  10. Dropped off my dog at the kennel and was about to make a UTurn at Pebble Beach/Frederick when I saw the sign for Kolache Kreations and remembered this post on HowChow!! Stopped in for a Sausage w/ Jalapeno Cheddar she warmed up for me. O. M. G. Where has that bread been all my life? Yeasty but not sweet. Toothsome with chew but not in a stale way. The sausage was salty and crumbly like good breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean's/Bob Evans) but the bread. Oh the bread! I ate around the sausage eating just the bread and the cheese filling. What a revelation! I'd like an entire loaf or a tray of rolls of just that bread! Definitely worth a stop! Next time I will have to try a sweet Kolache. They do look decadent!

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