All Saints' Bones (Czech Kosti všech svatých)

When the nights draw in and candles begin to glow in Czech cemeteries, an almost forgotten pastry comes into season: All Saints' Bones, known in the old country as kosti všech svatých. These sweet little rolls, shaped like tiny bones and souls, were once baked to honor the dead. If your family has Czech roots, this may be the most touching thing you bake this fall.

What are All Saints' Bones? They are small sweet rolls made from a buttery, egg-enriched yeast dough, shaped like little bones, wreaths, and vertebrae, then brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with poppy seeds. If you have ever searched for Czech bone bread, this is the pastry behind the name: a soft, lightly sweet bread in the spirit of brioche, baked in the Czech Republic for All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, called Dušičky.

The dough itself is a true beginner yeast dough. The one step worth slowing down for is the shaping, and I walk you through all three traditional shapes. Count on about 30 minutes of hands-on work, the rising does the rest, and the rolls bake in just 15 minutes. I first came across these bones while reading old books about 19th-century Czech traditions, and the custom moved me so much that I had to bake them. Here is what I learned about the dough along the way.

Jump to

• ➜ My best tips for this recipe
• ➜ The story behind All Saints' Bones
• ➜ Pronunciation
• ➜ Ingredients
• ➜ How to make All Saints' Bones
• ➜ How to serve All Saints' Bones
• ➜ How to store
• ➜ FAQ
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

➜ My best tips for this recipe

• Proof the yeast first. Mix it with lukewarm milk and a teaspoon of sugar and wait for the foam. This step matters most if you are new to yeast baking, or if the packet has been sitting in your pantry so long you are not sure it is still active. Ten minutes of patience protects the whole batch from a no-rise disappointment.
• Use European-style butter with 82% milk fat. More fat in the butter means a richer, more tender crumb.
• Knead the full 10 minutes. The dough is ready when it is elastic and just slightly sticky. That is exactly the texture that bakes up light and airy.

"I made these for All Souls' Day and everyone loved them. They were beautiful and buttery, and super fun to shape. Thank you!"

Charlotte

If ceremonial Czech baking speaks to you, keep the oven warm for St. Martin's poppy seed horseshoe rolls (Martinské podkovy), baked just ten days later on November 11. Fans of this soft, sweet yeast dough will also enjoy poppy seed crescent rolls (loupáčky) with their morning coffee, or sweet Easter bread (mazanec) when spring comes back around.

➜ The story behind All Saints' Bones

In old Bohemia and Moravia, the last days of October belonged to the dead. People believed that on the eve of Dušičky, souls rose from Purgatory for one short night of rest. Families filled their oil lamps with butter, so the souls could soothe their burns, and left pastries out overnight for the visiting guests. Bakers twisted the dough into wreaths, S-curves, and little bones. The finished rolls were also handed to travelers, beggars, and the poor, or crumbled over the graves so the departed could share in the meal.

There was never one single recipe. Every region shaped and sweetened them a little differently: some used plain bread dough, others a sweet kolache dough like the one in this recipe.

Our family keeps Dušičky to this day. Every year, at the turn of October and November, we walk to the cemetery to light a candle for my dad and my stepdad, two wonderful men. My dad loved his pub, his beer, and his games of mariáš, a famous Czech pub card game, so for years we would pour a bottle of beer over his grave, and my brother Pavel would stop by to tell him the latest sports scores. These days we simply light the candles. The visit itself has not changed: you come to spend a quiet moment with the people you love.

➜ Ingredients

✅ See the recipe below with step-by-step photos and many helpful tips. Scroll down for the full printable recipe in both US cups and metric measurements.

• All-purpose flour, called hladká mouka in the Czech Republic, or plain flour in the UK. It gives the rolls structure and a soft crumb. Do not reach for self-rising flour, the yeast does all the leavening here. Read more about Czech flours and their substitutions.
• Active dry yeast, the leavening in this dough. Always proof it in lukewarm milk first.
• Milk, lukewarm, about 100°F (37°C). A drop on your wrist should feel barely warm, never hot. Milk that is too hot would kill the yeast.
• Unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly. European-style butter with 82% milk fat, such as Kerrygold, gives the richest, most tender crumb.
• Egg, one goes into the dough for richness, and a beaten egg brushed on top bakes into a glossy, deep-golden shine.
• Granulated sugar, just a few tablespoons, these rolls are only gently sweet.
• Poppy seeds, mák, the most Czech of toppings, sprinkled over the egg wash before baking. They stand for the earth where the departed rest. They are optional, poppy seeds can be hard to find abroad, and the rolls work fine without them.

➜ How to make All Saints' Bones

STEP 1: Proof the yeast. Pour the lukewarm milk into a glass, stir in the sugar and the yeast, and set it in a warm spot for about 10 minutes. When a foamy cap forms on top, the yeast is alive and ready to work.

STEP 2: Make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, egg, lukewarm milk, sugar, salt, and the melted, not hot butter. Pour in the foamy yeast mixture.

STEP 3: Knead the dough. Knead with the dough hook on medium speed for about 10 minutes. The dough is done when it is smooth, elastic, and sticks to your fingers only a little. Kneading by hand on a floured board works too, it just takes a few minutes longer.

STEP 4: Let the dough rise. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm, draft-free spot for about 1 ½ hours, until doubled in size. My tip: how to quickly make the dough rise in the oven.

STEP 5: Shape the bones and souls. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and divide it into 10 equal pieces. Shape each piece in one of the three traditional ways:

• Bones: roll a piece into a rope and lay it down in a gentle S-shape. Or make the rope thinner in the middle, cut into both ends about halfway, and spread the cut ends apart, so they look like the knobs of a bone.
• Souls: divide a piece in half and roll two ropes. Twist them around each other and join the ends into a small wreath. Press the ends together well, or they open during baking.
• Vertebrae: divide a piece into four parts and roll each into a ball. Set the balls in a row so they touch. In the oven they bake together into a little spine.

My tip: Shaping is the best part to share with kids or grandkids, no two bones ever come out the same!

STEP 6: Second rise. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the shapes on it, about 1.5 inches (4 cm) apart. Cover with a clean tea towel and let them rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes. Toward the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).

STEP 7: Egg wash and poppy seeds. Beat the ½ egg with a fork and brush it gently over the risen shapes. Sprinkle them with poppy seeds, if using.

STEP 8: Bake. Bake the rolls for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. The outside will be lightly crisp, the inside soft and pillowy.

➜ How to serve All Saints' Bones

Nowadays, Czechs enjoy these rolls simply fresh, ideally still a little warm from the oven. Split one open, spread it with good butter, and add a drizzle of honey or a spoonful of your favorite jam. A cup of coffee or tea alongside turns them into a cozy autumn breakfast. Dobrou chuť!

➜ How to store

These rolls taste best on the day they are baked. At room temperature, keep them in a bread bag and eat them within 3 days. In the refrigerator, an airtight container keeps them fresh for up to 5 days. For longer storage, freeze the rolls in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature. A short warm-up in the oven brings back the soft crumb.

➜ FAQ

📖 Recipe