Come try a real Czech classic: České buchty with a sweet filling! You are welcome to join me at the table, but hurry because these Buchty always disappear so quickly.
➜ What are buchty?
Czech buchty are oven-baked fluffy buns made of yeast dough that contain a sweet filling. Their texture resembles French brioches a bit.
Typical fillings include poppy seed, tvaroh (farmers' cheese in the USA), or plum jam. Freshly baked buns are brushed with melted butter and rum, which gives them a heavenly buttery taste.
Buchty buns, just like kolache, are one of the traditional representatives of Czech sweet pastries. They are sold in bakeries, made by families at the weekend, and served with coffee or tea.
➜ Pronunciation
So that you can hear how the word buchty is pronounced in Czech, I have recorded a short audio clip of pronunciation. The first word is "buchty" and the second is "české buchty," where the word "české" means Czech.
For clarification, you can remember:
- Buchta = 1 piece (singular)
- Buchty = 2 and more pieces (plural).
Buchty pastries belong to the classic old Bohemian recipes that our great-grandmothers used to make. However, because the Czech lands were for centuries part of the Habsburg monarchy, which occupied a large part of central Europe, the buns are also well-known among our contemporary neighbors.
The other names for Czech buchty are Buchteln (Austria, Germany), buhtli or bukty.
➜ Buchty and cesky Honza
Just so you know, buchty are iconic food that accompanies the most famous Czech fairy tale character: a young man named Český Honza.
Honza is an inherently lazy boy who spends his childhood in a cottage lying on a stove (in old Czech houses, the stove also functioned as a fireplace and was often slept on). When he reaches his bachelor years, he gets up from the stove and ventures out into the world to learn something new.
To help Honza thrive outside, his mother bakes him buchty for the journey. Honza then shares these buchty with other fairy tale characters he meets on the road. In the end, he usually kills a dragon and saves and marries a princess.
Back to the kitchen, let's see how you can bake delicious Czech buchty at home!
➜ Ingredients
✅ You will find the exact ingredient amounts in the recipe card below, which you can also print out.
For yeast dough:
- All-purpose flour
- Milk; lukewarm
- Butter; unsalted, melted, and cooled (not too hot)
- Granulated sugar
- Active dry yeast; Czechs prefer to use fresh yeast. I had dry yeast on hand, which worked perfectly for this recipe.
- Egg
- Pinch of salt; for flavor
What else you need:
- Unsalted butter; melted. To brush the buchty from all sides while putting them in a baking tray.
- Unsalted butter and rum; to brush freshly baked buchty buns. Rum: Czech classic is "tuzemák" or "Božkov". If you are based in the US, I recommend Kirkland spiced rum (available at Costco) or Austrian Stroh 54 – these types taste similar to Czech "tuzemák" rum.
- Powdered sugar to dust the baked buchty
Sweet fillings
Next, you will need at least one kind of sweet filling for the buchty. Here are some typical Czech fillings for sweet pastries:
- Cheese filling (made with Czech tvaroh or Farmer's cheese)
- Homemade poppy seed filling
- Sweet cabbage filling (a vintage Czech recipe!)
Alternatively, use the fillings you're used to when baking. Apricot jam, for example, is popular.
➜ Instructions with photos
STEP 1: Heat the milk so that it is lukewarm but not hot. Pour ½ cup milk into a cup, add a teaspoon of sugar, add active dry yeast, and stir.
Leave it in a warm place until small bubbles form on the surface of the activated yeast. This takes about 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter and let it cool down; it can't be hot.
STEP 2: In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, the rest of the lukewarm milk, melted butter, a pinch of salt, and an egg. Add milk with activated yeast.
STEP 3: Make a smooth dough.
Start stirring the ingredients with a fork a wooden spoon; when combined, dump the mass on the work surface. Knead the dough properly. It requires a bit of physical effort to make the dough smooth and slightly sticky. It takes about 10 minutes.
If the dough is too sticky during processing, add a little flour.
STEP 4: Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
This works for me perfectly: Place a pot of hot water in the bottom of your turned-off oven. Put the bowl of kneaded dough on a medium rack. The bowl should not be placed immediately above the pot of hot water but rather somewhere in the corner. Close the oven and let the dough rise for one hour. It rises like crazy in this moist and warm environment!
⤍ Learn how to make dough rise in the oven.
Here is another option if you like to bake with yeast dough:
For perfect dough rising, I recommend this simple ✅ Dough Proofer by Czech brand Tescoma (affiliate link). I use it myself and am very satisfied!
STEP 5: Divide the dough into approximately equal-sized pieces. If you have a kitchen scale, weigh each piece of dough per bun to 3 ounces (85 grams). Roll each piece with a rolling pin into a patty.
The other method (without a scale) is as follows: Roll out the dough on the worktop roughly into a rectangular shape. The dough should be about as thick as a straw.
Using a pastry cutter or knife, divide the rolled-out dough into squares or rectangles approximately 4x4 inches (10x10 cm) in size; place about one tablespoon of filling in the middle of each square.
STEP 6: Fold the edges of the dough over the filling and seal well. Finally, gently roll the finished bun between your palms to get a regular shape.
STEP 7: Grease a baking dish about 13x9 inches (33x23 cm) with butter. Melt ⅓ stick of butter (37 g) in a saucepan and set aside to cool. Brush the baking tray with it.
Place the prepared buns one at a time, seam-side down, in the baking dish, brushing each side with melted but not hot butter.
Keep going until you've used up all the dough.
STEP 8: Finally, brush the buchty bun tops with the remaining butter.
STEP 9: Bake in a preheated oven at 325°F (165°C) for about 40 minutes, until golden brown.
STEP 10: Melt two tablespoons of butter (25 g), add two tablespoons of rum, and mix. Once the buns are fresh out of the oven, brush their surface generously with the butter-rum mixture.
➜ Serving
Let the buchty cool, dust with powdered sugar, and serve! They are best served still a bit warm with an afternoon cup of coffee or tea.
You can also bake them for a gathering with friends. If you wanted to bring something typically Czech, buchty bread would be the ideal choice!
➜ Cook's Tips
- This recipe makes about 9-12 buchty buns. They should fit in a baking dish measuring approximately 13x9 inches.
- The fillings for the buchty always have to be at room temperature. A filling that is either too cold (e.g., made from cottage cheese taken out of the fridge shortly before preparation) or too hot (made from ground poppy seeds) could ruin the yeast dough!
- Instead of butter, you can brush the buchty buns with melted pork lard during preparation.
More Czech sweet pastries:
- Vanocka – sweet Christmas braided bread, also known as houska
- Mazanec – Easter bread with almonds and raisins
- Apple strudel – an easy recipe
Tried this recipe?
Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Buchty – Czech Sweet Filled Buns
Tap or hover to scale
Ingredients
Yeast dough for buchty:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more if the dough is too sticky
- ¾ cup milk lukewarm
- ½ stick unsalted butter melted
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast or 30 g fresh yeast
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ stick unsalted butter melted, for brushing the buchty when placing them in a baking tray
Mixture for brushing the baked buchty:
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 Tablespoons rum Kirkland spiced rum or Austrian Stroh 40
Topping:
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar to dust the buchty on top before serving
Filling for buchty
- 1 cup e.g. cream cheese filling, poppy seed filling, apricot jam
Instructions
- Heat ¾ cup milk so that it is lukewarm but not hot. Pour ½ cup of milk into a cup, add a teaspoon of sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast, and stir. Leave it in a warm place until small bubbles form on the surface of the activated yeast. This takes about 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt ½ stick unsalted butter and let it cool down; it can't be hot.
- In a large mixing bowl, place 3 cups all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, the rest of the lukewarm milk, melted butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 egg. Add milk with activated yeast.
- Make a smooth dough: Start stirring the ingredients with a fork or wooden spoon; when combined, dump the mass on the work surface. Knead the dough properly. It requires a bit of physical effort to make the dough smooth and slightly sticky. It takes about 10 minutes. If the dough is too sticky during processing, add a little flour.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size. It takes about one hour.
- Divide the dough into approximately equal-sized pieces. If you have a kitchen scale, weigh each piece of dough per bun to 3 ounces (85 grams). Roll each piece with a rolling pin into a patty.
- The other method (without a scale) is as follows: Roll out the dough on the worktop roughly into a rectangular shape. The dough should be about as thick as a straw. Using a pastry cutter or knife, divide the rolled-out dough into squares or rectangles approximately 4x4 inches (10x10 cm) in size; place about one tablespoon of filling in the middle of each square.
- Fold the edges of the dough over the filling and seal well. Finally, gently roll the finished bun between your palms to get a regular shape.
- Grease a baking dish about 13x9 inches (33x23 cm) with butter. Melt ⅓ stick unsalted butter in a saucepan and set aside to cool. Brush the baking tray with it.
- Place the prepared buns one at a time, seam-side down, in the baking dish, brushing each side with melted but not hot butter. Keep going until you have used up all the dough.
- Finally, brush the buchty tops with the remaining butter. Let them sit in a warm place for about 20 minutes; they will rise a little more.
- Bake in a preheated oven at
350 °F for about 35 minutes, until golden brown. - Melt 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, add 2 Tablespoons rum, and mix. Once the buns are fresh out of the oven, brush their surface generously with the butter-rum mixture.
- Before serving, sprinkle the baking dish of Buchty with 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar.
Notes
- The basic recipe makes about 9-12 Buchty pieces.
- SERVING: Buchty buns are best served slightly warm with an afternoon cup of coffee or tea.
- The fillings for the buchty must always be at room temperature. A filling that is too cold (like the one made of cheese just taken out of the fridge) or too hot (like freshly made ground poppy seed filling) could ruin the yeast dough!
Arleen says
Where would I get the cheese filling recipe? These look wonderful. Can't find farmers cheese. Would cream cheese be a good substitute?
Thanks!
Dagmar says
The recipe is on this website. I also use the poppy seed filling for these delicious cakes from my childhood.
Petra Kupská says
Thank you for your comment and reminder. Here is a recipe for Czech "tvaroh filling."
William Milan Uhlarik says
Arlene, I was born and raised in Chicago. It was called and labelled in all the grocery stores "Dry Cottage Cheese." It is basically the curd without any dairy additives. It was sold in the dairy section where one would find wet cottage cheese to which dairy had been added to the curd. But to make buchty filling, you must use "dry curd cottage cheese" and never wet curd which would ruin it by being too soupy and runny. If you search the internet for "dry cottage cheese," you will find numerous online vendors that also sell it. But it is much more expensive than if you can find and but it at your local grocery store. You can also make it from scratch. You can search the internet for recipes to make "dry curd cottage cheese." If you live in a city with large groups of people who are recent immigrants from Czechoslovakia (Czech or Slovak Republics), Poland, Ukraine, other Slavic groups or 1st and 2nd generation American born, it should be easy to find in the grocery stores. Since I moved to Texas years ago, I must make it from scratch because it is not sold here and people have no idea what you are talking about it, if you ask if they sell it. However, if I should happen to be visiting the Austin (Hill Country) area of Texas, I found a few stores selling it because a lot of Czechoslovaks had settled in the area and their descendants still make kolacky and buchty. LOL......
Ken says
I made your Buchty with Solo Cake & Pastry Filling. I used both raspberry and apricot. Both are sold at Jewel Osco stores in the Chicago area. I never had Buchty before getting the recipe from your website. We love them, as do our friends. Thanks!
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Thank you for the nice comment, Ken. I am really happy the recipe was such a success!
Olga Perina says
Wow. I used the same fillings as well from Jewel in Chicago. Hello neighbor
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Thank you for your feedback, Olga!
Olga Perina says
Uzasny recept jako kdybych to upekla moje Maminka. Dekuji vam za recept. They are delicious. My Mom would be proud.
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Thank you so much for your kind comment. I am glad the recipe was such a success! 🙂
Diane says
My Mother used to make this dough with concord grape and a cookie crumb topping. she left me the recipe, and I am going to try it today. concords are not easy to come by but I found thomcord grapes. they don't have a big concord flavor.
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Hello Diane, thank you for your comment! Good luck with baking and please let me know how it turned out afterwards!
Laurie Pecenkovic says
I did a mostly sugar free version. Just 2 tsp sugar for the yeast. And the rest was monkfruit sweetener. And sugar free smuckers jam for inside. They are awesome thanks for another favorite recipe!
Petra Kupská says
Thank you, Laurie, for your kind comment and for sharing your twist on the Buchty recipe!
Nana Fauda says
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe for Buchty, Czech sweet-filled buns! At Silver Spoon, we love exploring and celebrating diverse culinary traditions. These buns look absolutely delightful, and we can't wait to try making them ourselves.
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Ahoj Nana, thank you for the comment and feedback - I appreciate it greatly!
Greetings from the Czech Republic.
Josh says
These were AMAZING and all of my family absolutely devoured them! I've always to made kolaches growing up so I used my cheese filling and they were a crowd pleaser. I'll be making another big batch again tomorrow with my plum butter, peaches (with cream cheese filljng), and cinnamon apples. Thank you so much for reconnecting me to my Czech roots!!!
Josh says
Jak se máš! I'm so excited to make your Rohlíčky and this buchty for Thanksgiving this year! My grandmother was Czech and I grew up in her kitchen in Texas and it will always be the most special of times for me making kolaches and strudel with her. I can't wait to add these to my baking repertoire!
Josh says
These were AMAZING and all of my family absolutely devoured them! I've always made kolaches growing up so I used my cheese filling and they were a crowd pleaser. I'll be making another big batch again tomorrow with my plum butter, peaches (with cream cheese filling), and cinnamon apples. Thank you so much for reconnecting me to my Czech roots!!!
Petra | Cook Like Czechs says
I am so glad to hear that the kolaches were a hit. Your cheese filling, plum butter, peaches with cream cheese, and cinnamon apples all sound absolutely delicious. Enjoy making your next batch, and I am sure they will be just as amazing. You are welcome.
Paula says
I made this today with an apricot jam filling and it was really good 🙂 I found it easy to follow as someone who rarely bakes. I don’t think I’ve ever tried Czech food before so I look forward to trying your other recipes!
Petra Kupská | Cook Like Czechs says
That's great, I'm so happy to hear that! I hope the rest of the recipes work out just as well for you. Happy baking! 🙂