Rohlíky are a very iconic type of bread in the Czech Republic. They are basically short and curved rolls made from plain flour. And they are delicious, of course, so here’s the recipe!
Rohlíky are made from the same type of dough like Housky which, however, are braided while rohlíky are rolled and one could say they remotely resemble baguettes. In the Czech Republic, they are a popular choice for breakfasts, snacks and cold dinners, eaten with savory foods like butter, ham or cheese, as well as with sweet fillings and toppings like marmalade or honey. Why fillings and toppings, you might ask? Well, that’s because a popular joke says that there are basically three types of people depending on how they like their rohlík served.
Rohlíky are also used as ingredient for dishes such as Bread Dumplings, Carlsbad Dumplings or Nádivka. Rohlík is also sometimes called tukový rohlík (tuk = grease, fat) because the dough is prepared with oil.
Ingredients
Dough
- 250 ml of warm water
- 200 g of plain flour (hladká mouka)
- 200 g of semi-coarse flour (polohrubá mouka)
- 2 tbsp of sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 2 tsp of salt
- 2 tsp of dried yeast
- 1 tsp of sugar
Glaze
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp of milk
Would you like to know more about the types of Czech flour? Read the Czech Flour Guide.
Topping (optional):
- large grain salt
- poppy seeds
Rohlíky – Recipe
Dough starter
Stir the yeast and sugar in the warm water, cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest until the surface becomes foamy.
Dough
In a large bowl, combine both flours and salt. Add the dough starter and oil and knead until everything is perfectly combined. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rest until it doubles in volume. Depending on the temperature of the environment, that could take anywhere between an hour and several hours. If you want to speed up the process, place the bowl in an oven heated to around 35°C/95°F.
After the dough has risen, split it into 10 equal parts, form small balls, cover them with a towel and let rise again.
Shape
Roll out each ball into a “strawberry” shape – it remotely resembles a triangle. You will need to pull and shape the dough also with your hands and then roll it with a pin.
Roll the shape from the long side towards the tip.
Fold both tips of the rohlík in.
Place rohlíky on a baking tray, cover with a towel and let them rise one last time. Notice how in the picture, all rohlíky are placed so that the tip of the original shape is facing down. This is because during the raising and baking, the rohlík likes to unfold and placing them like this will help prevent it.
Bake
Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F. Whisk the egg with milk and glaze each rohlík. If you want, sprinkle them with salt or poppy seeds. Place the tray in the oven and bake until golden, it should take approximately 15 minutes.
Take them out and let cool down.
