Vdolky (also dolky) are traditional Czech fried pastry from leavened dough that are usually served with marmalade on top.
Just like I said in the article about koblihy, these two pastries are almost the same, so much so that in some regions koblihy can be called vdolky and vice versa and their main difference is where you put the marmalade, inside or on top (and to make the information complete, in some regions, it doesn’t matter at all). Sometimes, vdolky and be as fluffy as koblihy but I’m using a south-Moravian recipe from the 19th century according to which vdolky have the shape of pancakes.
Fun fact: In some regions, pancakes used to be called lité vdolky (poured vdolky) and when a vdolek (sg.) didn’t come out pretty, it was called frgál which is nowadays known rather as a type of koláč from the region of Valašsko.
Today we know them almost exclusively as a sweet dish but our forefathers used to make savory ones seasoned with caraway as a side dish of meat. Today the Czechs know rather langoše, savory pancake or Hungarian origin.
Czech restaurants often serve small versions of vdolky decorated not only with marmalade but also cream and fruit.
Ingredients
- 0,5 kg of semi coarse flour (see Czech Flour Guide, all-purpose flour will be ok, if you can’t get polohrubá mouka)
- 50 g of softened butter
- 4 egg yolks
- 40 g of powder sugar
- 1 tbsp of vanilla sugar
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 3 tbsp of Czech rum
- 200 ml of milk
- 1 tsp of granulated sugar
- 1 cube of active yeast (42 g) or 2 tsp of dried yeast
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- oil for frying
On top comes…
- marmalade or powder sugar
Vdolky – Recipe
Pour the milk in a small bowl and heat it up a little. Break the yeast into small pieces and add them to the milk. Add 1 tsp of granulated sugar, cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for a while until the yeast starts forming bubbles. In another bowl, combine the softened butter and powder sugar. Add egg yolks, vanilla sugar, lemon juice, and rum. Put the flour in a large bowl, add salt, then the yeast mixture and the butter mixture. Knead well, first with a wooden spoon, then with your hands. You will need to knead for a while, the dough needs to be not only visually well-combined but also lightly sticky. Place the dough in a bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rest in a warm place.
If your kitchen’s cold, you can heat up your oven a little and let it rest there.
After the dough’s doubled in size, knead it again and let it rise again. This will make your resulting dough nicely smooth.
If you want your vdolky to be neat and regular, roll out the dough and cut out circles with a cookie cutter or a mug.
However, I prefer to take a handful of dough and shape it into an (imperfect) circle.
Again, for regular shapes, press the center of each vdolek with a glass like when you make koláče. I just press the center with my hands.
Cover them with a kitchen towel, let them raise again and then just press the center again just before frying.
Heat up some oil, it should be enough for koblihy to float. It should be hot enough for the dough to start frying instantly but not on the highest heat. Place them in, fry them on one side, flip them over and fry on the other side. They should be golden brown, not dark brown or too pale.
Place them on a paper towel to soak the excess fat.
Serve with your favorite marmalade(s).
