Buchty a koláče – Hasalová Soňa (2017)

Traditional Czech and Moravian cuisine is renowned for its abundance of dishes made from flour. Dumplings are a world-famous phenomenon, but buns and pastries are equally popular. Buns have even entered fairy tales; no wanderer could do without them, they were given to magical grandfathers, and brought various benefits to their givers. Pastries are inseparably linked to holidays, celebrations, feasts, weddings, christenings, and so on. And if the saying goes, 'different country, different customs,' it is fully reflected in pastries – they are prepared differently in Chodsko, differently in South Bohemia, and the Valachian ones, known as frgály, are even protected by a European Commission patent, not to mention the pastries and small pastries from South Moravia. Although large bakeries churn out plenty of sweet pastries daily, nothing beats buns and pastries made by hand and with care at home. Experienced author and cook Soňa Hasalová, intimately familiar with the environment of South Moravia where she lives, has explored various grandmotherly and neighborly recipe books, supplemented them with her own tried-and-true recipes, and compiled this baking book from it all. It represents a treasure trove of various baked delights: pastries made from yeast dough with various fillings, from sponge dough with jams or fruits, but also vegetable or...