Koláče, buchty and větrníky: what to point at in a Czech bakery

Czech baking comes from yeast dough, curd cheese, poppy seed and plum jam, and from a habit of eating sweet things in the morning. Walk into a bakery before ten and you will see why.

Koláče

A koláč (plural koláče) is a round yeast pastry, about the size of a palm, with a raised ring of dough around a filling and sometimes a crumbly streusel on top. Traditional fillings are tvaroh (sweetened curd cheese), mák (ground poppy seed) and povidla (plum butter, a thick, dark jam), with sour cherries or apricots in some bakeries.

Many bakeries sell them in a mixed tray. They are best on the day they are baked, when the dough is still soft, and they dry out fast. In some regions, such as Moravia, the koláče are larger and made for weddings and festivals.

Buchty

Buchty are soft yeast buns, baked close together in a tray and pulled apart. They are filled with curd, poppy seed or jam and often dusted with sugar. A buchta is a good cheap breakfast with coffee or milk, and it is the sort of thing grandmothers bake on Saturday.

Rohlík and vánočka

The rohlík is a plain roll, the Czech breakfast staple. It is not sweet, but you will see it everywhere, and it is the base of half the quick snacks in the city. Vánočka is a braided sweet bread with raisins and almonds, traditionally baked at Christmas and sold in bakeries in December. See Czech Christmas food.

Cakes and cream pastries

The cabinet in a cukrárna is a different world. A větrník is a choux pastry filled with cream and glazed on top, the size of a small cake. A věneček is a choux ring, also filled with cream. Laskonky are small nut meringue sandwiches filled with buttercream. A medovník is a honey layer cake with cream, sold by the slice. Záviny (strudels) are rolled pastry, often with apple, poppy seed or curd, and palačinky are thin pancakes, usually eaten with jam or chocolate.

Point to what you want. Slices and pieces are sold individually, and a coffee with a piece of cake makes a decent afternoon. If two of you share three pastries, you taste three.

Pekárna or cukrárna

A pekárna sells bread, rolls and everyday pastries, and you usually take them away. A cukrárna is a confectioner's with cakes and ice cream, often with a few tables. Cafes sell both; the old coffeehouses in historic Prague cafes are good places to see traditional cakes at their best.

Locals use the two in a predictable way. A pekárna is the morning stop, for rolls and a pastry on the way to work. A cukrárna is the afternoon one, for a sit-down with coffee, or a box of cakes to carry to a family lunch on Sunday. Turning up at a cukrárna at nine in the morning is not wrong; it is just a different pace.

Ordering

Say dobrý den, then jeden koláč s tvarohem, prosím (one koláč with curd, please). Names of fillings are in the lists above. For a mixed bag, say směs (mix) and point. Paying works as in any shop. Most bakeries take cards, but small ones prefer cash, and you should ask before you order a tray.

Prices vary by shop and by size (as of 2026; check the sign). Weight-based prices are written per 100 g or per kilogram, so if a sign gives a weight price, ask the assistant to tell you the total.

Seasonal treats

Czech baking follows the calendar. Christmas has cookies, Easter has mazanec, and late summer has plum cakes (švestkový koláč) when the plums ripen. Read Czech Easter food for the spring end of the year.

Building a bakery order

If you are buying for more than yourself, think in layers. Take one or two yeast pastries for the morning, a koláč and a buchta, because they are the most Czech thing on the shelf. Add one cream cake from a cukrárna for the afternoon, boxed and kept cool. If you are invited to someone's home, a small box of mixed pastries is a safe gift, and nobody will mind if you choose the fillings yourself.

Common mistakes

The first is arriving late. Bakeries sell out, and the best fillings go first, so the poppy-seed and curd ones vanish while the dry plain ones remain. The second is judging by size: a heavy, dense koláč is not necessarily a good one, and a light, airy one with a thin filling is not necessarily bad. Third, don't leave pastries in a bag in the sun. Cream pastries in particular want to be eaten the same day.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a koláč and a buchta?

A koláč is a round pastry with a raised edge and a filling in the middle. A buchta is a soft bun baked in a tray with others and pulled apart.

What is a cukrárna?

A pastry shop or confectioner's, often with tables, selling cakes, pastries and ice cream. A pekárna is a bakery for bread and everyday pastries.

What fillings are traditional?

Sweetened curd cheese (tvaroh), ground poppy seed (mák) and plum butter (povidla). Cherries and apricots also appear.

When should I go to a bakery?

Early. The popular items sell out, and pastries are best on the day they are baked.

Do this today

Walk into the nearest bakery before ten, ask for one koláč with curd and one with poppy seed, and eat them with a coffee. Pick the filling you liked and order two next time.