Butter Maid Bakery has a history of quality The King of Kolachi

IF YOU GO

Where: Butter Maid Bakery

ADDRESS: 425 Boardman Canfield Road, Boardman

HOURS: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; closed Sunday

Phone: 844-688-7655

Online: buttermaidbakery.com/

There’s kolachi, and then there’s the kolachi prepared at Butter Maid Bakery in Boardman.

The former is sort of like a cubic zirconia while the latter is more like a Hope Diamond. Yes, Butter Maid’s kolachi is that good.

Unlike many kolachis that taste disappointingly dry, like a semi-stale loaf of bread, Butter Maid’s kolachi is extremely moist, with delicate layers of pastry and generous layers of filling.

Jeff Naumoff, who owns the bakery along with his parents, Jim and Gloria Naumoff, said this is what makes Butter Maid’s kolachi stand out from the competition.

“Filling is the expensive part of a kolachi, so traditionally kolachis are mostly bread. But we like more filling than bread, so that’s exactly how we make them. Our customers seem to agree it’s worth the expense,” Jeff said.

Butter Maid Bakery kolachis sell for $15.99 each.

“Many people will buy them and freeze them,” Jeff said. “They will keep very well frozen for as long as six months.”

Besides the traditional walnut kolachi that most people are familiar with, Butter Maid sells a variety of other flavors, including apricot, chocolate walnut, pumpkin walnut, apple cinnamon walnut, raspberry walnut, honey walnut and poppy seed kolachis (some of these flavors are seasonal).

I sampled several varieties, and each was absolutely delicious. The chocolate walnut was particularly superb, mingling the sweet decadence of chocolate with the wholesome heartiness of walnuts and sumptuous layers of pastry.

The apricot was light and sweet, and the apple cinnamon walnut reminded me of a savory slice of apple pie.

The Naumoffs use a recipe developed by their ancestor, Dimitri Naumoff, who immigrated to the United States in 1903 and opened a bakery on Rayen Avenue in Youngstown.

The mob burned Dimitri’s bakery to the ground in the early 1920s, but family lore says the ambitious immigrant gambled what little he had left in a card game and won big. He then used the money to open another bakery called Steelton Bakery, which was located on Steel Street.

This neighborhood bakery grew to require 20 delivery trucks, and in addition to making home deliveries, supplied local restaurants and bars.

Dimitri’s son, Nicholas Charles Naumoff, also worked at Steelton bakery. Nicholas Charles’s son, Nick Jr., is a brother to Jim Naumoff and works at Butter Maid Bakery today, along with Jeff, Jim and Gloria.

In 1955, Nicholas Charles Naumoff sold Steelton Bakery and opened Butter Maid Bakery in Boardman Plaza. The bakery has been in operation ever since and has a reputation for quality.

“In our family, baking goes back four generations and more than 150 years,” Jeff said. “Everything we bake is handmade with quality ingredients. We don’t cut any corners. We don’t use additives. Everything is made with real sugar, butter, eggs, flour.”

Besides kolachi, Butter Maid offers a variety of tasty baked goods, including cookies, cinnamon rolls, muffins and pies.

“What we offer changes throughout the year,” Jeff said. “Right now, the apple and pumpkin pies are big sellers.”

Whole pies sell for $14.99 each, and the large-sized cookies, such as the very decadent and delicious salt and caramel chocolate chunk cookie, sell for $2.99 each.

Jeff said Butter Maid does a thriving online business as well.

“For more than a decade, we have shipped kolachi and other baked goods to all 50 states and military addresses,” he said. “The kolachis make great holiday gifts.”