Pączki are small golden donuts, product of a good frying, covered with sugar or orange zest. This piece of pastry is leavened and usually filled with jelly of different fruits.
The most traditional filling is powidła (or plum jelly) along with rose petal jelly. However, it is also very common to find them filled with strawberries, Bavarian cream, blueberries, pastry cream, raspberries and apples.
They are usually covered with powdered sugar while still hot and coated with oil to ensure that it sticks to them. In addition, the batter carries a small alcohol component with the intention of preventing too much oil from being absorbed during frying. The pączki also carry eggs, sugar, yeast and milk so they could be considered denser than a regular donut.
While this dessert can be frozen for later frying, it is much better to eat them fresh after frying them at a constant temperature in a large amount of oil.
What is the origin of pączki?
It is believed that this recipe has been present in Poland since at least the Middle Ages. Over the years the dough has undergone some modifications with the intention of becoming a little lighter and fluffier, all thanks to the influence of French cooks who arrived in the country during the reign of Augustus III.
These small pastries used to be prepared during the festivals prior to Lent with the leftover sugar, pork lard and fruits that were in the house. In Poland it is very common to get them during Fat Thursday as part of the zapusty, or Carnival Season. It is on this day that long lines form in the pastry shops to get these donuts.
The word “pączki” could be translated as “donut” or as “small package”. Regarding its pronunciation, while there are some variations, the typical English pronunciation of this term is “poonch-key” or “paunch-key”. The Polish word pąk is actually diminutive of pączek, a term used to refer to round and exuberant things.
This tradition is also very popular in the United States thanks to the great Polish immigration that the country received. They are also eaten during Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday).
Pączki Day
The day before Ash Wednesday was called “Shrove Tuesday” in Poland. This term comes from the practice of “shriving” or purification of the soul through confessions. Mardi Gras is really the culmination of the seven days of revelry. During this day it is also very common to consume cooked pancakes with the intention of using oils forbidden during Lent.
The day before Ash Wednesday truly marks the end of the week leading up to the Lenten celebrations. While in Poland pączki are consumed in large quantities during Tlusty Czwartek (or Fat Thursday), in the U.S. pączki day is actually considered to be Shrove Tuesday.
During Ancient Poland the rich used to hold large banquets where they drank fine wines and ate eccentric appetizers. Meanwhile, humble people used to enjoy zimne noge (jellied pork knuckles), kiszka (black pudding) and kielkbasa z kapusta (sausages with cabbage) while drinking cheap beer and vodka.
It was during this period that the carnival season reached its peak. While each of these groups had their own traditions carried out in each of the places where they were located, they shared one thing: the heavy consumption of pączki.
There are sectors of the United States where pączki day is celebrated with more enthusiasm than St. Patrick’s Day. There are even places where contests are held in which citizens’ skills are tested on how many pączki they can eat.
A lot of pączki are also consumed on Casimir Pulaski Day, a Polish-born American revolutionary hero who is considered “the father of the American cavalry”.
Pączki (Ponchik)
Ingredients
For the dough
- 8 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 2 packets vanilla sugar (or 1 tablespoon of sugar with ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract)
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons butter (very soft)
- 1¼ cup warm milk (at 97 F / 36 ° C), or a little more
- 3 tablespoons vodka
For the leaven
- 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 4 tablespoons warm milk (at 97 F / 36°C)
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
For the cooking
- Vegetable oil
For the shaping and filling
- 1 egg white , beaten
- Varen'ye iz lepestkov roz (rose petal jam)
- Powidła (plum jam)
For the decor
- Icing sugar
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutter (3 inches / 7 cm)
- Pastry brush
- Dutch oven
- Kitchen thermometer
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the yeast with the warm milk and 2 tablespoons of caster sugar.
- Let rise for 30 minutes, the mixture should at least double in volume.
- Add the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Dig a well in the center of the flour. Add the remaining caster sugar and the vanilla sugar.
- Lightly beat the eggs and add them in the center of the well, then add the leaven.
- Start kneading at medium speed while incorporating the butter.
- While continuing to knead, gradually add the vodka, then the warm milk until obtaining a homogeneous and slightly firm dough.
- Knead for 10 minutes at low to medium speed.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface, and mill it until obtaining a supple, smooth, and elastic dough.
- Place the dough in a large container, cover with a slightly damp cloth, and let it rise for 2 and a half hours in a warm place away from drafts.
Shaping
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a thickness of ¼ inch (½ cm).
- Using a cookie cutter, cut circles of 3 inches (7 cm) in diameter.
- On half of the dough circles, brush the edges with the beaten egg white then place a tablespoon of plum jam or rose petal jam in the center.
- Cover each circle thus obtained with another circle of dough, then consolidate by pressing the edges.
- Place them on a baking sheet lined with lightly floured parchment paper, spacing them out.
- Cover them with a dry cloth and let them sit for 45 minutes in a warm place, away from drafts.
Frying
- In a Dutch oven, heat a large quantity of vegetable oil and, using a kitchen thermometer, bring it to a temperature between 320 F and 340 F (between 160°C and 170°C) which must be maintained throughout the frying process.
- Gently peel the pączki from parchment paper without distorting them, and immerse them in small batches in hot oil.
- Let them brown on one side before turning them over, then let brown on the other side. Once the two sides are uniformly colored, gently remove them using a skewer and place them on paper towel.
- Then sprinkle them with icing sugar.
Notes
If it is too hot, the oil will brown the donuts too much, which will be almost burnt outside and raw inside.
If the oil is not hot enough, the dough will absorb a lot of oil and they will be too greasy.
Without a kitchen thermometer, it is possible to judge the temperature with the help of a slice of potato which should be immersed in the oil: as soon as it starts to fry normally, the correct temperature is good and it is very important to maintain it.
Nita is the foodie blogger behind Tastesspicy. Originally from the small Island of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, she now lives in the cold Tundra of Minnesota, USA where she enjoys sharing recipes from around the world, particularly from the Caribbean featuring foods with a spicy, but flavorful flair.
Tessa says
Reminds me of one of the variants of Dunkin donuts. A ball-shaped donut with jam filling.