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Paczki Day
Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, evolved from the practice of shriving—purification through confession—just before Lent. Other
names also apply. Mardi Gras is the culmination of several weeks of revelry. At Fasnacht, Pennsylvania Dutch children get up early to avoid being the last one out of bed. Adults and children eat
fasnacht kuchen, traditionally a rectangular doughnut with a slit in the middle, raised without yeast. Pancakes are another traditional food on "Fat Tuesday," baked to use up the cooking
fats that are forbidden during Lent. To Americans of Polish descent, Paczki Day means eating paczki, special jelly-filled buns.
While the practice of Paczki Day is traditionally observed the day before Ash Wednesday in the United States, in Poland, paczki sales are the highest on
Tlusty Czwartek, or "Fat Thursday." This day marks the start of the final week of the pre-Lenten celebrations.
In Old Poland, the zapusty or "carnival season" reached its height during this period. Elegant balls were held in well-to-do manor houses,
attended by young men, women and their parents. Country-folk, on the other hand, would make merry, drink, dance and flirt at the village inn. The rich would feast on fancy hors d’oeuvres, roast
game, and fine wines. Peasants enjoyed their zimne noge (jellied pig’s knuckles), kiszka (blood and groat sausage), and kielbasa z kapusta (sausage and cabbage), which they washed down with
beer and gorzalka, the least expensive vodka available.
Common to both groups, however, were paczki, which were consumed in huge quantities.
In Polish American neighborhoods across America, there is more than likely a local bakery that sells paczki. (And, by the way, feel free to drop samples
off at the PAJ office for our annual Paczki Tasting. We’ll supply the coffee.)
If you don’t have a good old-fashioned bakery nearby, or you want to try your hand at making these treats, here are recipes and tips on paczki-making
from Polish Heritage Cookery by our own Polish chef, Robert Strybel:
DOUGH. Dissolve 2 cakes crushed yeast in 1 c. lukewarm milk, sift in 1 c. flour, add 1 T. sugar, mix, cover, and let stand in warm place to rise.
Beat 8 egg yolks with 2/3 c. powdered sugar and 2 T. vanilla sugar until fluffy. Sift 21/2 c. flour into bowl, add sponge, egg mixture, and 2 T. grain
alcohol or 3 T. rum, and knead well until dough is smooth and glossy. Gradually add 1 stick melted lukewarm butter and continue kneading dough until it no longer clings to hands and bowl and air
blisters appear.
Cover with cloth and let rise in warm place until doubled. Punch dough down and let it rise again. Transfer dough to floured board, sprinkle top with
flour, and roll out about 1/2" inch thick. With glass or biscuit-cutter, cut into rounds. Arrange on floured board and proceed in either of the following ways:
SMALL PACZKI. Place a spoonful of fruit filling (rose-hip preserves, cherry preserves, or other thick jam) off center on each round. Raise edges of dough
and pinch together over filling, then roll between palms snowball fashion to form balls. Let rise in warm place until doubled.
LARGE PACZKI. Place a spoonful of fruit filling as above on only 1/2 dough rounds, cover each with another round, pinch edges together, and roll between
palms to form a ball. Let rise until doubled in warm, draft-free place. Heat 11/2-2 lbs. lard in deep pan so paczki can float freely during frying. It is hot enough when a small piece of dough
dropped into hot fat immediately floats up.
Fry paczki under cover without crowding several minutes until nicely browned on bottom, then turn over and fry uncovered on other side another 3 minutes or
so. Note: If using electric fryer, set temp. at 360-375 degrees. If frying in stove-top pan and fat begins to burn, add several slices of peeled raw potato which will both lower the temperature and
absorb the burnt flavor. Paczki may also be fried in oil, but lard produces the tastiest results. If you are cutting down on animal fats, you can compromise by using a lard and oil combination.
Transfer fried paczki to absorbent paper and set aside to cool. When cool, dust generously with powdered sugar, glaze or icing.
EXQUISITE OLD WARSAW PACZKI. This is an old recipe modified for those who prefer granulated, active dry yeast to a the more traditional compressed fresh
yeast.
Beat 12 egg yolks with 1. t. salt at high speed until thick and lemony. Dissolve 2 packets of dry yeast in 1/4 c. 110-degree water. Separately, cream 1/3
c. room-temp. butter with 1/2 c. granulated sugar until fluffy, and beat into yeast mixture. Scald 1 c. whipping cream and cool to lukewarm.
Gradually add 2 c. flour and the cream, plus 3 T. French brandy, beating constantly. Then add 2 more c. flour and finally the yolk mixture. Knead well
until air blisters appear. Cover with cloth and let stand in warm place until doubled. Punch down and let rise again. Roll out on floured board, sprinkling top of dough with a little flour, about 3/4
inch thick.
Cut into 2 inch rounds and top half of them with spoonful fruit filling. Cover with remaining rounds, pinch edges together with seal. (Note: If dough is
dry, moisten edges with water before pinching together.) Place paczki on floured board, cover with cloth, and let raise until doubled. Fry as above, drain on absorbent paper, and when cool, dust with
vanilla sugar or cover with glaze, preferably containing some grated orange ring.
OLD POLISH UNFILLED PACZKI. Add a pinch of saffron to 2 T. 190-proof grain alcohol and let stand several hours. In bowl, sift 1 c. flour and scald it 1 c.
boiling milk, mixing with wooden spoon until smooth and lump-free. Set aside to cook. Meanwhile, mix 1 stick room-temp. butter, 1/3 c. honey, and 1 cake yeast. Stir in 21/2 c. flour, add 1 pinch
salt, knead until smooth, cover with cloth, and allow to rise in warm place. When it has doubled, work in 1 T. rum, the strained saffron-flavored alcohol, and 1 T. finely chopped candied orange rind.
Knead again briefly and set aside to rise once more.
Tear off walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll between floured palms into balls. Arrange on floured board, cover with cloth, and allow to rise until
doubled. Fry in hot fat, drain in absorbent paper, and, when cool, dust with powered sugar or glaze as above.
Smacznego!
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