At Least We Have Paczki

Carnival is celebrated all over the world in places like Brazil, the Caribbean, Spain, and Italy. In the U.S., New Orleans has Mardi Gras and Chicago has Fat Tuesday, also known as Paczki Day. Paczki (pronounced “poonch-key” or “punch-key”) is a Polish doughnut filled with fruit or some other type of sweet filling. The tradition of making paczki came about from people trying to use up all the butter, sugar, and booze in their house before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Christians typically observe Lent, the 40-day period before to Easter, by fasting or making some other type of personal sacrifice during a time of solemn reflection.

But just before Lent begins, revelers celebrate by eating lots of rich foods, drinking alcohol, and partying. Pre-Lenten festivities go down a little differently in Poland. In Poland, The Thursday of the week before Lent begins marks the beginning of Carnival. People celebrate by eating paczki and other treats, drinking, and partying all weekend long. Rather than the fruit, custard, or chocolate paczki fillings that are popular in Chicago, rose jam is a favorite paczki filling in Poland. (I can’t imagine what that would taste like, and I hope to one day find out.) Then on the day before Lent begins, our Fat Tuesday, the Poles traditionally eat herring and drink vodka. So instead of one day of revelry, they stretch it out to a whole week. I like that.

While people in other parts of the world usually have large festivals and parades for Carnival, it’s usually still too cold in Chicago for such outdoor merriment. But at least we have paczki. And boy, do we have paczki. What was once a delicacy only found in Polish bakeries can now be found in doughnut shops and grocery stores all across the city and beyond.

But here’s the thing: paczki taste best when they’re freshly made. I’ve had my share of stale, store-bought paczki, and I have decided that they are not worth the calories. The best way to enjoy paczki is to get them fresh from the bakery or to make them yourself. While waiting in line for fresh paczki early on a cold, Tuesday morning is definitely a thing, and lots of Chicagoans do it, I’ve never been able to get my dupa in gear to make it to a bakery before the paczki run out. And since I’ve been working from home for the past two years, I miss the everyday heroes who used to bring in boxes of paczki to share in the office breakroom, brightening up what would otherwise be just another Tuesday.

Hence my decision to make my own paczki this year. I decided on making baked paczki so that I don’t have to clean up all the frying oil and to keep the recipe a little on the healthier side. No fancy equipment is required for this recipe; you just need a rolling pin and the will to squeeze whatever joy you can out of this late-winter holiday.

I’m not going to lie, making this recipe was a bit of a pain in the dupa. (If you haven’t figured it out yet, dupa is Polish for “hind end.”) For those who want an easier and more kid-friendly version of homemade paczki, a bonus shortcut version appears at the end. Smacznego! (That’s Polish for “delicious,” or “enjoy your food.”)

Baked Paczki

*This recipe has been adapted from Barbara Rolek’s recipe on The Spruce Eats blog, (www.thespruceeats.com).

Makes 24 biscuit-sized paczki

Prep time: 45 min.

Bake time: 10 min.

Amount of time needed to let the dough rise: At least 1 hour 15 min.

Total time: A little over 2 hours (but you can still do other stuff while waiting for the dough to rise)

Equipment

·      Rolling pin

·       A tabletop or other clean surface for rolling out the dough (I used a bamboo cutting board)

·      Something to cut the paczki with (I used a 2-inch round cookie cutter and ended up having extra dough left over. The top of a round glass or mug or a 3-inch biscuit cutter would probably be the perfect size to use.)

·       Something to mix the dough with--an electric mixer, a pastry cutter, or a wooden spoon and some good old fashioned elbow grease

Ingredients

·        2 (0.25-ounce) packets active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp.)

·        1 1/2 c. milk, warmed in microwave for 1 min. 30 sec.

·        1/2 c. granulated sugar

·        4 oz. (1/2 c.) butter or margarine, at or near room temperature

·        1 large egg, at or near room temperature

·        3 large egg yolks, at or near room temperature

·        1 tbsp. brandy or rum (vanilla extract will probably also work)

·        1 tsp. salt

·        4 1/2 to 5 c. all-purpose flour

·        Extra butter, margarine, or oil to grease one bowl--and two cookie sheets if you don’t have parchment paper (non-stick cooking spray will probably work too)

·        Granulated or powdered sugar to sprinkle on top

·        Extra flour to sprinkle on the rolling pin and rolling surface

·        A jar of fruit jam or whatever you are going to use for filling (see below) 

*A word about filling:

I used plum jam, cherry pastry filling, and poppyseed pastry filling. I found the plum jam in the Eastern European aisle at my local supermarket (Pete’s). The pastry fillings I was able to find in the baking aisle. Poppyseed filling may not always be available because it’s usually more associated with Christmas desserts. To be honest, I used leftover poppyseed filling that I’ve had in my refrigerator since Christmas. Both my husband and I taste-tested the poppyseed paczki and neither of us have died from botulism yet, so I think we’re good.

Nutella would probably also work as a filling, although I haven’t tried it myself. So might whipped cream, although you’d have to eat the cream paczki before they go bad (which might not be too difficult). If you have any other suggestions for paczki fillings, let me know by posting a comment.

**A word about prune filling:

Yes, prune pastry filling is commonly used in paczki and other Polish desserts. I personally like it, maybe because I associate it with happy childhood memories. Prunes are really just dried plums, and plums are delicious in my opinion. So I say, if you want to use prune filling, go right ahead and do it. And if it helps keep you regular, so much the better.  

Directions:

1.     In a small bowl, add the yeast to the warm milk. Stir to dissolve and set aside.

2.     In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy (with an electric mixture, pastry cutter, or wooden spoon).

3.     Beat in the egg, egg yolks, brandy or rum, and salt until well incorporated.

4.     Add 4 1/2 cups of the flour alternately with the milk-yeast mixture and beat for 5 minutes until smooth. The dough will be very slack. If it’s too soft or runny, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour. If you’re using a wooden spoon, beat the dough until it blisters. (That sounded violent.)

5.     Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise for 1 hour.

6.     Punch down the dough. Pretend it’s the face of someone you dislike. Let the dough rise again. I waited 15 minutes at it worked for me.

7.     Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Roll out to 1/2 to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut rounds with biscuit or cookie cutter, glass, or mug. Remove the scraps, re-roll, and re-cut.

8.     Transfer the rounds to parchment-lined baking sheets. If you don’t have parchment paper, it will probably be OK to just put them on greased cookie sheets. Cover with foil and let the rounds rise until doubled in bulk. I waited 30 minutes, and they turned out fine. Heat the oven to 375 F.

9.     Place pączki in the oven and bake 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

10.  Let the paczki cool completely before filling them. Let them sit out or put them in the refrigerator until they no longer feel warm.

11.  To fill the pączki, cut a slit in the side of each one with a butter knife and slip a small spoonful of filling inside. Then dust with granulated or powdered sugar.

You can store the paczki in a paper bag for a day or so, or in an airtight container for up to four days. Smacznego!

Shortcut Paczki 

*Thank you to Penny Willoughby for this ingenious baking hack.

Ingredients:

-A roll of buttermilk biscuits (like the kind made by Pillsbury)

-Whatever you want to use for filling

-Sugar to sprinkle on top

-1 tbsp. butter or margarine (optional)

Instructions:

Peel the wrapper off the biscuit roll. Press a spoon inside the seam of the cardboard and let it pop. Feel a brief thrill when this happens to remind you that you are alive. Place the pre-cut biscuits on a baking sheet and bake as directed on the wrapper.

Let the biscuits cool completely. Let them sit out or pop them in the refrigerator until they no longer feel warm. Then it’s time to make the magic happen. Cut a slit in the side of each biscuit with a butter knife and place a small spoonful of filling inside. Sprinkle the tops with sugar.

For a little extra “oomph,” melt butter or margarine in the microwave and brush the tops before sprinkling with sugar. If you feel like it, let a kid decorate the paczki. Or let your own “inner child” decorate the paczki.

If they aren’t all eaten immediately, keep the paczki in an airtight container overnight. One paczki can be re-heated for 15 seconds in the microwave the next day. There likely won’t be any left after the second day--at least there weren’t any left over at my house. Smacznego!

*Thank you to Susan Mleczko for explaining to me how Carnival is celebrated in Poland. 

 Sources:

"A Guide to How Carnival Is Celebrated Around the World" by Shelby Copeland in Oprah Daily (Jan. 28, 2021), www.oprahdaily.com/life/a35226738/what-is-carnival/.

 "Paczki Day at Bridgeport Bakery" in the Chicago Tribune (Feb. 16, 2021), www.chicagotribune.com.