Pączki
Polish filled pastry
Pączki (Polish: [ˈpɔ̃t͡ʂkʲi] ; sing.: pączek, Polish: [ˈpɔ̃t͡ʂɛk]; Kashubian: pùrcle Kashubian: [ˈpwʉrt͡slɛ]; Old Polish and Silesian: kreple Silesian: [ˈkrɛplɛ]) are filled doughnuts found in Polish cuisine.
Description
A pączek is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened ball and filled with confiture or other sweet filling. Pączki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing, glaze, or bits of dried orange zest. A small amount of grain alcohol (traditionally rectified spirit) is added to the dough before cooking; as it evaporates, it prevents the absorption of oil deep into the dough. Pączki are commonly thought of as fluffy but somewhat collapsed, with a bright stripe around them; these features are seen as evidence that the dough was fried in fresh oil.
Although they look like German berliners (bismarcks in North America) or jelly doughnuts, pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar, yeast, and sometimes milk. They feature a variety of fruit and creme fillings and can be glazed, or covered with granulated or powdered sugar. Powidła (stewed plum jam) and wild rose petal jam are traditional fillings, but many others are used as well, including strawberry, Bavarian cream, blueberry, custard, raspberry, and apple.
Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages. Jędrzej Kitowicz wrote that during the reign of Augustus III, under the influence of French cooks who came to Poland, pączki dough was improved so that pączki became lighter, spongier, and more resilient.
“Pączki” enters the record as polish filled pastry. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Pączki, Polish and filled can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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