Paczki
Rich, round Polish doughnuts filled with rose petal jam, cooked in hot oil and finished with a dusting of icing sugar.
Photograph credit: A bite taken from the rose flavoured donut from the Dobra Pączkarnia bakery in Katowice by Aliceinthealice · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent, is when Poles eat pączki, and the queues at bakeries are famous. The doughnut is richer than an English one: the dough is enriched with egg yolks, butter and a splash of spirit, and the result is dense, soft and deeply flavoured.
The spirit is the surprise. A tablespoon of vodka or rum goes into the dough, and the alcohol evaporates quickly in the hot oil, which reduces the amount of fat the doughnut absorbs. It also gives a faint flavour. Do not leave it out. The dough is also very soft, softer than a bread dough, so use a lightly floured surface and be gentle.
Knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth, then leave it to rise in a warm place for 1 hour 30 minutes, until doubled. Roll out to 2 cm thick, cut 7 cm rounds and let them rise for a further 30 minutes.
The oil should be at 175°C / 345°F. Fry in batches, 3 minutes on one side with the lid on, then 2 minutes on the other, until a pale ring forms around the middle. Fill with rose petal jam using a piping bag, and dust with icing sugar.
What People Ask
How long does Paczki take to make?
45 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking, plus 2 hours of Proving, so allow 3 hours 5 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 12.
The Method for Paczki
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the milk, egg yolks, butter and vodka and knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Cover and leave to rise for 90 minutes.
-
Roll out to 2 cm thick and cut 12 rounds, 7 cm across. Place on floured paper, cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
-
Heat the oil to 175°C / 345°F. Fry the pączki in batches, with the lid on, for 3 minutes on one side, then turn and fry for 2 minutes.
-
Drain on kitchen paper, cool for 10 minutes, then pipe the jam into each. Dust with the icing sugar.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.
A Few Pointers
- Keep the oil at 175°C / 345°F.
- Cover the pan for the first side so the pączki rise.
- Fill them when they are just warm.
What to Serve With It
Hot tea · Coffee · Hot chocolate · Candied orange peel
Keeping and Reheating
Best eaten the day they are made.
Paczki Nutrition
No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (how much frying oil the food takes up cannot be known from the recipe). Why some recipes have none.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More Polish cooking and baking ideas from Weekly Delight.
Szarlotka
A Polish apple cake of shortcrust with a thick layer of cinnamon apples and a grated pastry top, baked for 45 minutes.
Makowiec
A yeasted roll wound around a thick poppy seed filling, sliced to show the spiral. Poland's Christmas cake.
Knedle ze Sliwkami
Polish potato dumplings wrapped around whole plums with a sugar cube and served with buttered breadcrumbs and…
Kringle
A Danish pretzel shaped pastry of laminated yeast dough filled with almond butter cream and raisins, baked for 35…
Kurtoskalacs
Hungarian chimney cake of sweet yeast dough wound round a roller, rolled in sugar and baked for 25 minutes until…
Pampushky (Ukrainian Garlic Buns)
Soft, golden yeast buns, baked until puffy and brushed while hot with a garlic, dill and oil dressing. Ukraine's…