It was only a few years ago, Fat Tuesday to be exact, that a co-worker asked, "Where are the paczki?"
"The what?" we asked.
"PACZKI," she said. "They're Polish doughnuts filled with jelly, similar to jelly doughnuts. They're a big item, at least in Detroit, on Fat Tuesday [Shrove Tuesday]."
We had never heard of paczki. The next day, she returned with a box of freshly made paczki purchased from a local bakery. Staff members devoured them.
The next time the word paczki popped up was in a letter from Loretta Waldo of Brentwood in June 2001: "The timing is a little off for this request, but what the heck," she wrote. "I've been reading and saving recipes for years. And I've never seen a recipe for paczki. My mother's were as light as a feather. I never watched her make them and never wrote the recipe down. I'm hoping one of your readers will have it." We printed the request and the recipes came pouring in (more than 30, in fact). We thought it was time to find out a little more about paczki.
Paczki (pronounced POONCH-key or PUNCH-key), originated in Poland. To celebrate Shrove Tuesday, households would rid their kitchens of all foods forbidden during Lent. Paczki became one of the favored items to make because it satisfied the sweet tooth before the fasting of Lent. Today paczki are still a part of Fat Tuesday throughout the country.
Our paczki recipe was sent in by Beryl Johnson of Coraopolis. The recipe is taken from "Out of This Kitchen: A History of the Ethnic Groups and Their Foods in the Steel Valley" by Dan Karaczun (Publassist Publications; $15). In addition to recipes, the cookbook provides an interesting history of the families who settled in the Homestead area. The book is available at Barnes & Noble or online line at www.amazon.com.
Note: Paczki is the plural noun and paczek (POHN-check) is the singular noun.
POLSKE PACZKI
- 2 ounces compressed yeast (refrigerated)
- 2 cups milk, scalded and cooled
- 6 to 7 cups all purpose flour, divided
- 1 whole egg
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Grated rind of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- Shortening for deep frying
- Jam or preserves of your choice
Dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk, then add 2 cups of the flour. Allow to stand in a warm place for 1/2 hour.
Combine the next six ingredients (whole egg through salt) and beat mixture on high until very light and fluffy. (Use a standing mixer if you have one -- this takes about 10 minutes.)
Add yeast-flour mixture. Add melted butter and remaining flour and knead until smooth. Cover and allow to double in bulk in a warm place.
Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a doughnut cutter or glass (we used the rim of a glass 3 inches in diameter). Place doughnuts on cookie sheets. Cover and let rise again until doubled and light.
Preheat shortening to 365 degrees in a deep-fat fryer or a deep, heavy saucepan. Use sufficient fat to cover doughnuts. Place doughnuts in hot fat, making sure they're not crowded. Fry to a golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
To fill: Make a slit about 1 1/2 inches long on the side of the doughnut. Use any favorite preserves (we used strawberry and raspberry). Using a teaspoon, insert the preserves into the doughnut. Roll finished paczki in powdered sugar.
Note: Paczki are best served the same day.
Requests
Judy McGraw of White Oak writes, "A bakery in Braddock once sold a cake that they called Sunshine Cake. It was almost like a chiffon ( B>Marie Galasso of Penn Hills is seeking a recipe for Brunswick Stew. "While visiting my son in Atlanta, Ga., he took me to a restaurant where I had a bowl of the best Brunswick Stew. Since then I have gone through several cookbooks to find a recipe and also asked all my friends, but no one seems to know this recipe. Do you think someone has this recipe?
A few requests from Michael Bales of Wilkinsburg: "I was hoping you could help me find two recipes or recipes that are just as good. The first recipe is for a sweet and sour sauce that they used to serve at Cafe Mimi's. It was the best sweet and sour sauce I've ever tasted.
"And I'd like a recipe for marble cookies. My mother used to work at Aunt Fannie's Nosheria in Shadyside years ago, and she used to bring home the broken cookies. Aunt Fannie's use to get their cookies from Light's Bakery on Liberty Avenue. I was wondering if we could dig up this old marble cookie recipe. The cookies were large, flaky and delicious."
If you want to answer a recipe request from a reader or are looking for a recipe yourself, please write to Kitchen Mailbox, c/o Arlene Burnett, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222, or e-mail to aburnett@post-gazette.com. Please include a name, neighborhood/city/borough/township and state and a daytime phone number on all correspondence.
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