Pączki

Pączki (Polish Jam Doughnuts)

Pillowy, egg-enriched yeast doughnuts traditionally filled with rose-petal jam and finished with a sugar glaze or dusting. In Poland they are eaten by the million on Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek), the last blowout before Lent.

Prep

45 min

Cook

25 min

Total

70 min

Serves

16 pączki

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) bread flour, high-protein flour gives a chewier crumb; all-purpose works but yields a slightly cakier doughnut
• •240 ml (1 cup) whole milk, lukewarm
• •100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• •10 g (2 tsp) instant dry yeast, or 30 g / 1 oz fresh yeast
• •5 g (1 tsp) fine salt
• •6 g (2 Tbsp) orange zest, from 2 unwaxed oranges
• •4 whole (4 large) egg yolks, plus 1 whole egg
• •100 g (7 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
• •10 g (2 tsp) vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla pod, scraped
• •60 g (¼ cup) rum or vodka, Polish tradition; helps keep pączki tender longer
• •1 L (4 cups) neutral oil, for frying, sunflower, canola or rapeseed; never olive oil
• •300 g (10½ oz) rose-petal jam (konfitura z płatków róży), Polish rose-petal jam is traditional; thick plum jam (powidła) is the classic alternative. Avoid runny preserves — they leak out when frying the cap.
• •200 g (1 cup) powdered sugar, for dusting or glaze
• •30 ml (2 Tbsp) lemon juice or water, only if making a glaze

Steps

1. 1 Bloom the yeast: stir the yeast and 1 tsp of the sugar into the lukewarm milk and leave 8–10 minutes until foamy.
2. 2 Make the sponge: in a large bowl whisk the bloomed milk, 100 g of the flour, the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, salt, orange zest and vanilla. Stir in the rum.
3. 3 Build the dough: add the remaining flour gradually, mixing with a wooden spoon, then switch to a stand mixer with a dough hook. Knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
4. 4 Incorporate the butter: add the softened butter a tablespoon at a time, kneading well between additions, until the dough is glossy and pulls away from the bowl (5–7 minutes more). It should reach about 24 °C / 75 °F.
5. 5 First rise: cover the bowl and proof at warm room temperature 1½–2 hours, until roughly doubled.
6. 6 Shape: turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, roll out to 1.5 cm / ⅝-inch thick and cut rounds with an 8 cm / 3¼-inch cutter. Re-roll scraps gently. Place rounds on floured trays, cover with a tea towel and proof again 30–45 minutes until puffy.
7. 7 Heat oil in a heavy pot or deep fryer to 170 °C / 340 °F (use a thermometer — too cool and the doughnuts soak up oil, too hot and they burn before the middle cooks).
8. 8 Fry 2–3 pączki at a time, flat side down first, 2 minutes per side, until deep golden. Internal temperature should read 90 °C / 195 °F on a probe.
9. 9 Drain on a wire rack (not paper towels, which make the underside soggy). Cool until warm, not piping hot — this stops the jam from leaking straight out.
10. 10 Fill: fit a piping bag with a wide round nozzle and load with the rose jam. Push the tip through the side of each pączki and squeeze in roughly 20 g / 1 Tbsp, until you feel the doughnut swell slightly and grow heavy.
11. 11 Finish either way: dust thickly with powdered sugar, OR whisk the powdered sugar with lemon juice or water to a thick icing and spoon or dip over the tops. Let the glaze set 5 minutes before serving.
12. 12 Eat the same day — pączki go stale fast. Polish tradition says a pączek must be eaten in a single sitting; the jam-stuffed middle should ooze when you bite.