Pączki – Polish doughnuts

In Poland, pączki are traditionally eaten on Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek) in February, marking the last Thursday before Lent begins. Made from a rich, enriched dough with plenty of eggs, butter, sugar, yeast, and milk, these Polish doughnuts are traditionally filled with rose petal jam, deep-fried in lard, and finished with a sweet icing glaze. This is my oldest and most beloved recipe for pączki – a tried-and-tested favourite that has never let me down. They’re simply delicious!

Makes 35 doughnuts.

Ingredients for the pączki:

• 1 kg plain flour
• 50 g fresh yeast or 21 g dried yeast
• 100-150 g sugar
• 500 ml milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• 100 g butter or 5 Tbsp oil
• seeds of ½ vanilla pod (or a small packet of vanillin sugar)
• 40 ml dark rum or vodka
• freshly squeezed juice and zest of ½ small lemon
• ½ tsp salt

Additionally:

• 1 litre oil for deep-frying (rapeseed oil, coconut oil, or traditionally lard)
• am for filling (traditionally rose petal jam)
• icing sugar for the glaze

Sift the plain flour and mix with the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast, first prepare a starter). Add the remaining ingredients (except the butter or oil) and knead. Once the dough comes together, add the melted butter (or oil) and knead again. Knead until the dough is smooth, stretchy, and elastic (you can knead by hand or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook). Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly floured bowl. Cover with a towel and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1½ hours).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Briefly knead, then divide it into evenly sized balls (about 60 g each). Place the balls on a baking tray dusted with plain flour. Cover with a towel and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 25–35 minutes).

In a large, deep saucepan, heat the oil to 175°C. Carefully place the pączki in the hot oil, a few at a time, and fry on both sides until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. Using a piping bag fitted with a filling nozzle, pipe the jam into the sides of the pączki. If desired, dust with icing sugar or drizzle with icing and decorate with candied orange peel.

Ingredients for the basic icing:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 – 3 Tbsp lemon juice or hot water

Combine the icing sugar with hot water (or lemon juice) in a medium bowl and stir until smooth. Add extra water or icing sugar to achieve the desired consistency.

Making in a bread machine:

Place all the ingredients in the bread machine in the following order: liquids, dry ingredients, and dried yeast (or check your owner’s manual and use the order recommended for your machine). Choose the dough setting and press Start. When the cycle is finished, remove the dough and follow the recipe above.

Pączki are best eaten on the day they are made but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Enjoy!