Pączki Recipe (Polish Doughnuts) - video
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5
16 reviews
Excellent
Pączki Recipe (Polish Doughnuts) - video
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Pączki are rich Polish doughnuts made from a yeast dough enriched with butter, milk, eggs, and brandy or rum. These doughnuts are deep-fried until golden and can be filled with jam, custard, or other fillings before being dusted with powdered sugar or glazed. The dough’s elasticity and sweetness create a tender, airy pastry with a delicate crumb and a lightly crisp exterior.
Description
This Pączki Recipe uses a combination of butter melted into warm milk, sugar, vanilla, and yeast to activate the dough. The mixture is combined with eggs, brandy or rum for flavor and dough strength, salt, and flour. Kneading produces a soft, elastic dough that rises to become airy and light.
The doughnuts are shaped and fried in cooking oil until puffed and golden, then filled with jam, custard, or other toppings before finishing with powdered sugar or an icing glaze. The classic version is often jam-filled, giving a sweet, fruity contrast to the rich dough.
Pączki are celebrated for their tender crumb and subtle vanilla aroma. They can be customized with various fillings like vanilla pudding, chocolate, or Nutella. Measuring flour by the spoon-and-level method ensures the correct dough consistency. The recipe includes tips to control dough temperature for optimal yeast activity and dough texture.
This treat is traditionally enjoyed fresh and is high-calorie due to fried dough and rich ingredients. Portions are estimated for 14 doughnuts.
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Ingredients
for the doughnuts:
- 6 tablespoons butter 85g
- 1 cup milk 240g
- 1/4 cup sugar 50g
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast 1 teaspoon, 11g
- 1 egg large
- 3 egg large yolks
- 1 tablespoon brandy optional, or rum
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 1/4 cups flour spooned and leveled not scooped, 530g
additionally:
- 4-6 cups cooking oil for frying
- 2 cups jam or other filling of your choice, thick
- powdered sugar for dusting paczki, or make icing
Instructions
- Make the dough: Add butter into a medium saucepan and heat until melted. Add the cold milk, sugar, and vanilla extract to the pot, stir until combined, then take the pot off the heat. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl, make sure the temperature of the liquid is between 100-110°F (38-43°C) (pleasantly warm to your finger) then stir in the yeast (adding yeast into a warm liquid will make them rise faster). After about 1-2 minutes you should see the yeast is starting to 'bloom' (will be frothy/foamy). You can omit this step and simply combine all the ingredients together in a bowl when using fast-acting instant yeast.
- Add lightly beaten egg, egg yolks, brandy/rum, salt, and flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture.
- Stir with a spoon until roughly combined then start kneading by hand or with a stand mixer using a dough hook attachment. Knead the dough until soft, elastic, and no more sticky. It will take 7 minutes on speed 2 in Kitchen Aid or about 15 minutes by hand. If kneading the dough by hand you can find the mixture too sticky, try not to add too much additional flour.
- After 7 minutes of kneading with a mixer, you will see that the dough starts to clean off the sides of the bowl, it will be very soft and a little bit sticky. Scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl with a spatula and knead it by hand for a minute. After this time the dough should be smooth, soft and should no longer stick to your hands. If you have used a kitchen scale to measure out the flour you can trust the recipe and use the exact amount written in the ingredient list but if you're using measuring cups you have to assess the texture of the dough and add more flour/liquid if necessary.
- First rise: Form a smooth dough ball, put it back in the bowl, coat the bowl and the dough lightly with a small amount of vegetable oil, cover the bowl tightly with plastic foil, and place in a warm place for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in volume (I'm putting it in a turned off oven with a light on).
- Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured rolling mat/counter and roll it out to a thickness of 4/5 of an inch (2cm). Cut out rounds using a 2 3/4 to 3-inch biscuit cutter (I used a 2 3/4 which is 7cm). You can knead the leftover dough into a ball, roll it out, and again cut out rounds. You can also simply divide the dough into 75g-pieces, and roll each piece of dough into a ball ((these doughnuts will look a little bit nicer).
- Second rise: Place pieces of dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, about 2-inches (5cm) apart. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise for 30 minutes.
- Fry paczki: Heat the oil in a large pot (preferably shallow and wide) until the temperature reaches 340°F (170°C). It's best to use a candy thermometer which can be attached to a pot or a digital grill thermometer to check the temperature for the whole frying process. The amount of oil will depend on the size of the pot (I used 6 cups), you should have at least 1 1/2 inches (4cm) oil in your pot.
- Fry paczki in batches (3-5 paczki, depending on the size of the pot). Gently lower the paczki into the oil, I like to pick them up and slide them off of a lightly floured bench scraper.
- It's important to control the temperature of the oil - if it's too hot, paczki will brown too quickly and will be raw in the middle, if it's too low, they will soak up fat and be dense and greasy. Fry paczki for about 1.5 - 2 minutes per side or until golden.
- Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Let paczki cool down, then fill them with your filling of choice. Use a straw to make a tunnel for the filling, fill a piping bag fitted with a long round piping tip with a filling of your choice, and fill the paczki with the filling.
- If you're planning to glaze them with icing it's best to do that when they are still slightly warm but if you want to just dust them with powdered sugar, let them cool first.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Various fillings can be used such as jam, vanilla or chocolate pudding, cream, or Nutella.
- Glaze pączki by dusting with powdered sugar or making icing from powdered sugar and liquid like milk or lemon water.
- Measure flour using the spoon and level method for accurate dough consistency.
- Use warm milk at about 100-110°F (38-43°C) to activate yeast for proper dough rise.
- Calories are approximately calculated per doughnut and depend on filling and toppings.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
435kcal
(22%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 14paczki
Amount Per Serving
Calories 435 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 435kcal | 22% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
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Overall Rating
5
16 reviews
Excellent
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