Paczki - Polish Doughnuts

Flour - use strong bread flour for this recipe (12-14g protein). If you are using Polish flour - use type 650. We are going for soft texture but in the same time springy and bouncy crumb structure.

Cream - there is no butter in this recipe. Fat and liquid are replaced by using cream. Cream here creates soft and feather-like texture. For this recipe we are using cream with 36% fat content (but 12 or 18% will work too; go for sweet cream not sour cream).

Yeast - if you can get it - use fresh yeast (yeast cake) as a first choice but if you can’t get it - active dried yeast will work too. Don’t use rapid rise yeast (with bigger granules).

Alcohol - in traditional Polish doughnuts, rum or vodka were used as it was believed that this will prevent the dough from soaking in too much fat when frying. This is a myth. However, in combination with egg yolks and frying (the goodness of Maillard reaction), alcohol helps to create soft, even-coloured, golden skin. It also adds to the flavour and knocks back oil-y or lard-y aroma.

Egg yolks - this recipe is egg-heavy. I was asked to prepare small-batch recipe for this blog - so here it is. However, usually we make these from 1 kg of flour - so you would use 13-14 eggs (egg yolks). Egg yolks create enriched, soft dough with springy crumb. Thanks to the eggy richness the dough has time to slowly mature and develop flavour. Egg yolks also prevent (together with other factors) soaking in too much fat when frying (yolks are binding moisture in the dough).

Sugar - only small amount of sugar is used in this dough. For extra flavour - add some vanilla sugar if you have it at hand. Sweetness comes from icing and filling.

Pre-cooked flour - we will start our pączki by preparing creamy roux. Why do we use roux in this recipe? Pre-cooking flour will release additional starch. Thanks to this process the doughnut will have softer texture and improved flavour. Portion of flour and cream is mixed together, cooked (whisking) until reaches 60C and achieves creamy consistency. This roux needs to rest for at least 1 hr (refrigerated) and up to 2 days. The longer you refrigerate this roux the better the outcome. I usually let the roux mature for 12 hours in the fridge (shared sample timing below). Why does it need to mature? Time will allow flour (starch) and cream to gel. It will improve taste and texture of doughnut.

Cooked potato (optional) - source of starch and moisture. Adds elasticity to the structure of the crumb and if you plan to store doughnut for longer it will slightly increase its shelf life. This addition is optional - I add potato when I have it at hand, and as you can see only small portion is added to the dough (10% per kg flour). Blend or pulse cooked potato until smooth and add when at room temperature. This dough will work with or without it. You will be happy if you add it but nothing major will happen if you don’t have it at hand.

Kneading - you will first whip an egg and egg yolks with sugar until pale and fluffy, then add roux (all moisture comes from roux, rum and a bit of water used for yeast proofing) and whip until combined. Then, the rest of ingredients are added. Knead for 10 minutes and leave the dough to rest (covered) for 15 minutes, then go back to the dough and knead until it passes window pane test (usually after extra 10-15 minutes of kneading). What’s the window pane test? Stretch a portion of the dough and it should form thin film without breaking (see picture). It’s a sign that the gluten has been fully developed. This will allow your doughnuts to achieve firm and bouncy structure. What if the dough is breaking? Knead for a little bit longer or you have kneaded too fast (usually an issue when using stand mixer). If you are kneading using stand mixer - use low-medium setting and don’t knead on fast speed (you will break gluten as the dough is egg-heavy and enriched; take it slow and it will pay off). If you are kneading by hand - knead in short bursts - 5 minutes of kneading, 5-10 minutes break and then another 5 minutes of kneading. Usually, when kneaded by hand, this dough passes window pane test after 7-10 minutes of kneading (it takes about 10-15 minutes using stand mixer). When done kneading - transfer the dough onto the counter and do few slap and folds to do the final shaping. Transfer to the clean bowl lightly oiled with olive oil, cover tightly with cling film and let rest on the counter for 20 minutes. After that time, transfer to the fridge for overnight rest (at 3-4C).

Overnight rest - store the dough refrigerated at 3-4C for 8-12 hours. The dough will have time to mature and develop extra flavour. In the morning, there is no need to bring the dough back to the room temperature. Proceed straight to shaping.

Shaping - when ready, knock back (de-gas) the dough. Dust your work surface with flour. Try to use as little flour as possible. Raw flour when fried will create uneven doughnut surface and part of it will fall to the bottom of the pot impacting the flavour. Flour residue in the frying pot is not a big issue if you are frying small portion like in this recipe - but if you are preparing bigger batches (you will use fat for longer) try to take that into consideration. Gently roll out the dough into 1.5-2cm thick shape of your choice and cut doughnuts, brush off the excess flour. I’m not shaping the dough into separate rolls and prefer to cut out flat discs (1.5-2cm thick) - it yields nice and even, strong crumb without overworking the dough. I’m using cutter/glass with 6cm in diameter (doughnut will puff up when frying and if you are going for classic 10cm diameter and 6cm thickness of final fried doughnut then that’s the size of the cutter to use).

Final proof - cover shaped doughnuts and let rest for 35-45 minutes at cozy room temperature (24C-30C). These should increase by 1.5-2 times the initial volume. As the dough is enriched and eggy it will be hard to judge - but shaped doughnuts should look plump and visibly puffier at the end of final proof.

Frying - choose the type of fat first. The rule of thumb is that fat which is solid at room temperature is better for deep frying of doughnuts. These type of fats burn at higher temperatures. We like to use lard (good quality pig’s fat/smalec) - it also burns at higher temperature, it’s easier to maintain steady temperature of frying in home environment, is lower in saturated fat and gives nicer flavour to the doughnut. You can also opt to use sunflower or canola oil. If you are not using deep fryer, choose wide pot, at least 20cm deep. Slowly bring fat to 175C and start frying doughnuts. Try to maintain temperature between 175C-185C. You will notice that using lard allows for flexibility here. If you notice the temperature is getting too hot, reduce heat and take the pot off the heat for few seconds. Again - lard will maintain stable temperature for longer. Fry 3-4 doughnuts at a time, for 1-2 minutes each side. Before placing another batch of doughnuts - again, control the temperature and bring it back up to 175C. When fully done, transfer doughnuts onto paper kitchen towel for few seconds and then place on the plate.

Filling - we are filling doughnuts after frying. Use piping bag (you may make a small incision on the side or bottom of the doughnut first) to fill the doughnut with confiture (povidl) or filling of your choice. Traditionally, Polish doughnuts are filled with rose petal confiture, plum povidl or some sort of jam. Choose the filling of your choice - confiture, custard, vanilla cream diplomat, whipped milk chocolate/salted caramel from this recipe or mascarpone/cream/vanilla cream from this recipe (serve as chilled doughnuts sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar).

Glazing - traditionally, Polish doughnuts are glazed with icing. However, you can opt to roll these in caster sugar mixed with vanilla and cardamom (or cinnamon), serve sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar or coated with heavier/flavoured icing and toppings. I love these served with simple orange/rum icing and that’s what’s included in this recipe.