Authentic Polish Paczki

From: Sue (Chef #752968)

On Feb 5, 2008

I was so proud of my first attempt at these!! They turned out very good (I used the 6 eggs) and I'm excited to have them today, Fat Tuesday! I will have to watch the heat the next time because some of them didn't get done all the way through. I just fried them in my dutch oven on the stove. Fantastic!

From: Chef #751047

On Feb 3, 2008

This is an unnecessarily complex recipe. That's why some people have trouble with it. After making them, my wife and I have three general reactions. The first, and perhaps most important, is that the recipe for the dough is not all that important ... your favorite brioche type dough will do the job. Just make sure it is well kneaded dough to give the final product some structure and the crumb some stringiness. These are too cakey. Secondly, don't put the filling in before hand ... it is easier, and more authentic to do them as full rounds, let them cool (glaze while hot) and fill afterward with a pastry bag. Letting them cool allows the cooked dough to stabilize ... if you put the filling in while the dough is hot, it will collapse and get gummy around the filling. Not too much filling either ... authentic paczki have a wee dollip of filling (2t) just to add a bit of contrasting flavor. Finally, 3, the dough per paczki should be about 2 oz in weight. Large paczki may not cook through. Hope this helps.

From: Kimberly Annette

On Feb 19, 2007

This is a rich, indulgent paczki in the true Carnival sense. After reading comment #2, I made a note to turn up the heat - I've had trouble getting yeast doughs to rise in winter because we keep our thermostat on 65F. I had no problems with this one after turning it up to 70F for a couple hours. Another cause of non-rising dough is bad yeast - age and a few other things can kill it, so it won't be activated by warm liquid + sugar (which is what causes it to rise). It's best to store yeast in the fridge, and make sure it's the first ingredient you grab when you get ready to prepare dough - set it on the counter to let it warm a bit as you set up everything else. After everything is at hand, warm up the milk. By then, the yeast won't be shocked by a sudden change in temps. Also, try using whole milk instead of low- or non-fat. Lactose-free milk will NOT work, because it lacks milk sugar (lactose) which the yeast needs to feed on in order to multiply. Don't worry if you're lactose intolerant - the yeast will consume the lactose in regular whole milk, so it won't affect your tummy. Happy Paczki Day!

From: Chef #297236

On Feb 27, 2006

I have been cooking and baking for over 40yrs. and have never had trouble with a recipe as I did with this one. Tried 2 times, thinking I did something wrong the first time, but got even a worse result the second time, the dough does not rise!!! Not only am I out 2 doz. eggs and 8 cups of flour, I am out time and money. I think this one needs to go back to the drawing board. Oh yes, I do make crullers and kolacky without failure.