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Polish Housewife

Polish recipes served up with tidbits of folklore, customs, and history

Breads

Polish Yeast Buns with Blueberries (Jagodzianki)

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Blueberries are so plentiful this time of year that I know you’ll want this delicious recipe featuring the beautiful little gems. Polish Yeast Buns with Blueberries (Jagodzianki) are a light bread roll infused with lemon and vanilla, stuffed with blueberries, and topped with a lemony glaze.

Polish Yeast Buns with Blueberries (Jagodzianki) #polishrecipe #polishfood #summerrecipe #polishhousewife PolishHousewie.com

Jagodzianki

You can fill these buns with either fresh blueberries or blueberry jam, so they can be made year round. This time I used fresh blueberries, but next time, I might cook the blueberries and powdered sugar for the filling. You should have seen me, trying to portion my two cups of berries into 16 equal servings atop my bread rolls, and then there was the matter of keeping blueberries in place as I sealed up the dough. It was a challenging task, but there’s a laugh in chasing down runaway blueberries and laughter is good for us. I recently attended a retreat where we engaged in a session of Laughing Yoga.

This recipe is based on one I’ve translated from a Polish food blog, MniamMniam.pl (translates to YumYum). The author warns that you may have some of the blueberry juice leak out and burn on the pan (good reason to line the pan with parchment in my humble opinion), but he assures us that it will given a noble taste. So, hey, we have that going for us!

Our tasters went though these buns quickly, some sampling more than one and advising that they were even better with 5 seconds in the microwave to replicate that just out of the oven sensation.

If you think you don’t have time to make your own bread, let me suggest that it can be worked into a busy schedule. I mixed up the dough and left it to rise while I went out and ran some errands. With a little more time at home, I shaped the buns and baked and photographed them before going out for the evening.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve had Polish Yeast Buns with Blueberries (Jagodzianki) before.

Smacznego!

Lois

PS – Did  you know that Polish Housewife was named as one of the Top 20 Poland Blogs? Thanks to Feedspot and to  you, dear readers! It’s an honor to be included in such a group!

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Polish Yeast Buns with Blueberries (Jagodzianki)

  • Author: polishhousewife
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 45 min
  • Cook Time: 15 min
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: 16 buns
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

Vanilla and lemon infused buns, filled with blueberries and topped with a lemon glaze!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups blueberries
  • 1 packet of dry yeast plus 1 teaspoon (30 g)
  • 2/3 cup milk, divided
  • 1/2 cup sugar, divided
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 4 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
  • grated zest of 1/2 lemon
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3 rounded tablespoons powdered sugar for filling
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar for glaze
  • equal amounts of water and lemon juice, about 1 1/2 tablespoons each

Instructions

  1. Rinse the berries and dry on a paper towel
  2. Heat the milk to 110 degrees F, put 4 tablespoon of the warm milk in a small glass or bowl, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and the yeast, stir until dissolved, let sit for about 10 minutes, it should get a little foamy
  3. Add the butter to the pan with the remaining milk, heating just enough to melt the butter, cool to room temp
  4. Combine the flour, salt, vanilla, lemon zest, egg yolks, milk butter mixture, and the yeast mixture mixing with a wooden spoon or a dough hook, the batter should be quite thick, cover with a cloth and let rest for 15 minutes
  5. Turn out on a counter or pastry cloth and knead for literally, just a minute, place in a greased bowl, turning so the top of the dough is oiled too, cover and let rise until doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour
  6. Punch the dough down, and divide into fourths, divide each piece into fourths again, giving you 16 rolls, using your hands, pat and pinch to shape each piece of dough into a circle about 4 inches in diameter
  7. Place blueberries on top of each roll, top berries with about 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar, dip your finger or a pastry brush in water and lightly brush the outside edge of each dough circle as you fold and pinch the edges together to seal, tucking all of your folds underneath the bun, place seam side down on a parchment line baking sheet pan, cover and let rest for 15 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
  8. Bake for about 15 minutes, until nicely brown, remove from oven and mix the powdered sugar with the water and lemon juice to make a glaze, spead over lukewarm buns

Keywords: Polish bread blueberries bun roll Jagodzianki

Polish Yeast Buns with Blueberries - Jagodzianki #polishfood #polishrecipes #bread #blueberries #polishhousewie PolishHousewife.com

Chałka or Challah, a braided egg bread

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Chałka or Challah is the bread used in Sabbath and holiday rituals for Jews in particular the Ashkenazi. They originally formed a community in the Holy Roman Empire (Central Europe) around the end of the first millennium.

They settled along the Rhine River is western German and northern France creating a unique way of life that included traditions from their old home and their new home. Challah was the name given to a German bread when it was adopted as the Sabbath bread.

Chałka or Challah

Chałka or Challah

In the 15th century, most Ashkenazi moved east to the multi-ethnic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth which gives us the Polish connection and Chałka.

Challah is usually topped with poppy or sesame seeds, Chałka, the Polish version can be a little sweeter, using more sugar in the dough itself, and sometimes is even topped with sweet strusel like crumble as PrzyslijPrzepis.pl has done.

Chałka or Challah

The recipe I’ve made over the years and adapted here is from a book my grandmother gave me over 30 years ago, Heritage Cook Book by Better Homes and Gardens. It was published in 1975, but you might find it in a used book store or on Amazon (I earn a small commission of you purchase via this link). 

It’s interesting reading, as it tells about how American cuisine has change over the years and the influence of the melting pot on what we eat. I’ve used so many of the recipes; it was where I first learned about Polish basics such as stuffed cabbage leaves and bigos!

This makes one large loaf and uses two packets of yeast. I have sometimes two three-packs of yeast and made a triple recipe, making either three large loaves of six to eight small loaves (I put them crosswise on two sheet pans to proof, the final rise, and bake).

It’s a nice size to give as gifts. However you make your Chałka or Challah, I think you’ll enjoy the wonderful smell and taste of this homemade bread.

Smacznego!

Lois

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Chalka or Challah

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 150 min
  • Cook Time: 40 min
  • Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf
  • Category: Bread
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

A beautiful braided egg bread

Ingredients

  • 2 packages active dry yeast
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 – 6 tablespoons sugar (depending on your taste)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 eggs
  • for topping:
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon poppyseeds or sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle the yeast over 1/2 cup warm water (110 F) to soften, stir until dissolved
  2. Heat milk, butter, sugar, and salt until sugar dissolves, cool to lukewarm and stir in 2 cups of flour
  3. Add yeast and 2 eggs, combine, and add enough flour to make a soft dough (anouther cup to 1 1/2 cups)
  4. Knead on a floured surfaces, continuing to add flour for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth
  5. Form into a ball, and place in an oiled bowl, turn the dough over (this oils the top), and cover the bowl, leave in a warm place unti doubled in size about 90 minutes
  6. Punch down the dough, divide into thirds, roll each third into an 18 inch strand, braid, securing the ends by tucking under
  7. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, cover, let rise, about 30 minutes
  8. Whisk together the egg yolk and water, gently brush the loaf with this egg wash and sprinkle with seeds
  9. Bake at 375 F for 35 – 45 minutes, the bread should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped (mine is a little too brown, it should have come out a few minutes earlier)

Notes

If you want to make the sweetened topping like przyslijprzepis.pl, combine 4 teaspoons butter, with 3 tablespoons of sugar, work in up to 1/2 cup of flour until you have a nice crumble, sprinkle this over the egg wash rather then poppy or sesame seeds

Hot Cross Buns Recipe

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I am branching out today from Polish baked goods to an English baked good that I made for the first time while I lived in Poland. I’d sampled the store bought versions of this pastry, and I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. It was the same experience I had with Paczki! Purchased = blah; homemade = YUM! Sitting around our little blue kitchen in Poznan, with no Hot Cross Buns to be found at Piotr i Pawel (our local supermarket), I thought I’d bake some. They were fantastic, a soft yeast bread with a bit of spice, dried fruit, and a cross glazed on top. Homemade is always better and fresher than store bought, and that’s why I want to share this Hot Cross Buns Recipe with you!

If you remember back to the days when you or your children were learning a musical instrument, I’ll bet that one of the first songs played was Hot Cross Buns. It’s an English nursery rhyme set to music, and it involves only three notes, so it’s perfect for beginners.

Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns

If you have no daughters, give them to your sons, one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns

That crazy pricing strategy set aside, they’re a wonderful pastry that was traditionally eaten on Good Friday, and of course there are a lot of superstitions and guesses about the history of Hot Crossed Buns. A bun baked and served on Good Friday is rumored not to spoil all year and to have healing medicinal properties. A bun hung on the wall of a kitchen is supposed to protect from fires and ensure all breads turn our perfectly in the coming year.

During Elizabethan times, such spiced breads were only permitted to be sold for burials, on Good Friday, and at Christmas. Violators were forced to give all of their inventory of spiced bread to the poor, but official Hot Cross Buns didn’t appear until the 1700s in London. They can appear in your kitchen today!

I’ve adapted this Hot Cross Buns recipe from Taste of Home and King Arthur Flour.

Smacznego!

Lois

PS — if you think this recipe sounds delicious, please leave a comment and rate it 5 stars, it helps my website get noticed on the Interweb. 😉 Thanks!

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Hot Cross Buns Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 45 min
  • Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
  • Yield: 16 buns
  • Category: Bread
  • Cuisine: English
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Description

A soft spiced bread roll with dried fruit and a glazed cross on top for Good Friday

Ingredients

for buns:

  • 1/2 cup mixed candied peel
  • 1/2 dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup rum, brandy, or apple juice
  • 1 package dried yeast
  • 1 cup warm milk, 110 degrees F
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon allspice
  • dash nutmeg
  • dash ginger
  • 3 – 31/2 cup flour
  • 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon oil for egg wash

for glaze:

  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

  1. Add candied peel, cranberries, and rum (or other liquid) to a covered bowl or small covered pan and heat until warm in microwave or on stove top, set aside to cool
  2. Dissolve yeast in warm milk for 3 – 5 min, mix in egg, butter, sugar, spices (feel free to make changes  to the spices I’ve used according to your tastes, a scant teaspoon in total), 1 1/2 cups flour
  3. Add the peel/cranberries and any liquid that wasn’t absorbed, and enough of the remaining flour to have a sticky dough, knead, continuing to add flour as needed for about 5 minutes
  4. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top of the dough, cover with a clean dish towel until doubled in size, about 90 minutes
  5. Punch down the dough, divide into 16 equal portions, roll the dough balls until smooth, place on a parchment lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Cover with dish towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes, preheat oven to 375 F
  6. Using a sharp knife or razor blade, gently cut a cross into the top of the dough, brush with egg wash, bake about 45 minutes, cool
  7. Combine glaze ingredients using enough liquid to have a thick glaze that runs just a little, spoon glaze into the cross you cut on the top of the buns

Notes

Some recipes filled the cut cross with shortcrust pastry of a milk of flour and milk before baking, but you know the American palate, let’s go with something sweet, so I’ve used a glaze

.

Zapiekanka Polish French Bread Pizza

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If you spend much time at all in Polish cities, you’ll see folks walking around eating long skinny Zapiekanka Polish French Bread Pizza. They always look and smell terrific.

Almost two years after my first visit to Poznan, curiosity got the better of me. As I was leaving Sweet Surrender one afternoon, rather than hop on my tram at Most Teatralny, I walked over to another corner of this busy intersection to order my first Zapiekanka.

Zapiekanka Polish French Bread Pizza

Zapiekanka dates back to the 1970s, and the small amount of free enterprise allowed by the Communist government, mała gastronomia, travel trailers or food trucks serving simple street food.

Zapiekanka’s base is a baguette, cut in half lengthwise. Traditionally, it’s topped with mushrooms, melted cheese and on the very top, a squirt of ketchup. 

With food scarcity a thing of the past, Zapiekanka now comes with mind boggling topping choices. I think my first was kebab meat.

The ones we made at home recently, had a slice of ham, sauteed mushrooms, cheese, and were topped with ketchup and everyone’s favorite garlic sauce, sos czosnkowy.

I made my own garlic sauce which is so versatile. You’ll find so many ways to use it! Ed pronounced it very Polish tasting and the perfect finishing touch.

My prescribed recipe below is very basic, add to it as you choose just be sure to keep the melted cheese and sauces on top.

For protein, you might try BBQed meat, cooked bacon, or salami. As you saute the sliced mushrooms, maybe you’d like to toss in some sliced onion or bell pepper.

As for the cheese, make it something that will melt well, cheddar, mozzarella, even Oscypek if you’re lucky enough to have some.

To be authentic, add a squirt of ketchup on top of your Zapiekanka as it comes out of the oven, and any other sauce you like, garlic sauce, ranch, or 1000 island dressing.

The amounts listed below are really just guidelines, like sandwich, soup, or pizza making, the rules aren’t so strict.

I look forward to hearing what toppings you’ve put together. We thought our homemade Zapiekanka were delicious!

Smacznego!

Lois

PS – this explains why Poles are likely to put ketchup on pizza, even though it already has a red sauce!

Zapiekanka Polish French Bread Pizza

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Zapiekanka Polish French Bread Pizza

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Category: Snack
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

Poland’s colorful and delicioius street food!

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf French bread
  • Ham, sliced thin (enough to cover the bread)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 16 ounces mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 cups cheese, grated
  • Ketchup
  • Garlic sauce (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 F
  2. Slice the bread lengthwise and also crosswise, making 4 zapiekanka crusts
  3. Add a thin layer of ham or other protein on top of the bread
  4. Add mushrooms and butter to a pan and cook over medium high heat until lightly browned, stirring frequently
  5. Top Zapiekanka with mushrooms and sprinkle with cheese
  6. Bake about 10 minutes, until cheese melts and bread is just beginning to brown around the edges
  7. Top with a drizze ketchup and garlic sauce

Notes

If you ketchup or other sauce doesn’t have a squirt top, add some to a sandwich bag and snip one corner, you now have a bag for piping your sauce

 

Polish Gingerbread Cake Ciasto Imbirowe

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In making this Polish Gingerbread Cake Ciasto Imbirowe, I’m giving you muplitle options, and I hope that doesn’t make it too confusing. You could just make two plain loaves of gingerbread cake and stop there or, possibly brush the top with melted jam and decorate the top of the loaf with dried fruit as you’ll see on Moje Wypieki.

I wanted to recreate a commercial pastry that we used to buy at the Zabka, a Polish convenience store, near our apartment in Poznan. It was a package with little petit fours sized cakes that were filled with jam and marzipan and covered in chocolate, absolutely addictive!

Polish Gingerbread Cake Ciasto Imbirowe, filled with apricot jam and marzipan, enrobed in chocolate ganache

I have a mini bundt pan (six little cakes), so I used that in place of one of my loaf pans. I wanted to try putting the jam and marizpan directly into the batter, but I wasn’t sure that would work. My Plan B was to slice the cakes horizontally, brush with melted jam and add a thin layer of marzipan before covering with chocolate ganache.

So I filled three of my mini bundt pans only half full of batter, then I made a coil of marzipan about the size of a pencil and added that along with little dabs (about a teaspoon in total) of jam. Then added more batter to cover the filling.

The three remaining mini bundts I left plain in case I needed to make these according to Plan B, thinking that my jam and marzipan might run out and stick to the pan, making the cakes impossible to remove.

That didn’t happen, all six cakes cake out nicely. The other half of my batter went into a loaf pan. The batter rises a lot, giving a rustic split to the loaf as it bakes. Still inspired by my gingerbread petit fours, I trimmed the loaf cake until it was a nice rectangle, which I finished off according to Plan B. Using some of the leftover marzipan to make holly leaves.

Polish Gingerbread Cake Ciasto Imbirowe, filled with apricot jam and marzipan, topped with chocolate ganache!

I’m happy to report that baking the marzipan and jam into the batter was successful. The jam and marzipan flavors stayed distinct and unique. I’ll do all of my gingerbread cakes this way in the future becuase it’s easier and the end result flavor-wise is the same.

The only reason I see to go to the trouble of rolling out the marizpan and sandwiching it with jam and gingerbread is if you’re after the visual image of the perfect line of contrasting filling as you cut into the cake. There is a pleasing aspect to the look.

gingerbread cakes filled with jam and marzipan topped with ganache

Don’t think I wasted the dome I sliced off of the loaf cake. We’ve done a little nibbling and I think the dinner party we’re hosting on Saturday will feature Sauerbraten, a German pot roast seasoned and thickened with gingerbread!

Smacznego!

Lois

 

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Polish Gingerbread Cake Ciasto Imbirowe

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Total Time: 45 mins
  • Yield: 2 9x5 loaves or 12 mini bundts
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

A dense cake-like gingerbread that is extra delicious paired with marzipan, jam, and chocolate ganache

Ingredients

  • 1 cup honey (or golden syrup)
  • 1 cup stong coffee
  • 8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa

for optional filling

  • 4 ounce tube marzipan
  • apricot or plum jam

for ganache topping

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Comgine honey, coffee, butter, and spices in a saucepan, heat just enough to let butter, remove from heat
  3. Spray pans with baking spary (the one with flour works best)
  4. Combine eggs, and brown sugar, slowly add in the warm honey mixure with the mixer running
  5. Add baking powder, flour, and cocoa, mix until well combined
  6. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans, the batter is very thick
  7. If you’re adding marzipan directly into the batter, only add half of the batter to the pan, add marzipan and jam (a coil of marzipan made from a 1/3″ slice and approximately a teaspoon of jam in a mini bundt, for a loaf pan, use 5-6 times this amount distributing throughout the loaf pan, avoiding the edges) and then top with remaining batter. I filed my mini bundts to just 1/2 inch below the top, they domed over the top of the pan giving a nice tall mini bundt with a slightly rounded bottom when it’s turned upside down)
  8. Bake about 30 minutes for mini bundts, 45 minutes for loaf pans. You can test for doneness by pressing gently on the top of the cake, it should feel firm and spring back or a toothpick inserted in the top should come out clean
  9. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully remove and cool completely on a wire rack
  10. If you want to add a filling, but didn’t bake it into the dough. slice the cakes into two layers
  11. I trimmed my loaf cake to get a flat top and straight, not flared sides
  12. Roll out the marzipan to about 1/8 inch thickness, cut to the shape of your cake
  13. Heat jam, brush the jam onto what will be the middle of the cake, the top of the bottom layer, the bottom of the top layer, add the thin layer of marzipan on top of the bottom layer and add the top layer, creating a marzipan sandwich

for ganache

  1. Heat the cream and chocolate (about 1 minute on 50% power in my microwave), stir until glossy and smooth
  2. Let the ganache cool for a few minutes to about 100 F (or while you’re preparing the filling)
  3. Spoon ganaache over the top of your cakes
  4. If desired, color leftover marzipan for decoration

 

Cranberry Orange Babka or Babka Zurawina z Pomarancza

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When I was baking my way through a cake cookbook, a cake a week, Ed would often take cake to work while we were in Poland. One week, he was working at the other F-16 base in Poland, near Lask, so this group got to sample the weekly baking.

Tradition at this smaller base included all the pilots gathering for a tea break, so my contribution was perfect. The Polish pilots said the cake reminded them of a babka; they then went on to tell Ed that babka referred to a pretty girl.

Actually, it means grandmother. The yeast cake, which is usually baked in a bundt pan, is said to resemble a grandmother’s skirt, but I do appreciate their attempt to flatter the cook.

Cranberry Orange Babka or Bakba żurawina z pomarańczą - a wonderful tart sweet yeast bread, perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas!

Cranberry Orange Babka or Babka żurawina z pomarańczą is only the second babka I’ve made; it seemed like the perfect flavor combination for this time of year.

The recipe is adapted from the King Arthur website. With fresh and dried cranberries, the little red jewels, żurawina, are the predominate flavor. The yeast dough is light and tender, the perfect medium to convery the cranberry orange jam like mixture.

Whether you identify as a pretty girl or a grandmother, or a pretty grandmother (handsome grandfather?), I hope you’ll enjoy cranberry orange babka zurawina z pomarancza.

Smacznego!

Lois

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Cranberry Orange Babka żurawina z pomarańczą

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 3 hours 45 mins
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Total Time: 4 hours 30 mins
  • Yield: 1 loaf
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

A colorful and tart yeast bread

Ingredients

for the dough:

  • 1/2 cup lukewarm milk (110 F)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 egg egg
  • 3 tablespoons softened butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

for the filling:

  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Pour warm milk into a bowl, sprinkle with dried yeast and sugar
  2. Stir, let sit about 5 minutes, it should begin to get frothy
  3. Add egg, butter, vanilla, 1 teaspoon orange zest, flour, and salt, stir and knead until everything is incorporated into a smooth dough
  4. Lightly grease a bowl, put dough into bowl and turn over (to lightly grease the top), cover and let sit in a warm spot until doubled in size, 60 to 90 minutes
  5. Make the filling while the dough rises by adding orange juice, brown sugar, and all the cranberries to a saucepan
  6. Cook over medium low heat until the fresh cranberries begin to pop and the texture becomes jam-like
  7. Remove from heat, stir in buter, orange zest, and cinnamon, cool
  8. Roll out the dough to form a 12 inch x 14 inch rectangle
  9. Spread the cranberry mixture over the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch near one of the short ends bare
  10. Roll up the dough starting from the opposite side, pinch the edge without filling to seal the roll
  11. Slice in half lengthwise, place both halves next to each other with cut sides up, twist the two pieces around each other, keeping the cut sides up (if you study my photo, you’ll see I forgot this step)
  12. Pinch the ends together and place in a greased 9 inch x 5 inch loaf pan
  13. Cover and let rise in a warm place until it just begins to get higher than the pan
  14. Preheat over to 350
  15. Bake for 45 minutes (internal temp 190 F), loosley tenting with foil after 30 miinutes to keep it from getting too dark
  16. Rub the top with butter after baking to keep the crust soft
  17. Cook in the pan for 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack
  18. Slice to serve

 

Pierniczki Polish Gingerbread Cookies

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Toruń, Poland, home of Nicholas Copernicus, is one of many European cities that claims to have invented gingerbread. One story goes that woman had consumed a little too much mead and made the happy mistake of adding honey and spices to bread she was making.

The city, which is one of the few in Poland not damaged during World War II, even hosts a Gingerbread Museum. When we spent the night in Toruń on a Thanksgiving road trip, the hotel left individually wrapped gingerbread cookies on our pillows.

After seeing the beautiful gingerbread figures available at most festivals in the Stary Rynek (Old Market Square) in Poznan, I wanted to buy some wooden gingerbread molds to bring home with me. They’re not easy to find. I found my first at a gingerbread shop in Gdansk (they only had two and my friend bought the other for her daughter), subsequent wooden molds were purchased at a wonderful souvenir shop in Toruń (I wish I had the address), and finally,

I bought a large reversible mold (man on one side, woman on the other) in an antique store in Amsterdam, so I guess technically this one would be a speculaas mold. I think the large size be striking to use in holiday decorating.

gingerbread houses

I’ve made gingerbread in the past. I used to make three gingerbread houses every Christmas for our daughters to decorate. My American recipe uses molasses. The Polish recipe I used for inspiration, from Moje Wypieki, uses honey and is a little softer than what I’ve worked with in the past.

The finished texture is light and lovely. One change that I will make next time is to reduce the baking soda. I hope with less leavening, the details from the mold will be more distinct after baking.

This is the first time I’ve used the gingerbread molds, which I have seasoned previously with mineral oil. It was fun to try them out. After rolling the dough, I patted and pressed it into the molds, which I lightly dusted with powdered sugar to be sure the gingerbread would release. It worked like a charm.

 

Pierniczki Polish Gingerbread - easy to prepare without a mixer! #gingerbread #christmas #cookies #polish #poland

I trimmed the pattern before baking, using a combination of a pizza cutter, a little pasta cutter, and the corner of my metal spatula. My royal icing piping isn’t precise enough to accent the lines in the molds, so Ed had the good idea of speading icing on the relief and then wiping it off, almost as if I were antiquing furniture. It highlights the pattern better. I may also leave them plain in the future.

Pierniczki Polish Gingerbread Cookies Pierniczki Polish Gingerbread Cookies

In addition to my wooden molds, I tried out two large Christmas cookie cutters and made a bunch of little hearts. I piped a little royal icing on the larger cookies and the molded gingerbread, but I left my little hearts plain, but you could certainly sprinkle them with coarse sugar or sprinkles before baking, or coat with a thin glaze after baking.  Traditional pierniczki should look rustic, not too perect. It would be a great baking project for kids.

Smacznego!

Lois

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Pierniczki Polish Gingerbread Cookies

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 45 mins
  • Yield: 50 little cookies
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

A light, crisp, spice cookie

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup honey (spray the measuring cup with oil and the honey will pour out easily)
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 1/4 cups flour (you might like to try rye flour)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cocoa
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. In a saucepan, heat the honey, butter, and brown sugar over medium heat until the butter melts and sugar dissolves
  3. Remove from heat
  4. Stir in egg
  5. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cocoa, and salt
  6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, about 1/4 inch thick
  7. Cut into sharpes or press into prepared molds
  8. Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet, about 8 minutes

 

Chruściki, Chrusty Faworki, Angel Wings

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Known by many names, meaning ribbons or dried twigs, Chruściki, Chrusty, Faworki, Angel Wings, whatever name they go by, these little powdered sugar treats appear en masse the last week of karnawał, just before Lent.

Trays piled high with Faworki and Pączki fill the supermarkets and little shops for Tłusty czwartek or Fat Thursday. Faworki are also popular at all kinds of family meal celebrations, Easter, Christmas, and weddings. 

Chruściki, Chrusty Faworki, Angel Wings

They are so popular that in areas of the US with large populations from Central Europe; bakeries insist that customers place their Christmas and Easter orders for Faworki in advance.

Like many Polish recipes, the pastry is traditionally fried in lard. You can, of course, use other oils for frying; there will be a slight difference in flavor.

Even though they’re rolled in powdered sugar, the plain, rich dough, is only lightly sweet. While it might not be traiditonal, I think it benefits from the additon of lemon and/or orange zest; it just adds a bit of brightness.

For Christmas or Easter, Polish Angel Wings, Faworki, Chruściki, Chrusty, many names and delicious! #polish #cookies #easter #christmas #polishhousewife

Some cooks will knead or roll and re-roll the dough until it blisters. Being a lazy sort, I didn’t, but it still blistered upon frying. By all standards, this probaly makes a small batch, only 48 Faworki. You can easily double or triple if you’re feeding a crowd.

Chruściki, Chrusty Faworki, Angel Wings

What do you call them, Chruściki, Chrusty Faworki, Angel Wings?

Smacznego?

Lois

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Chruściki, Chrusty Faworki, Angel Wings

Chruściki, Chrusty Faworki, Angel Wings

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Polish HOusewife
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 35 mins
  • Yield: 4 dozen
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

Crisp and lightly sweet

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs yolks
  • 3-5 tablespoons heavy cream (or sour cream)
  • 1 tablespoon spirits (I used Soplica, but any whiskey or rum will do)
  • 1/2 teaspon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon citrus zest (optional)
  • lard, for frying
  • powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

  1. Combine flour, sugar, and salt
  2. In a seperate bowl, combine the egg yolks, 3 tablespoons cream, spirits, vanilla, and zest if you’re using it
  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until the dough comes together, use a little more cream if necessary
  4. Roll out as thin as possible
  5. Cut into 1 x4 inch strips, cutting a slit in the middle of each strip
  6. Pul one end through the slit, to create a twisted appearance
  7. Heat lard to 350 F
  8. Fry in batches, turning to cook both sides, until golden brown
  9. Drain on paper towels
  10. Roll in powdered sugar

Notes

You can freeze the leftover egg whites to save them for a recipe that only uses egg whites.

 

 

Rogale swietomarcinskie St. Martin’s Croissants

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November 3, 2017–You’ll find my original post below, which includes links to a lot of interesting info about Rogale swietomarcinskie St. Martin’s Croissants and St. Martin’s Day in Poznan. I’ve updated the recipe this year with a quick and easy way to make a smaller croissant and a smaller batch. I actually prefer my new version. The pastry is tender and light and just the right size!
Much like Champagne (it must come from France), the real rogale switomarchinskie can only be made in Poznan and only by certain bakers, and by law it must be at least 250 grams, or half a pound! This year I made a small batch of the filing, scaling it down for the 1.25 ounce jar of poppy seeds that I picked up at my American supermarket.
I’ve also include a quick video to help you through the piping and rolling process. You cut a little notch on the small part of your dough triangle. This serves two purposes, it helps to distribute the filing throughout the pastry, and it keeps the middle from being too thick, insuring more uniform baking.

Smacznego!
Lois
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Rogale swietomarcinskie St. Martin’s Croissants

★★★★ 4 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 12 mins
  • Total Time: 22 mins
  • Yield: 16
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

A quick and easy version of a traditional Polish pastry!

Ingredients

  • small jar (1.25 ounces) poppy seeds
  • 3/8 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup chopped almonds
  • 1/4 cup shortbread cookie crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoons butter
  • pinch salt
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 cans of crescent roll dough

for glaze and topping:

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • milk, enough to make a spreadable consistency, it won’t take much
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts

Instructions

  1. Process the poppy seeds, walnuts, raisins, almonds, and cookie crumb in food processor until texture is uniform and fine
  2. Transfer to a small saucepan and add cream, powdered sugar, butter, and a pinch of salt
  3. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly
  4. Remove from heat, stir in almond extract
  5. Cool
  6. Open crescent roll dough and seperate into 16 triangles, make a 1 inch cut into the short part of the triangle (the side where you’ll begin rolling up the dough)
  7. Put the cooled filling into a pastry bag of plastic sandwich bag, snip off the tip or corner to give you an opening that’s about 1/2 inch across
  8. Pipe the filling in a Y shape along the dough
  9. Roll up the dough, giving a horseshoe shape to the roll
  10. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes
  11. Cool
  12. Combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk
  13. Spread with glaze and sprinkle with finely chopped peanuts
Rogale swietomarcinskie (St. Martin's Croissants)

November 9, 2011–I’ve been wanting to make Rogale swietomarcinskie St. Martin’s Croissants, a local specialty for a long time.  It’s traditionally made for November 11th, St. Martin’s Day.  The first year Ed was in Poland, he told me about them.  The second year, he put one in the freezer for me because I was coming for a visit just a week later.  I began reading recipes online back in August.  So you can imagine how thrilled I was to be invited to a  Rogale swietomarcinskie workshop hosted by the head of the bakers’ guild.  That was so much fun, and I picked up some good tips.  And now I know that if I make thousands, this pastry dough will become a simple matter for me, as it was for the professional bakers.  It wasn’t simple today.

The filing was easy to put together.   I can see myself using this in other ways – in thumb print cookies, in kolachi rather than a canned filling.  The dough was such a chore to prepare that it maybe be prepared less frequently.  The professionals have a giant rolling machine that I would love to have.  I think with that roller, I could be unstoppable – making fresh croissants every couple of days.  I would have to be riding my bike every waking moment that I wasn’t in the kitchen.

Source:  This recipe is adapted from  Regionalna Kuchnia Polska, a cookbook I picked up in the train station and have been translating with the help of google.  

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Rogale swietomarcinskie (St. Martin’s Croissants)

★★★★ 4 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
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Description

A flaky crossiant with an almond poppy seed filling!

Ingredients

filling:

  • 2/3 cup poppy seeds, white poppy seeds prefereable
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 2/3 cup chopped almonds
  • 1/2 cup shortbread cookie crumbs
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon almond extract

pastry:

  • 7/8 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 packet dry yeast
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter chilled,sliced

egg wash:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil

glaze:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • milk or cream, to create spreadable consistency

Instructions

filling:

  1. With a steel blade, process poppy seeds, walnuts, raisins, almonds, and cookie crumbs in food processor until the texture is a coarse meal
  2. Dump the mixture into a sauce pan , add cream, sugar, butter, and salt
  3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, the mixture will still ooze a little
  4. As it cools it will become more firm
  5. Stir in almond extract, cool

pastry:

  1. Heat milk to 110 degrees.
  2. Add 2 tablespoons butter, yeast, and sugar.
  3. Let sit for 5 – 10 minutes, should be foamy.
  4. Add egg yolks.
  5. Stir in flour and salt.
  6. Place in a clean bowl, cover the top of the dough with plastic wrap.
  7. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
  8. Roll dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.
  9. Top dough with butter slices.
  10. Fold dough into thirds, and roll it out to the original size
  11. Fold into thirds and roll 4 more times (you now have 243 layers of your original butter topped dough)
  12. Cut dough into long triangles
  13. Top with filling, I used my hands and rolled it into ropes 1 inch in diameter
  14. Roll up starting with the short side
  15. Place croissants on baking sheet , cover and let rise 30 minutes
  16. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  17. Combine egg, water, and oil. Lightly brush rolls with egg wash
  18. Bake until brown, about 15 – 20 minutes
  19. Remove from oven and frost with glaze made of butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk
  20. Sprinkle with sliced almonds, or chopped peanuts

 

 

Słodkie Placuszki z Jabłkiem – Polish Apple Fritters

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Słodkie Placuszki z Jabłkiem – Polish Apple Fritters are they fritters, doughnuts, or pancakes? By default, I’m calling them fritters. They’re fried in substantial oil, so I think that rules out pancakes, and since the apple slices are mixed in with the dough before cooking, that doesn’t sound like a doughnut, so fritter is the best pastry still standing.

Słodkie Placuszki z Jabłkiem – Polish Apple Fritters

The batter will be on the stiff side, more like a cake donut dough than a runny pancake batter, and it may seem as if there are too many apple slices, but it will all work out. Stir only until the slices are incorporated, you don’t want to overwork the dough. The dough will beautifully puff up around the slices during cooking.

Słodkie Placuszki z Jabłkiem – Polish Apple Fritters

. . . and then there were two.

These Apple Fritters could be served for dessert, breakfast, even a light supper, anytime you want something delicate and just a little sweet. In their book (available from my affiliate link)  From a Polish Country House Kitchen, the authors suggest serving Słodkie Placuszki z Jabłkiem – Polish Apple Fritters with a simple homemade apple sauce on the side. The recipe involves peeling and coring, and coarsely choppking 3 apples. Pour the apples in a microwave safe bowl and cover with water. Nuke for 3 – 6 minutes, until soft and most of the water has cooked off. Mash the apples with a fork and stir in a teaspoon each of sugar and cinnamon.

The fritter recipe is from Przyslij Przepis.

Smacznego!

Lois

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Słodkie Placuszki z Jabłkiem – Apple Fritters

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 50 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 10-12
  • Category: Dessert
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Description

A cinnamon scented batter with apple slices

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (I used Galas)
  • Oil for frying
  • Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar, eggs, milk, and salt in a bowl using a mixer or wooden spoon
  2. Add sliced apples and stir gently
  3. Heat oil, 1/2 inch deep, in a frying pan over medium high heat
  4. Spoon batter into pan, spreading a bit with the back of the spoon, making fritters that are 3-4 inches across, (you’ll cook multiple batches) cooking both sides until golden brown
  5. Remove and drain on paper towlels
  6. Dust with powdered sugar
  7. Serve warm