Paczki Polish Mardi Gras Donuts Recipes

PąCZKI RECIPE (POLISH DOUGHNUTS)

Steps:

• 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, cover the bowl tightly with plastic foil, and place in a warm place for about 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 80g-pieces, and roll each piece of dough into a ball.
• 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 350°F (175°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.
• When paczki are cold enough to handle, fill them with your filling of choice using a piping bag and a long piping tip.
• 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!

BAKED PACZKI FOR MARDI GRAS

Steps:

• Mix 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large mixer bowl.
• Heat milk, butter and honey until very warm (120° to 130°F). Add to flour mixture with rum, egg yolks and egg; beat 1 minute at low speed.
• Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes.
• Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness. Use a 3-inch cookie or biscuit cutter, to cut out as many rounds as possible.
• Place rounds about 2 to 3 inches apart on parchment lined or lightly greased baking sheets. Re-roll and cut remaining dough.
• Cover and let rise in a warm, draft free place 45 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• For glaze, mix honey and melted butter; set aside.
• Bake 10 minutes. Brush glaze over packzi and continue baking for 2 to 4 minutes until light golden brown. If desired, brush again with any remaining glaze.
• Let cool slightly, then dust or roll in sugar or powdered sugar.
• Fillings:.
• Fruit or custard: Use a knife to cut a small slit in side of paczki. Use a small spoon (or pipe with pastry tip and bag) to insert a heaping teaspoonful. (vanilla rum custard or pudding is amazing!).
• Chocolate: Use your finger to gently poke a small hole in side of paczki and insert 1 teaspoon chocolate chips into center of paczki while still warm.