Every year just before Mardi Gras — also known as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, it’s a day of feasting before the Christian fast known as Lent. While Carnival and Fat Tuesday are celebrated in many different ways worldwide, one festivity, in particular, is especially delicious: Paczki (pronounced as “pohnch-kee) Day. The tradition is Polish, but it’s honored in many different communities.Paczki is the plural form of the word, while the singular form is paczek, which is pronounced “pohnch-eck”. Paczki are spherical, deep-fried balls of dough that are filled with jam, curd, or custard. Once fried to a golden brown, they are traditionally topped with a dusting of powdered sugar, covered in granulated sugar, or enrobed in a clear glaze and topped with diced orange peels.
The difference between paczki and donuts is the ingredients in their dough. Paczki uses an extra amount of enriching ingredients, yeast, grain alcohol, and high-gluten flour. Together, these create a richer-than-brioche dough, but far chewier with little to no crumbs. The use of grain alcohol creates a less oily product as well because the grain alcohol evaporates as it fries in the oil, which prevents excess oil absorption in the dough.
Additionally, many types of donuts use cake or pastry flour, smaller amounts of enriching ingredients, and baking soda or baking powder instead of yeast. Therefore, donuts are more crumbly and less rich-tasting than paczki.
Baker Benji’s in Old NorthDayton are offering the following:
