No matter how you pronounce "paczki" just don"t call it a donut

Paczki Recipe - How To Make Polish Donuts
paczki Heard in the bakery line

Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is the day of indulgence before the Christian fast known as Lent. For urban centers with large Polish and Polish-American populations, including Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Chicago, indulgence often means a paczki. Or, like, 12.

Proper pronunciation of this sinful jelly- or creme-filled donut, at least among non-Polish speakers, incites a debate only rivaled by the fight over which bakery does them best. Most people land somewhere around POONCH-key. But add in local dialect, or the effects of other Fat Tuesday imbibing, and POWNCH-key or PAUNCH-key sometimes emerges.

The recipe is similar to German, Jewish and Italian filled donuts, but traditional paczki contain a splash of Polish vodka called Spiritus, says Eater.com.

Read: For Mardi Gras, try this rum that was born on the Bayou

Poland itself digs in on Fat Thursday, which was February 23, six days before Ash Wednesday and, this year, 52 days before Easter. Chicago bakeries report they typically fry tens of thousands of paczki (yup, thats the plural) per day from Thursday through Tuesday.

Opinion: The toxic tale of those coveted Mardi Gras beads

And with its own twist, Detroit turns its paczki into a hotdog bun.

Prefer a no-calorie taste? #paczki is trending:

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/no-matter-how-you-pronounce-paczki-just-dont-call-it-a-donut-2017-02-28

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Iconic Swedish Bakery"s Last Day Draws 120-Person Line For Paczki

You love paczki, but can you say paczki?

About 120 customers lined up on Clark Street early Tuesday morning in Andersonville as today is the final day for Swedish Bakery. A neighborhood icon, the bakery will close today at 6:30 p.m., ending business after 88 years. There was an extra layer of excitement on this Fat Tuesday as the bakery is one of the many which celebrate a Polish-Chicago tradition, the paczki.

Customers showed up as early as 5 a.m. to line up, and others will arrive later today, but the latter may be left with only breadcrumbs. News crews descended to fill their morning broadcasts as head baker Dennis Stanton surveyed the scene from outside his bakery as customers slowly trudged inside. He quietly ducked inside through the side entrance.

Stantons family is Greek and German, and they purchased the bakery 38 years ago from a Swedish family. Andersonville, Chicagos Swedish enclave, counted on the bakery for nearly a century for birthday cakes, cookies, breads, and other baked goods. Many customers dont know where theyll go for baked goods after Tuesday.

I have no idea what Ill do without it, said Heather McAllister, one of the customers crammed inside.

Ashok Selvam

The historic bakery wasnt a spot to connect on WiFi with a laptop, which can be a requisite nowadays to draw younger customers. In a previous interview with the Tribune, Stanton said that millennials looked for a food experience, but Swedish Bakery was merely humdrum. It was time to close, he said, as the family doesnt have a younger member to take over the business. The building is up for sale.

The bakery limited available quantities in its final days. Some customers anticipated the rush and pre-ordered so they could skip the line and just pickup their food. However, if they wanted more than that pre-order, they needed to take a number for additional items. There was no circumventing the line. Some customers said theyll throw a few goods into the freezer for safe keeping, as theyll last for about five months when frozen.

Ashok Selvam

Katy Kraeger drove down from Milwaukee on Monday and woke up at 5:30 a.m. to come in today with her father, Pete Kraeger. Katy Kraegers grandparents moved to Andersonville in 1960. The bakery was a family tradition. Todays order would include cookies, marzipan cake, paczki and coffee cake.

It was a place to get something special, my parents had six kids so it wasnt like we could come up here and buy cookies [frequently], Pete Kraeger said. For special occasions we would come up here and get cookies or coffee cake.

Dont forget about the paczki, as the bakery had 16 flavors available. Surat Bashorun said shes sampled them all, but shes partial to one in particular. Oh my G*d, the pineapple is the best! she said, gushing.

Ashok Selvam

About 40 employees worked at the bakery, and the Stantons are working to find them new jobs. While many customers walked out with smiles, holding big bags loaded with pastries, there was also a bit of sadness even for those working behind the counter.

Ashok Selvam

Source: http://chicago.eater.com/2017/2/28/14761130/swedish-bakery-closing-andersonville-last-day-paczki

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Iconic Swedish Bakery"s Last Day Draws 120-Person Line For Paczki

Paczki Parzone "Gniazdka"

About 120 customers lined up on Clark Street early Tuesday morning in Andersonville as today is the final day for Swedish Bakery. A neighborhood icon, the bakery will close today at 6:30 p.m., ending business after 88 years. There was an extra layer of excitement on this Fat Tuesday as the bakery is one of the many which celebrate a Polish-Chicago tradition, the paczki.

Customers showed up as early as 5 a.m. to line up, and others will arrive later today, but the latter may be left with only breadcrumbs. News crews descended to fill their morning broadcasts as head baker Dennis Stanton surveyed the scene from outside his bakery as customers slowly trudged inside. He quietly ducked inside through the side entrance.

Stantons family is Greek and German, and they purchased the bakery 38 years ago from a Swedish family. Andersonville, Chicagos Swedish enclave, counted on the bakery for nearly a century for birthday cakes, cookies, breads, and other baked goods. Many customers dont know where theyll go for baked goods after Tuesday.

I have no idea what Ill do without it, said Heather McAllister, one of the customers crammed inside.

Ashok Selvam

The historic bakery wasnt a spot to connect on WiFi with a laptop, which can be a requisite nowadays to draw younger customers. In a previous interview with the Tribune, Stanton said that millennials looked for a food experience, but Swedish Bakery was merely humdrum. It was time to close, he said, as the family doesnt have a younger member to take over the business. The building is up for sale.

The bakery limited available quantities in its final days. Some customers anticipated the rush and pre-ordered so they could skip the line and just pickup their food. However, if they wanted more than that pre-order, they needed to take a number for additional items. There was no circumventing the line. Some customers said theyll throw a few goods into the freezer for safe keeping, as theyll last for about five months when frozen.

Ashok Selvam

Katy Kraeger drove down from Milwaukee on Monday and woke up at 5:30 a.m. to come in today with her father, Pete Kraeger. Katy Kraegers grandparents moved to Andersonville in 1960. The bakery was a family tradition. Todays order would include cookies, marzipan cake, paczki and coffee cake.

It was a place to get something special, my parents had six kids so it wasnt like we could come up here and buy cookies [frequently], Pete Kraeger said. For special occasions we would come up here and get cookies or coffee cake.

Dont forget about the paczki, as the bakery had 16 flavors available. Surat Bashorun said shes sampled them all, but shes partial to one in particular. Oh my G*d, the pineapple is the best! she said, gushing.

Ashok Selvam

About 40 employees worked at the bakery, and the Stantons are working to find them new jobs. While many customers walked out with smiles, holding big bags loaded with pastries, there was also a bit of sadness even for those working behind the counter.

Ashok Selvam

Source: http://chicago.eater.com/2017/2/28/14761130/swedish-bakery-closing-andersonville-last-day-paczki

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It"s paczki day! Where to buy the Fat Tuesday doughnuts

Paczki z piekarnika /Kasia ze slaska gotuje

Fat Tuesday marks the last day of gluttony before Lent, a time of sacrifice, begins with Ash Wednesday. In Chicago, it also means hundreds of people will line up outside bakeries for a taste of paczki, the Polish doughnut-like dessert.

Pronunciation may vary from person to person (POONCH-key, PUNCH-key and PONCH-key are all considered acceptable), and the deep-fried dough may come filled with custard, fruit, or simply dusted with powdered sugar.

Heres where you can go for paczki in Chicago. Call ahead to check on availability.

Dinkels Bakery features flavors including cheese, chocolate, apricot, strawberry, custard with powdered sugar and Parisian lemon. Open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. $17.89/dozen, $1.69 each. 3329 N. Lincoln, 773-281-7300, www.dinkels.com.

Bridgeport Bakerysells flavors includingapple, blueberry, peach, pineapple, plain and prune. Check their Facebook page for the full list and call for pricing and hours. 2907 S. Archer Ave., 773-523-1121,www.facebook.com/Bridgeport-Bakery

Old Warsaw Buffet in Harwood Heights sells paczki daily, and is open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fat Tuesday. 4750 N. Harlem Ave., Harwood Heights. 708-867-4500,old-warsaw-buffet.com

Oak Mill Bakery offers a variety of paczki and mini paczki for Fat Tuesday. Fillings include rose petal preserve and Nutella, while flavors for kids include chocolate sundae and cookie monster. Multiple locations, www.oakmillbakery.com

Flavors atKolatek Bakeryinclude mocha, tiramisu, chocolate chili, caramel bacon and rum. Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2445 N. Harlem Ave., 773-637-3772,www.kolateksbakery.com

Firecakes Donuts features three flavors: raspberry and blood orange jelly, chocolate custard and Meyer lemon. $2.19 for small, $2.67 for large.68 W. Hubbard St., 312-329-6500, open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; 2453 N. Clark St., 773-666-5277, open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.,www.firecakesdonuts.com

Bohemian House will offer paczki (Bavarian cream-filled and topped with dried fig ice cream) during lunch (starting at 11:30 a.m.) and dinner (5-10 p.m.) on Fat Tuesday only. 11 W. Illinois St., 312-955-0439,www.bohochicago.com

Order onlineto tryDo-Rite Donuts key-lime, chocolate Nutella and raspberry paczki. 50 W. Randolph St., 312-488-2483, open 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., $2.75 single, $14.95 half-dozen; 233 E. Erie St., 312-344-1374, open 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., $24.95 assorted dozen. Limited quantities. www.doritedonuts.com

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct-paczki-fat-tuesday-doughnuts-where-to-buy-story.html

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