My Busza used to make ponczkis every year on Fat Tuesday (the day before lent began on Ash Wednesdays). My mother makes them once a year as well—usually in the winter. This year, she taught me the tradition passed down from her mother and her mother’s mother.
We
followed a recipe that was handwritten by my Busza and, once completed, we
shared it with my son—I felt such a connection to my family, my past, and was
thrilled that four generations were coming together, even if only in spirit.
Full
disclosure: these are amazing, but they are very time intensive. You have to
let the dough raise three separate times.
INGREDIENTS
2 packages
of either fresh or dry yeast (dry preferred)
½ cup of
warm water
1 teaspoon
of sugar
1 pint of
scalded milk
½ pound of
butter or other shortening (not liquid)
3 cups of
flour
1 cup of
sugar
6 well
beaten eggs
½ cup of
sugar
1 teaspoon
of salt
Vanilla to
taste (1 to 2 teaspoons)
Raisins or
dates (around 3 to 4 cups)
Flour to
make dough thick (about 7 to 8 cups)
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine warm water,
yeast and teaspoon of sugar. Let it dissolve in a container. Pour scalded milk
over butter or shortening in a very large pan/bowl; combine and mix well (until
melted). Add warm water/yeast mixture to butter/milk mixture. Add three cups of
flour and one cup of sugar; mix well and let it rise for one hour (or longer—it
should double in size).
2. Gently knead the dough. Add
the six well-beaten eggs, ½ cup of sugar, salt, vanilla and raisins. Add flour
to make the dough thicker, which will drop free of the spoon (add one cup at a
time). Let it rise again for one hour or longer.
3. Knead lightly and shape
into balls about one and half inches in size. Let rise until they have doubled.
4. Drop each ball into hot
oil (test one to see if the oil is hot enough). Fry until golden brown.
5. Remove golden brown
donut from oil, set in a strainer lined with paper towels. Then, shortly after,
dip into a bowl of sugar; cover with sugar completely.
 |
Ready to
rise a third, and final, time.
|
 |
Golden
brown—almost done! (Make sure you flip the donut and fry both sides.)
|
 |
Dip into
sugar once fried.
|
 |
Delicious!
These taste like childhood.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment