Baked Paczkis Using A Bread Machine Food

BAKED PACZKI (POLISH DOUGHNUTS)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a small bowl or measuring cup, add the yeast to the warm milk; stir to dissolve and set aside.
• In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy.
• Beat in the egg, egg yolks, brandy or rum, and salt until well incorporated.
• Add 4 1/2 cups of the flour alternately with the milk-yeast mixture and beat for 5 or more minutes until smooth. The dough will be very slack. If much too soft or runny, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, anywhere from 1 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Punch down the dough and let rise again.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll to 1/2 to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut rounds with a 3-inch cutter. Remove the scraps, re-roll, and re-cut.
• Transfer the rounds to parchment-lined baking sheets, cover, and let rounds rise until doubled in bulk, 30 minutes or longer. Heat the oven to 375 F.
• Place pączki in the oven and bake 8 to 10 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean.
• Remove from the oven; if coating in granulated sugar, brush the tops and sides with melted butter and roll in granulated sugar while still hot. If using confectioners' sugar, let the doughnuts cool before coating.
• To fill the pączki , let them cool completely, cut a slit in the side, and slip a teaspoon of fruit paste or jam inside. Then dust with confectioners' sugar or roll in granulated sugar.
• Serve and 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.

PACZKI

Steps:

• For the paczki: Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Microwave the milk in a small microwave-safe bowl until warm (between 110 to 115 degrees F.), about 1 minute, then stir to even out the temperature. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the granulated sugar, stirring just enough to hydrate the yeast. Let bloom for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the butter and remaining granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream together on medium high-speed, stopping and scraping the bowl once or twice as necessary, until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the whole eggs and beat on medium high to combine, about 1 minute. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat together another minute.
• Starting with the mixer on low and then raising to medium high, add the flour mixture in 2 parts, alternating with the yeast mixture. Once the last addition of flour has been combined, knead the dough in the mixer until smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. The dough will be slack and sticking to the sides but not too sticky to the touch. If it is too sticky, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour and knead a minute more to tighten it up.
• Put the dough on a flour-dusted surface and knead by hand a few times, tucking the dough under itself to form a smooth ball. Transfer to a large, greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll or pat down to 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough into 3-inch circles and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Make one more circle from the dough scraps or make mini paczki to fry. Cover the dough circles with a kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep Dutch oven to 350 degrees F; line a baking sheet with paper towels.
• Shake off any flour from the dough circles and fry in batches of 3 to 4 until deep golden brown, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on each side. You will be able to tell they are cooked through because the amount of bubbles will reduce to almost nothing. Transfer the doughnuts to the paper towel-lined baking sheet as they come out of the oil. Return the oil to 350 degrees F between batches. Let rest until cool enough to handle.
• For the filling and glaze. Fit a pastry bag with a small round tip and fill with the jam. Set aside.
• Use a thick skewer or chopstick to poke a hole in the middle of each doughnut and wiggle a little space, taking care to not poke all the way through. Fill with the jam using the pastry bag.
• To make the glaze, add the confectioners' sugar to a small bowl big enough to dip a doughnut into. Whisk in the milk until smooth. The glaze should be a little loose, close to the consistency of maple syrup. Dip each doughnut in the glaze, letting it roll off a bit before turning it over to set. Some of the glaze will run down the sides which is okay, but if you need to adjust the thickness, add a little more confectioners' sugar or milk depending on what you need. Let the glaze set for about 5 minutes! If you want to skip the glaze, just dust with confectioners' sugar; many paczki are enjoyed this way too. Paczki are best the day they are made, but they can be stored in an airtight container to enjoy the next day.

BAKED PACZKIS USING A BREAD MACHINE

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order they are listed.
• Start dough cycle.
• When cycle is complete knead dough on a lightly floured surface, adding more flour if needed until dough is no longer sticky.
• Roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut with a 3 inch round.
• Place on a greased cookie sheet, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and immediately brush paczkis with melted butter and then roll in sugar.
• Use a pastry bag fitted with a round tip to squirt jam into doughnut, resist the urge to overfill as it will run out everywhere.