Easy Polish Food

POLISH BABKA, ROBERT STRYBEL, NO-KNEAD, EASY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mash the yeast cake with the sugar (note: the compressed yeast cake can be substituted with a package of active dry yeast; to activate, follow the directions on the package).
• Beat the 3 eggs and add to the yeast mixture.
• Heat the milk to very warm and dissolve the butter in it. Let cool slightly. Add to the yeast/egg mixture and add the flour, salt, grated lemon rind, vanilla extract and the dried fruit (I like cranberries, raisins, walnuts.) Mix well to blend all ingredients, but do not knead.
• Grease (here's where Kittencal's pan coating comes in handy, #78579) a 9-1/2 inch Babka pan, brioche mold, Bundt pan, or other tube pan and fill with the dough to about 1/3 full. (I use two 8" fluted babka pans.) Cover with cloth and let stand in warm place for about 2 hours (until the Babka dough has doubled in size.).
• Towards the end of the rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When risen, place the Babka inside and bake it for about 40-45 minutes. (Note, if you use bakeware that is dark or colored on the outside, set the oven at 325 deg Fahrenheit.) It is fully baked when a wooden pick comes out clean. Should be a medium brown. If too light it will be underdone and damp.
• After baking, remove the Babka from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Carefully remove from pan and dust it with confectioner's sugar or glaze with icing.
• For the icing, combine the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, and boiling water in a small bowl and mix together.
• If you glaze the Babka with the icing, sprinkle it with chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, raisins or finely chopped candied orange rind, before the icing sets.
• Let it cool completely before serving. Wrap leftovers tightly with plastic wrap for storage at room temperature. For longer storage, you can freeze the Babka, tightly sealed in a plastic bag.
• Cooking Tips: Soak dried fruits in brandy or Grand Marnier before using.

MOM'S NALESNIKI (SURPRISINGLY EASY POLISH CREPES)

Steps:

• Combine the flour, salt, egg and 1/2 cup each of milk and water and blend with hand mixer.
• Keep adding the remaining milk and water until you get a batter that's a bit thinner than sour cream. I've included some pictures to get an idea, but it should be pretty runny.
• Heat a frying pan (approx. 9" diameter) over high heat and spray with non-stick spray (or coat with oil that can withstand high temperatures).
• Pour about one and a quarter soup ladle on the center of the hot, greased pan. Tilt the pan immediately to spread the batter around. Remember, the batter may look really thin in spots, but that's ok, it'll still flip once it's cooked through (this is where I always went wrong because it seemed too thin and I panicked, but if it gets too thick it won't set properly).
• Let cook for a few minutes, depending on how hot the pan is this could take from 1-3 minutes. You can tell when it's ready to flip when 1) the crepe slides around when you move the pan and 2) you don't see anymore soft or uncooked areas in the top of the crepe. They're pretty thin so you can literally see the runny sections firm up!
• Flip the crepe over and cook for 30seconds - 1 minutes then slide onto a plate.
• If folding with any mixture, place mixture on half of crepe, fold over then fold over again so you get a quarter triangle. Depending on the filling, they can be served immediately or if using cheese filling (described in the intro, adjust ingredients to your personal preference), fry them up in a bit of butter to get the outside crispy and melt the cheese a bit. For jam or apple sauce, we just roll them up and top with sour cream and/or sugar.