Pączki dough calculator
Traditional Polish pączki: yolk-rich milk dough with a splash of spirit, fried at 175 °C.
20 × 60 g · 55% hydration
Type how much flour you have — the portion weight recalculates.
Pączki — the Polish doughnut in its traditional form: a yolk-rich milk dough with a splash of spirit, fried in deep fat at 175 °C and filled with rose jam or powidła. The formula is Moje Wypieki’s, with Kwestia Smaku as the cross-check.
How it works
The dough
Milk 50%, six yolks plus a whole egg per kilo of flour (11% + 5%), sugar 12%, butter 10% and — the traditional detail — 4% spirytus or vodka. Fresh yeast runs a hearty 5% because the schedule is warm and quick: about 1.5 hours of bulk and a half-hour proof.
Why the alcohol
The spirit is not flavoring — it evaporates violently at frying temperature, and the tradition holds that it limits how much fat the dough drinks. A pączek without it fries greasier; the 4% dose is the published, time-tested amount.
Frying at 175 °C
Roll and cut, or round, ~60 g pieces; proof until light, then fry in deep lard or rapeseed oil at 175 °C, about two minutes per side — the pale waistband ring means the proof was right. Fill with marmolada or rose jam and glaze while warm.
FAQ
How much yeast is traditional?
Moje Wypieki uses 5% fresh; Kwestia Smaku doses fully double at 10% for an even faster rise. Both are respected — this calculator defaults to the gentler 5%, which gives the crumb a little more time to develop.
Pączki vs American doughnuts?
Pączki are richer in yolks, carry the spirit, and are traditionally fried in lard and filled after with rose jam or powidła. The American glazed ring is leaner in yolk, butter-and-milk based, and ring-cut — it has its own calculator here.
Why did mine soak up fat?
Fat too cool, dough overproofed, or the spirit skipped. Hold the fat at 175 °C between batches — the temperature drop when dough goes in is the classic trap.