Obwarzanek krakowski
 An obwarzanek krakowski sprinkled with poppy seeds | |
| Type | Street food |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Kraków, Poland |
| Associated cuisine | Polish |
| Serving temperature | Room temperature |
| Main ingredients | Wheat flour, fat (usually lard), yeast, sugar, salt |
| Ingredients generally used | Coarse salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds (for sprinkling) |
| Variations | Depend on the sprinkling |
| Similar dishes | Bagel, bublik, pretzel |
An obwarzanek krakowski (Polish pronunciation: [ɔbvaˈʐanɛk kraˈkɔfskʲi], plural: obwarzanki krakowskie [ɔbvaˈʐaŋkʲi kraˈkɔfskʲɛ]; also spelled obarzanek[1]) is a braided ring-shaped bread that is boiled and sprinkled with salt and sesame or poppy seeds before being baked, similar to a bagel. It has a white, sweetish, moist and chewy crumb underneath a crunchy golden-brown crust. Traditionally sold from street carts, it is a popular snack in the Polish city of Kraków, where it has the status of a regional food with protected geographical indication. Similar to bagels and bubliks it is derived, but distinct, from pretzels.
Etymology
[edit]The term obwarzanek krakowski is Polish. The Polish noun obwarzanek, or obarzanek, derives from the verb obwarzać, "to parboil",[2] which refers to the distinctive technique of boiling the dough before baking. The adjective krakowski denotes anything coming from or related to the city of Kraków.
Description
[edit]An obwarzanek krakowski is a ring-shaped baked product with a hole in the middle. It takes the form of an oval or, seldom, a circle. Its surface is formed by strands of dough, round or oval in cross-section, twisted into a spiral. The colour ranges from light golden to light brown, with a distinct sheen. A typical obwarzanek is 12–17 centimetres (5–7 in) in diameter, 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) thick, and weighs 80–120 grams (3–4 oz).[3]
The visible strands of the spiral on the crust are firmish to the touch and the surface varies from smooth to slightly rough. The crumb inside is pale, soft and slightly moist. The taste is sweetish, which is typical of bakery products that are first parboiled and then baked. Obwarzanki are traditionally decorated by sprinkling them with various ingredients, including coarse salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, nigella seeds, mixed herbs or mixed spices (paprika, caraway, pepper), grated cheese, onion flakes, etc.[3]
History
[edit]
The obwarzanek, like the bagel, is derived from the pretzel. Pretzel's held religious significance due to both their ingredients and their shape. Pretzels were made using a simple recipe of flour and water, meaning they could be eaten during Lent when Christians were forbidden from eating eggs, lard or dairy products[4]. As pretzels spread across Europe they made their way to Poland, where the German "beugel" ("ring", or "bracelet" became "bagel"[5] Obwarzanek itself is derived from the Polish word for parboiling, a distinctive process to bagel making. It is believed that the bagel was further developed from this common root[6].
The earliest known references to obwarzanki being baked in Kraków, Poland's former royal capital, appear in the accounts of the court of Queen Jadwiga and her consort King Władysław II Jagiełło. An entry dated to 2 March 1394 mentions the product using both its Polish name and its equivalent in Polish Medieval Latin, circuli,[7] or "rings": "for the queen, for rings of obwarzanki [pro circulis obarzankij], 1 grosz".[3][8]
In modern times, obwarzanki have been sold not only in shops and bakeries, but also from street carts. There are between 170 and 180 such carts offering obwarzanki in Kraków today. An average of almost 150,000 are sold on the Kraków market in a single day.[3]
The obwarzanek krakowski often features in campaigns to promote Kraków. As a well-known symbol of Kraków and Lesser Poland, it is often used in advertising aimed at locals and tourists alike. It has also won an award at the Nasze Kulinarne Dziedzictwo (Our Culinary Heritage) competition, and received a prize at the 2003 Polagra Farm international fair in Poznań. It always features at the Święto Chleba bread festival, an event that is held regularly in Kraków.[3]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Słownik języka polskiego PWN.
- ^ Balinska (2008), p. 15.
- ^ a b c d e f PL-PGI-005-0674.
- ^ "Catholic Culture : Liturgical Year : Pretzels for God: Lent and the Pretzel (Activity)". www.catholicculture.org. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
- ^ Davidson, Alan (2006). Jaine, Tom (ed.). The Oxford companion to food (2. ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280681-9.
- ^ "Three Centuries of Bagels". The Jewish Daily Forward. Archived from the original on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
- ^ Dembińska (1999), p. 115.
- ^ Przezdziecki (1854), p. 304.
Sources
[edit]- "obwarzanek". Słownik języka polskiego PWN. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- Balinska, Maria (2008). The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11229-0.
- Council Regulation (EC) 510/2006, "Obwarzanek krakowski" EC No. PL-PGI-005-0674. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- Dembińska, Maria (1999). Weaver, William Woys (ed.). Food and Drink in Medieval Poland: Rediscovering a Cuisine of the Past. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-3224-0.
- Przezdziecki, Alexander (1854). "Życie domowe Jadwigi i Jagiełły: z regestrów skarbowych z lat 1388–1417" [Private Life of Hedwig and Jagiełło: From Treasury Registers of 1388–1417]. Biblioteka Warszawska (in Polish). 2. Warszawa: Drukarnia Stanisława Strąbskiego: 299–320.
Further reading
[edit]- Czaja, Izabela; Gadocha, Marcin (2008). Obwarzanek krakowski: historia, tradycja, symbolika [Obwarzanek Krakowski: History, Tradition, Symbolism] (in Polish). Kraków: Bartosz Głowacki. ISBN 9788392686705.
External links
[edit]- 10 Must-Have Foods from Polish Cities
Media related to Obwarzanek at Wikimedia Commons
Ring and knot-shaped breads | ||
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| Ring-shaped |  | |
| Knot-shaped | ||
