An ' (, plural: ' ; also spelled ') is a braided ring-shaped

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

that is boiled and sprinkled with

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

and sesame or

poppy seed Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the poppy plant (''Papaver somniferum''). The tiny, kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. It is still widely used in many countries, ...

s before being baked. 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 , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, where it has the status of a regional food with protected geographical indication. It is closely related to, but distinct from, bagels, bubliks and pretzels.

Etymology

The term ' is Polish. The Polish noun ', or ', derives from the verb ', "to parboil", which refers to the distinctive technique of boiling the dough before baking. The adjective ' denotes anything coming from or related to the city of Kraków.

Description

An ' 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 ' is in diameter, thick, and weighs . 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. ' 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 Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

flakes, etc.

History

The earliest known references to ' being baked in Kraków, Poland's former royal capital, appear in the accounts of the court of Queen Jadwiga and her consort King Vladislaus II Jagiełło. An entry dated to 2 March 1394 mentions the product using both its Polish name and its equivalent in Polish

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

, ', or "rings": "for the queen, for rings of ' 1 '". In 1496, King John Albert granted the bakers' guild of the city of Kraków a monopoly on baking white bread, including '. This privilege was subsequently confirmed by all Polish kings up to John III Sobieski. Initially, ' could be made only during

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

by bakers specially designated for that purpose by the guild. The guild issued a decree in 1611 regulating the sale of ' inside the city walls and the choice of bakers who were allowed to sell them. A radical change took place in the 19th century. On 22 January 1802, a decree was signed which stipulated that any baker had the right to bake ' when it was his turn to do so. The bakers authorised to bake ' were selected by the drawing of lots. The custom of drawing lots probably ended in 1849, there being no evidence that it continued after that date. This could mean that, over time, the rules were relaxed and any baker could make ' on any day of the year, as is still the case today. protected geographical indication) may be produced only in the city of Kraków and the adjacent

and Wieliczka counties." width=200 height=200 zoom=8 latitude=50.1 longitude=19.9 align=left> , //Kraków city , //Kraków county //Wieliczka county /mapframe> ' were sold from stalls which opened before 6 a.m. so that the inhabitants of Kraków could buy them freshly baked early in the morning. The guild monitored the quality and freshness of the products, eight of its members being responsible for carrying out checks on stalls. Any transgressions were severely punished. Eventually, people started selling ' in other ways. As late as the 1950s, they were sold straight from wicker baskets. In modern times, ' have been sold not only in shops and bakeries, but also from street carts. There are between 170 and 180 such carts offering ' in Kraków today. An average of almost 150,000 are sold on the Kraków market in a single day. The ' 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 ' (Our Culinary Heritage) competition, and received a prize at the 2003 Polagra Farm international fair in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. It always features at the ' bread festival, an event that is held regularly in Kraków.

References

Sources

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External links

10 Must-Have Foods from Polish Cities
* {{Street food Culture in Kraków Polish cuisine Street food Sweet breads Yeast breads Polish products with protected designation of origin