Paczki worth the wait

by James Zimmerman

Fat Tuesday brings a familiar treat to Windsorites once a year and bakeries prepare weeks before to deliver the sweet stuff.

Paczki are a popular treat for Windsorites to eat on Fat Tuesday. Traditionally, the reason for making paczki was to use up remaining lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in a home before the fasting practices of Lent began.

Blak’s Bakery has been making paczki in Windsor since 1918. Co-owner and co-manager Tony Blak said there is something distinct about paczki in Windsor

“My grandfather, the original owner of the bakery, said the way you could tell if someone was a spy in the city by asking them ‘Whats a paczki?’. If they didn’t know they weren’t from Windsor,” said Blak.

Paczki are largely a Polish tradition but spread across North America as Polish immigrants settled in Chicago and other large midwest U.S. cities.

A batch of paczki consist of approximately 1,200 doughnuts and takes around three hours to make according to Valerie Blak-Gill, Tony’s partner and sister. The recipe they use is the same one their grandfather used when he opened the bakery.

“We have 30 people working on various jobs. First we mix the dough from scratch. Then it goes onto the table and we scale it on presses,” said Blak-Gill. “Next we put it in a rounder which separates the dough into 36 small balls. We then put it on screens and into the proofer, then the fryer, then glazing, filling and finally packaging.”

The average paczki contains 429 calories, 102.6 grams of fat, 153 mg of cholesterol and 18.6 g of sugar.

“The average person would need to run about five miles to burn off one paczki. This does vary based on weight and speed. The faster you run, the quicker the calories will be burned,” said Deborah Ivey, personal trainer and coordinator of the Nutrition and Personal Trainer program at St. Clair College.

Paczki will be available Feb. 7 until Feb. 15 at several locations across the city. For a full list of local bakeries, visit themediaplex.com/Paczki