History

A 1496 royal privilege from King Jan Olbracht granted Kraków's bakers exclusive rights to bake obwarzanek during Lent. The ring's name comes from the Polish 'obwarzać' (to par-boil). The dough is shaped into a ring, boiled briefly, then baked, giving it the same chewy crumb-and-crisp crust as a New York bagel (with which it shares a likely common ancestor in 17th-century Polish-Jewish baking). The EU registered the obwarzanek krakowski as a Protected Geographical Indication in 2010. About 150,000 rings leave Kraków's red-and-yellow carts every day; they cost 2 to 3 zl each.

Common allergens: Gluten, Sesame seeds on the seeded variant

Make it at home

Yield Makes 8 ringsHands-on 30 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g strong white flour
  • 10g fresh yeast (or 4g instant dry yeast)
  • 10g sea salt
  • 10g sugar
  • 30ml sunflower oil
  • 300ml warm water
  • For boiling: 2 litres water with 2 tablespoons honey
  • For finish: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or coarse sea salt

Method

  1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in 100 ml of the warm water, leave 10 minutes until foamy.
  2. Combine flour and salt in a bowl, add the yeast mixture, remaining water and oil. Knead 10 minutes to a smooth elastic dough.
  3. Rest the dough covered 45 minutes until doubled.
  4. Divide into 8 pieces. Roll each into a 30 cm rope, then twist two ropes together and pinch the ends into a ring about 12 cm across.
  5. Bring the honey water to a gentle boil. Drop the rings in two at a time and boil 30 seconds per side. Lift with a slotted spoon and place on a baking tray lined with parchment.
  6. Brush with water, sprinkle with sesame, poppy or salt, and bake at 220°C for 18 minutes until deep gold.

Tip from the editors. Eat within 30 minutes of leaving the oven. Older rings turn rubbery; that's why the carts sell them by the hour, not by the day.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat obwarzanek krakowski

Obwarzanek krakowski in Kraków

Obwarzanek Krakowski (Rynek Główny carts) ★ 4.4

Daily 06:00-22:00Walk-in onlyObwarzanek krakowski

The red-and-yellow obwarzanek krakowski carts on Kraków's Rynek Główny sell the EU-protected salted ring bread, hot, for 2 to 3 zl. About 150,000 leave the carts daily.

Tip: Choose poppy seed, sesame or salt. Best within 30 minutes of leaving the oven; older rings turn rubbery.

Worth the queue: Obwarzanek hot from the cart

Rynek Główny, 31-042 Kraków

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