Regional baking goods - "obwarzanek"

Have you ever heard about obwarzanek? I’m sure the most of you have, but have you eaten it in Poznań? I haven’t, even if I had looked for it in some bakeries in the city, and its lack surprised me a lot. In fact, it is difficult to get it in this part of Poland. I remember that in my home town (I’m from the South-East Poland) it has been a common part of the assortment of every bakery - a “must-have”-  and I’m sure it still is.

The thing is that it is a regional product, registered on the list of European Union in 2010. Not much time ago, but the history of obwarzanek is very long – the first mention about it dates the 14^th century. It used to be baked exclusively on Lent in Cracow, but now it has no religious connotation. The other Slavic countries have similar types of baked goods, known under different names.

According to the restrictions of EU, obwarzanek "should be between 12 and 17 centimeters in diameter, weigh 80 to 120 grams and its color should range from golden to light brown". The ingredients include flour, fat, yeast, sugar, water and salt. Before baking, the dough is shortly boiled – “obwarzać” in old Polish, and that’s the word that originated obwarzanek. It has very characteristic shape – it’s made of an oblong twisted piece of dough that forms a circle. It may contain poppy seed, sesam or salt on top. It’s very tasty, slightly sweet and it may be eaten without other additions, just as a snack – and I suppose that’s the most common way of consuming it. It is possible to eat it as a roll, though – you have just cut it on longways and cover with honey, jam or cottage cheese.