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Pączki [puhnch · kee] n. “a traditional Polish doughnut, filled with jam or another sweet filling and covered with powdered sugar or icing.”
The story goes that the people of Poland would consume all their sweets, butters and fruits in preparation for Lent to begin, and so began Pączki!
These delicious, deep-fried delicacies are a wonderfully over-filled pastry similar to a donut but with denser dough to hold the amount of delicious filling inside. And, in my humble opinion, you really can’t go wrong with any of the filling options! Pittsburgh’s Polish heritage makes our city a Pączki paradise.
Enter Oakmont Bakery
We happily went behind the pastry cases at Oakmont Bakery (AKA heaven on earth) for a firsthand view on how pączki are made. Oakmont Bakery sells approximately 10,000 pączki (yeah we said THOUSAND) each weekend leading up to Lent, and 20,000 the weekend before Fat Tuesday, so we figured getting the tasty details straight from the source is exactly what you want.
The Pączki Process
Step 1:
Make the dough. Simple enough, right?
Step 2:
Portion out the dough into perfect little pączki pillows.
FILL. Oakmont Bakery offers 16 different fillings from fruit jams to creams, custards and even maple bacon. Their most popular flavor? Pittsburgh Cream, of course!
Pick a flavor or fill a box with one of each and ENJOY!
We have one last tasty surprise. Our friends at Oakmont Bakery let us in on a sweet (not so) secret! 🤫 The Lenten season isn’t the only time the offer pączki.
Every summer for just one weekend in July, during the Oakmont Summer Street Sale, they bring back their best-selling holiday items including New Years Pretzels, Frakleberry Cookies, and you guessed it – PĄCZKI! Did someone say Christmas in July?
More Places for Pittsburgh Pączki
Need more pączki? Us, too! 😍 Here are a few more bakeries around Pittsburgh that will surely curb your pączki palate:
