A Baker Man Am I

This week I was invited to watch and experience the magic of The Paczki.

After spending some time in the Royal George Theatre for a preview of the new Musical “Hit Her With The Skates”, I drove up to Jefferson Park to visit at Delightful Pastries on Lawrence Avenue. I walked into the narrow store that was filled with great aromas and beautiful bakery items. I am a sucker for the “sweets” so getting me out for this adventure was easy as pie. Thank you Cindy Kurman for making this adventure a reality. “Delightful Pastries is celebrating over 20 years of serving the Jeff Park area. Our hostess was  Dobra Bielinski, pastry chef and founder of this establishment.

The others in the party were also writers of food things in and around Chicago and while many of them were more expert in the actual making of each item, I held my own with flavors and eating “sweets”.

While we were educated on the formulas of the dough and the flavors that were injected into the “paczki” I was more impressed in te actual process and what this tasty treat truly means.

“Fat Tuesday” which will soon be upon us is THE special day for this pastry delight. FYI The Polis community enjoys their on Fat Thursday, just before Good Friday and the start of Lent. New Orleans has inspired the nation to tie this into Mardi Gras and it works. The flavors that are offered during Mardi Gras season and amazing with different liquors, juices, fruits and a variety that could drive you wild and your scale to rise.

The “paczki” is available all year, but in basic fillings and flavors.

After tasting a few of these, we went to the back of the kitchen with our hostess to  learn how to make delicious paczki, a Polish specialty for Mardi Gras.

We watched her explain the homemade dough then fry it , take out of the oil and glaze, and then the  filling of  it. What a cool machine this one is. You just put the dough on the point, push and shoot. Voila, it is filled. While it sounds so easy, one must know that the dough must settle for about 20 hours, so this is not something that most people will take on at home. That is why places such as Delightful Pastries exist. FYI the logo is in small letters, BUT I was so impressed by this specialty shop, I felt they deserved to be caps.

They do run classes for this every year, so check their website for your opportunity to make these special pastries for your family. Their website is www.delightfulpastries.com and they are located at 5927 W. Lawrence Avenue in Chicago. The phone number is 773-545-7215. They use all natural ingredients and from local suppliers.

I must tell you that I took home a few of the batch made while there and Jane and I celebrated “Fat Tuesday” on Wednesday before heading down to our next assignment.