The story behind the recipe
According to Polish Wikipedia, racuchy are small, fluffy pancakes fried to a golden color. The batter is made from flour and liquid (water, milk, sour milk, kefir, or buttermilk) with eggs and something to leaven it: yeast, baking powder, baking soda, or less commonly, whipped egg whites. Typical racuchy are made with apples, but they can also be made with rhubarb, plums, bananas, or dried fruits. Wiktionary lists other names: raczuch, ajerkuch, brąziak, and in Kashubia, they are called ruchanka. According to Wiktionary, the word came from Belarusian through Mazovia and is derived from "hreczuszek," buckwheat pancakes fried in oil, but this is only mentioned in one source, so it is not certain.
On the List of Traditional Products by the Ministry of Agriculture, there are two entries from Lublin. "Yeast racuchy with apples from Dokudów," entered on April 19, 2018, is made with water instead of milk, with apples cut into cubes. The entry describes them as oval pancakes with a diameter of 8–10 cm, with ragged edges, golden brown on the outside and light cream on the inside. In Dokudów, they were eaten without a special occasion, usually for dessert, dusted with sugar. "Baranów racuchy" from Baranów, entered on November 16, 2021, is a batter made from yeast, flour, sugar, and water, without milk and eggs. The entry calls it a "multi-generational tradition."
In Podlasie, racuchy are served during the Christmas Eve dinner, as Wikipedia states. The entry from Dokudów also mentions that yeast racuchy are a Christmas dish, but they are made without eggs and apples at that time. The Polonist blog bases its recipe for apple racuchy on the "Polish Cuisine" by Stanisław Berger from 1969. Wikipedia also cites Śleżańska from 1932, according to which potato pancakes were traditionally fried in lard.
Ingredients
Starter
-
25 g fresh yeast (taken out of the fridge earlier)
Abroad: 8 g dry instant yeast; USA: instant yeast or active dry yeast; UK: fast action dried yeast; Germany: Frischhefe or Trockenhefe - 1 tsp (about 4 g) sugar
- 1 tbsp (about 7.5 g) wheat flour
-
50 ml whole milk 3.2% (warm, 38–40°C (100–104°F))
Abroad: whole milk
Batter
-
290 g wheat flour (cake flour type 450 or Poznań type 500)
Abroad: USA: all-purpose flour; UK: plain flour; Germany: Type 405 or 550 -
200 ml whole milk 3.2% (warm, 38–40°C (100–104°F))
Abroad: whole milk - 1 pc egg (size M)
- 1 tbsp (about 13 g) sugar
-
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla sugar (not necessarily)
Abroad: Germany: Vanillezucker; USA and UK: a few drops of vanilla extract - 1 pinch salt
Apples and frying
-
400 g sour apples (2–3 medium, for example, Reneta)
Abroad: Granny Smith, Braeburn, or Jonagold; Germany: Boskoop -
150 ml rapeseed oil (or clarified butter)
Abroad: clarified butter: ghee; Germany: Butterschmalz -
2 tbsp (about 14 g) powdered sugar (for dusting, 2–3 tablespoons)
Abroad: USA: powdered sugar; UK: icing sugar; Germany: Puderzucker
Method, step by step
-
Starter: crumble the yeast into a cup, add a teaspoon of sugar, a tablespoon of flour, and 50 ml of warm milk, 38–40°C (100–104°F). The milk should be warm, not hot, because hot kills the yeast. Mix until smooth and set aside for 10–15 minutes until it froths and rises.
-
Sift the flour into a large bowl together with the salt, sugar, and vanilla sugar, and make a well in the center. Pour in the starter and the rest of the warm milk, and crack in the egg.
-
Stir with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth, lump-free, and full of air bubbles. It should be thick and sticky, thicker than pancake batter, and slowly flow from the spoon. If it is too thin, add a tablespoon of flour, and if too thick, add a little milk.
-
Cover the bowl with a cloth and set it in a warm place until the batter doubles in volume. Depending on the yeast and the warmth in the kitchen, this takes from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.
-
In the meantime, peel the apples, cut them into quarters, remove the seeds, and slice them thinly or dice them into 1 cm (½ inch) pieces. If you prefer grated apples, grate them on a coarse grater and squeeze out the juice well.
-
Add the apples to the risen batter and gently fold them in to avoid deflating the air. Set aside for another 10–15 minutes.
-
In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat to a depth of about 1 cm (½ inch). Dip a spoon in water and place heaping spoonfuls of batter, 4–5 racuchy at a time, with space in between, as they spread out. Once the batter is in the skillet, reduce the heat.
-
Fry for about 2–2.5 minutes on each side until the racuchy are deep golden, and flip them with a spatula. Before each subsequent batch, add a little more oil.
-
Drain the fried racuchy on paper towels. If you want to keep them warm, hold them in a single layer in an oven preheated to 80°C (176°F), as stacked on top of each other they become soft.
-
When the racuchy have cooled slightly, just before serving, dust them with powdered sugar.
Photos
