This sweet bread is topped with buttery crumb topping for a delicious treat. Bake it as a loaf or as a round for an extra special treat with your coffee or tea. It is an Easter time tradition, but is great all year long.
This sweet treat is part bread and part coffee cake. It is a perfect addition to your breakfast or brunch menu. It is fabulous on its own fresh, but with a smear of butter or jam it is great for several days.
It is an Easter tradition in many places, but there is no reason you can’t enjoy a slice any time. A batch makes two loaves (or cakes) so enjoy one now and freeze one for later!
With Easter right around the corner, I knew I wanted to do something fun and a little different. With this year’s Easter Open House being a brunch theme, I had the perfect venue to serve lots of coffee cake!
Nana’s family is Polish, so I thought it would be fun to try out another fun Polish recipe. The lemony babka from I made last year around Easter was so fun, I knew there had to be more delicious Polish recipes that would fit the bill.
There were quite a few fun versions of Polish placek out there. All started with a rich yeast dough, full of butter and eggs.
Then they are topped with a crumb topping called Kruszynki. Most were baked in loaf pans and they all looked delicious.
I found a recipe on a Polish parish’s website that was from a newspaper clipping dated March 17, 1966. This is Mrs. Mary Lipinski’s recipe of 124 Colt Street, city unknown.
It seemed like Mary might know a thing or two about placek, so I knew this would be the recipe I would go with.
The first time I made it, I followed the recipe to a “T.” That is always a great place to start, especially when it comes to baking.
That was a really large recipe, meant to yield 4 loafs. Which is a lot of placek, even for my big family of eaters. So this time I decided to make some tweaks and shrink it down a bit.
Two loaves seemed like a more appropriate amount to make at a time. However, if you need 4, just hit the 2x button in the recipe card and it will do the math for you.
Placek History and Pronunciation
It seems like the word placek just means cake in Polish. It is pronounced “plah-sek.”
I am not sure how original this is to Poland itself, but it seems a lot of American cities with large Polish population have a history of placek. It is often served at Easter time.
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I suppose that is why almost every recipe you find makes a TON. I suppose the grandmas doing the baking are expecting a crowd.
Luckily they do freeze well, so I guess if you are baking some you might as well bake a lot. Then you can have an easy treat later.
Most recipes include golden raisins in the dough. You can add them in while you are mixing it up.
I am not surprised as my Polish babka recipe also included raisins. My family is mixed on being raisin fans, so I opted to leave them out this time.
You can also add nuts to the crumb mixture. Walnuts seem to be a popular addition, but again I opted to leave them out this time.
Things to Know Before You Start
This bread essentially rises three times. There is the sponge, the proofing and the final rise.
So it does take a little time, but that equals flavor! If you want to spread it out, you can chill the dough after the proof.
Just cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put the proved dough in the refrigerator for up to three days. Let it come back to room temperature, then put it in your prepared baking pans.
The dough is more of a thick batter. It will not come into a ball like regular bread dough. It should get kind of smooth and elastic as the gluten is worked, but it will remain sticky and loose.
You can mix in all of the flour by hand, but you will thank yourself if you use a mixer. It makes getting the gluten developed a lot easier!
Polish Placek
Ingredients
Sponge
- 1 cup milk
- 2½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast 1 pkg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Dough
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- dash nutmeg
- zest of lemon or orange or 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
Crumb Topping
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
Sponge
- Warm the 1 cup milk to about 105°F. It should be warm to the touch, but not so warm you couldn't keep your finger it in.
- Pour into a large bowl. Stir in the 2½ teaspoons granulated sugar and 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast, let sit for about 15 minutes. It should by foamy and active.
- Stir in the 1 cup all-purpose flour and let sit until about doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
- During this time pull the ½ cup unsalted butter and 3 large eggs out of the refrigerator for the dough if you haven't already.
Dough
- Cream together the ½ cup unsalted butter and 1 cup granulated sugar until it's light and fluffy.
- Add the 3 large eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
- Stir in the ½ teaspoon salt, dash nutmeg and zest of lemon or orange or extract.
- Add 1 cup flour, beating until combined. Add sponge and remaining 1½ cups flour. Beat for 5 minutes on medium speed. The batter should be smooth and elastic, but still sticky. It is more of a stiff batter than a ball of dough.
- Place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow to rise until doubled, about 1½ – 2 hours.
- The proofed dough can be left covered and refrigerated for up the 3 days at this point. (Just allow it to come to room temperature again before proceeding.)
Crumb Topping and Baking
- Grease 2 9×5-inch loaf pans, 2 9-inch round cake pans, or one of each. Punch down the proofed dough and put half in each pan. Using damp or greased fingers, press the dough to the edges of the pan.
- Cut together the 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, and ½ cup all-purpose flour until the mixture is crumbly and well mixed. Sprinkle half over each part of the dough. Press lightly to affix to the dough.
- Cover and let rise until they are risen almost to the top of the pans, about 1½ hours.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake 35-40 minutes. They should be golden on top.
- Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and place on wire rack until completely cool.
- Store in airtight container at room temperature or wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Serve slightly warmed or at room temperature with a spread of butter or preserves.
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Add sponge?? Look where it says in instructions at add 1 cup flour
Yes, what you are making in the first set of steps. Generally a sponge in baking is a mix of some of the ingredients that are allowed to ferment a bit before being added to the dough. This is usually done for both flavor and texture. So when it says “add sponge,” you are adding the part of the dough you made in the first 4 steps.