These 10 Polish Breakfast Recipes Are a Sweet Start to the Day

Bialys

"If you like bagels, you're going to love these bialys," says Chef John. "They're not as heavy and dense as bagels, and they have a savory onion-poppy seed filling (but feel free to fill these with anything you like) that combined with the chewy, light dough is absolutely magical! I might only be 25% Polish, but my take on bialys was 100% amazing."

Basic Babka

Roll this sweet yeast dough out, fill, and roll back up like a jelly roll. Then cut, twist, and bake in a loaf pan. "This Jewish treat is a hybrid of sweet roll, swirl bread, and coffee cake," says Nicholio. "Don't worry: It looks fancy, but it's seriously easy to do. And once you get the dough down, you can try it with other fillings."

Racuchy z Jablkami (Polish Apple Pancakes)

"These Polish pancakes are super popular in Poland and are often eaten as a dessert there, but I make them for breakfast here for my kids," says Olenka. "Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar or topped with sour cream."

Polish Doughnuts

These Polish-inspired yeast doughnuts are typically coated with sugar. "I filled mine with a Boston cream filling and dipped in melted, dark chocolate chips," says What's for dinner, mom? "We loved these! Nice and light for filling." Another reviewer used the dough to make Polish sausage rolls (kolachies).

Ponczki

"This is the 'traditional' ponczki made by most Polish Grandmothers, like mine," says Karen Gibson. "These take time and patience, but the product is worth it. Preferred, traditional frying method is with lard but oil will work fine. I usually mix equal portions. Grandma used a large paper bag, and dropped them in immediately after removing from the fryer. The bag absorbs a lot of the oil. Then, she transferred them to another clean bag, added her choice of coating, and shook the bag."

Drozdzowka (Polish Yeast Plum Cake)

The original recipe for this Polish plum cake makes two loaves or one 11x13-inch cake. "Pronounced dhroz-djoo-vka, is a typical Polish yeast cake, usually enjoyed on Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea or coffee," says Cooking Monster. "This is the first ever cake I managed to successfully bake (at the age of 13), and since then I have been baking it for my friends in various spots around the world, including Negev Desert in Israel where I used a solar oven (6 hours baking time)."

Polish Poppy Seed Rolls

"A real Polish poppy seed roll is actually baked in a loaf, then sliced and served, but here I tried to do individual rolls instead, as well as tweak a few other things," says Chef John. "So, while not 100% authentic, these were 100% amazing."

Polish Nalesniki

Dessert or breakfast? The answer, of course, is both. "Sweet cheese filling goes well with sweet Polish nalesniki, also known as Polish blintzes or filled crepes," says danilynn1978. "Once filled and rolled, they can be baked, pan-fried, or dipped in beaten egg and bread crumbs and fried. Serve with fruit sauce, like a fresh blueberry sauce, if desired."

Piernik - Honey Bread

Delicious smeared with a little butter, this semi-sweet quick bread features raisins, walnuts, spices, and honey. "This is a recipe from my Polish grandmother," says ZURIELLE. "I grew up on this stuff and it has always been one of my favorites."

Sweet Polish Cherry Cake

"A delicious homemade Polish cake with cherries for the whole family," says Plvic-52.

• Check out our collection of Polish Recipes.

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