Fat Thursday is that special day when we can gorge ourselves on doughnuts without a guilty conscience! An old Polish custom says that on this occasion, you should eat at least one to ensure prosperity for the entire year! But where does the tradition of the Fat Thursday doughnut and celebrating this day come from? Learn about the history of Fat Thursday, the customs associated with it, and our doughnut recipe!

When is Fat Thursday in 2024?

The date of Fat Thursday is flexible and depends on the date of Easter in a given year. However, it always falls on the last Thursday of Carnival before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. In 2024, Fat Thursday will be celebrated on February 8.

What is the origin of Fat Thursday?

The origins of Fat Thursday date back to ancient Rome, where the farewell to winter and the arrival of spring were celebrated in a grand manner. The celebration mainly consisted of eating fatty foods, mainly meat, and drinking barrels of wine. Of course, the Romans did not know doughnuts at that time, but they prepared pancakes made of bread dough especially for the day of celebration, which they filled with bacon, meat and herbs.

Then, in Christian times, fat celebrations became part of the Shrovetide period, the last days of carnival, when the revelries and gluttony did not end until Ash Wednesday. However, even then, meat and other fatty dishes reigned supreme on the tables, as did, of course, alcohol.

How the donut has evolved over the centuries

Today, it may be hard for us to imagine that the first doughnuts were savoury, not sweet, and that their filling was bacon or bacon. They were also made from bread dough, which made them harder and denser, and were deep-fried in lard. However, it is worth bearing in mind that the original tradition of Fat Thursday indicated that on this day, we should eat fatty, not sweet, foods – which is also where the name of this ritual comes from.

It was not until the 16th century that doughnuts began to take on a sweet appearance, along with the spread of sweets, cakes and other delicacies in Europe. From that moment on, they were sprinkled with sugar and filled with jam. Then, from the end of the 17th century, thanks to the use of yeast for baking, => donuts became rounder and plumper. At that time, they took on different names: pampuchy, bliny, bambałuchy or kreple – depending on the country or region.

In Polish tradition, the first sweet doughnuts were not filled with jam, but some of them were filled with almonds or nuts. According to custom, the person who got such a filled doughnut could count on luck and prosperity for the whole year.

What for Fat Thursday besides doughnuts?

In the old Polish cuisine, not only doughnuts were popular on Fat Thursday, but also other fatty sweets - primarily faworki, also known as chrusty, racuchy and bliny. Nowadays, doughnuts still dominate on this day, but apart from the classic jam, they are filled with many other fillings, such as chocolate, advocaat, caramel, custard or cream. Similarly, doughnuts take on various colours and flavours on the top, depending on the type of icing and sprinkles. Apart from the traditional doughnuts for Fat Thursday, shops and => Confectionery shops there are also often faworki, cheese donuts, mini-donuts, nests and sweets from other countries, including donuts, muffins and Spanish churros. So everyone can choose their favourite treat – it doesn’t necessarily have to be a donut, but it’s important that it’s sweet.

Donut recipe

And what is the recipe for doughnuts? Even if you don't have your own, the Internet will provide you with many suggestions and tips on how to prepare doughnuts in the classic version, cheese doughnuts, Spanish doughnuts or mini doughnuts. Below is a simple recipe for traditional doughnuts.

Ingredients:

500 g wheat flour,

1 cup of warm milk,

4 egg yolks,

40 g sugar,

25 g fresh yeast,

50 g butter,

a pinch of salt,

2 tablespoons of spirit or rum,

1 liter of oil or lard for frying,

80 g of any jam for filling.

For the icing:

3 tablespoons of lemon juice,

10 tablespoons of powdered sugar.

First, you need to prepare the starter – mix the yeast with 1 tablespoon of flour and sugar and 3 tablespoons of warm milk. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave in a warm place for 15 minutes to let the starter rise. Then, in a large bowl, combine the ingredients for the dough: flour, a pinch of salt, 4 egg yolks, melted and cooled butter, warm milk, the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the starter. At this point, pour in the spirit or other alcohol, which makes the doughnuts absorb less fat when frying. Mix everything together and knead the dough, which should be quite sticky and loose. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave for about an hour to let the dough rise.

After this time, transfer them to a floured pastry board, roll them out to a thickness of about 2.5 cm and cut out doughnuts with a cookie cutter. When they are ready, cover them with a cloth and leave in a warm place for another 30 minutes. Then prepare a frying pan and fill it with oil or lard. Place the doughnuts in the heated fat and fry them until golden brown for 2-3 minutes on each side. Then fish them out with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel.

After frying, the doughnuts can be filled with jam or marmalade – it is best to use a syringe or a pastry bag for this purpose. Finally, make the icing. In a bowl, mix powdered sugar with lemon juice to achieve a smooth mass. It is best to icing slightly warm doughnuts, then the icing will spread nicely. Enjoy!