These 15 Bakeries Serve The Best Paczki In Michigan
By Serena Maria Daniels|Published February 08, 2016
×
Serena Maria Daniels
Author
Serena Maria Daniels is an award-winning freelance journalist in Detroit, by way of Chicago, by way of the West Coast. She writes about Michigan for OIYS. Serena enjoys learning about language and culture and taking road trips with her beagle Ralph.
Some know this coming Tuesday as Fat Tuesday. Others know it as Mardi Gras. In some parts of Michigan, we know it by another name: Paczki Day. In keeping with the tradition of indulging in sweets and booze on the day before Lent, the paczki (pronounced poon-ki) is a glutenous Polish pastry that resembles a jelly-filled donut. Difference is, these things are maybe three times the size of your typical donut and they’re loaded with a variety of fillings. Think rose hip, prune and custard, for starters.
The epicenter of Paczki Day is the tiny, traditionally Polish town of Hamtramck, where folks drive from all over to stand in line in the mom and pop bakeries to get their fix by the dozen or more. Bakeries all over the state also offer the Fat Tuesday pastry and we’ve identified some for you just in case you haven’t decided where to get yours yet. Check ’em out.
15) Achatz Handmade Pie Co., multiple locations, Metro Detroit
This old-school bakery was founded in 1929 by Barney Zielinski and the spot has been using his same paczki recipe ever since. Hey, when you got a good thing going, there's no reason to change.
A Flint staple since 1963, this spot is popular all year 'round, but things get really busy come Fat Tuesday season when folks pack the shop to get in on the action.
The rest of the year this unassuming donut shop is a popular spot for folks on coffee breaks from work. During Fat Tuesday season, they transform into a southwest Detroit paczki headquarters.
The bakers here work killer overtime to make sure the hundreds of dozens they expect to sell are ready to fly out the door when the customers come streaming in. Choose from seven varieties.
The Polish population in the UP is more scarce than down south, but that doesn't stop the folks at Huron Mountain Bakery from cranking out the good stuff come Fat Tuesday.
This high-end grocery is unique in that they have their paczki "imported" from Hamtramck - from New Palace Bakery, to be exact (more on New Palace later). If you're going to send out for paczki, you may as well go straight to the source, is Market 22's motto.
OK, this one makes our list because of the sheer ingenuity involved in its paczki-making. Familiar with the concept of the maple donut, topped with bacon bits? This smokehouse takes it a HUGE step further and and offers a special kind of paczki with a twist. Each is smothered in creamy maple glaze and then topped with candied bacon.
This hugely popular west Michigan bakery has been around since 1937. This time of year, they're known for their Bavarian cream, chocolate Bavarian and Holland cream paczki, as well as their drunken variety with spiced rum.
Acclaimed West Village pie shop Sister Pie has entered the paczki game with its unique three variety, available on Fat Tuesday. They'll dish out a dark chocolate tahini rye, a poppy lemon rose and a headscratcher, a savory one they call a "pieraczki," which is a pierogi-paczki hybrid (we hear potato is among the ingredients). We'll file this under the "say whaaaaa" category.
4) Quality Dairy, multiple locations, Lansing area
When it comes to Hamtramck paczki spots, we tend to think of the old-school Polish bakeries. But if you're in a hurry to wrap your mouth around a simple paczki, consider some alternatives, like Family Donut. Under Muslim ownership, these Halal-prepared donuts may be just a wee bit less glutenous as they do not make 'em with lard.
Now we're getting into expert territory. This classic Hamtramck bakery is the type of spot that gets customers salivating in the wee hours of the morning.
Call us biased, but this is by far our favorite paczki spot in all of Michigan. But don't take our word for it. The lines outside the door and around the corner should be sign enough for you to know that this place is the real paczki deal.
We don’t know about you, but we feel like we’ve gained 15 pounds just looking at all the paczki options. While we think this list will give you sufficient number of choices, we know there are tons of hidden paczki treasures tucked away in Michigan bakeries large and small. Tell us about your favorites!
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
