The name proziaki comes from the word “proza” — what baking soda was once called in Podkarpacie, in south-eastern Poland. Paired with buttermilk or soured milk, it does all the work: the dough rises right in the pan, with no yeast at all.

The recipe for proziaki was shared by the Polish food magazine Kuchnia.

These flatbreads were once made instead of bread, without firing up the stove oven. They still come in handy today: no oven is needed, and on a gas hob proziaki will cook even when the power is off.

They are cooked in a dry pan, without a drop of oil. Inside they stay soft and fluffy, while the top takes on golden scorch marks. They are good with butter, with honey, or as bread alongside an autumn borscht or cabbage soup.

What you will need

  • plain wheat flour — 500 g, plus a little for dusting;
  • buttermilk, soured milk or kefir — 250 ml;
  • egg — 1 (optional);
  • baking soda — 1 tsp;
  • salt — 1 level tsp;
  • sugar — ½ tsp.

How to make them

1. Dry ingredients. Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the salt, sugar and soda and mix.

2. Dough. Combine the buttermilk, soured milk or kefir with the egg, if using, and pour it into the flour. Knead by hand into a soft, elastic and smooth dough — it may be slightly sticky.

3. Rounds. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it 1–1.5 cm thick. Cut out rounds 10–12 cm across with a glass or a cutter — proper proziaki are fairly large. Gather the scraps, roll them out again and keep cutting until the dough is used up.

4. Rest. Cover the rounds with a tea towel and leave for 10–15 minutes so they rise a little.

5. Pan. Heat a dry pan well over high heat, then turn it down to medium. Do not add oil.

6. Cooking. Cook the flatbreads for 10–12 minutes, turning them several times, until golden on both sides.

Proziaki are best served straight away, while warm. Savoury ones go with butter — plain, garlic or parsley — sour cream with spring onions or a garlic sauce. Sweet ones go with sugar, honey or jam. If the oven does work, they can also be baked in it: at 200 °C for 6–10 minutes on each side.

In a bread bin or a sealed bag, proziaki keep for 2–3 days. Before serving, warm them in the oven at 160 °C for 5–7 minutes.

As a reminder, this morning in Tasty Bucha we cooked bigos, which goes into the cold twice before it is served.

Nota bene

Bucha FM is an independent news site and station for the Bucha district. We cover what matters to the community, and we work for you — and because of you. Joining the people who make this possible is simple: support us with any amount.

Support the station