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In a few shopping malls and other places in Warsaw you can find stands like the one pictured here, selling what the sign claims to be ''krakowskie precle'', or Cracow pretzels. Intriguingly, [http://krakowskieprecle.pl/o-firmie the company that distributes them in Warsaw] proudly boats that these "pretzels" are shipped each morning straight from Mr. Czaja's bakery in Cracow. But if we take a look at Mr. Grzegorz Czaja's bakery website, we'll see that what he bakes there is not pretzels, but something called ''obwarzanki'' (pronounced ''awb-vah-{{small|ZHAHN}}-kee''). It seems as though the ''obwarzanki'' magically turn into pretzels the moment they arrive in Warsaw! Can we chalk it up to merely yet another linguistic difference between Cracovian and Warsovian Polish? Or is there a more profound distinction between pretzels and ''obwarzanki''?
In a few shopping malls and other places in Warsaw you can find stands like the one pictured here, selling what the sign claims to be ''krakowskie precle'', or Cracow pretzels. Intriguingly, [http://krakowskieprecle.pl/o-firmie the company that distributes them in Warsaw] proudly boats that these "pretzels" are shipped each morning straight from Mr. Czaja's bakery in Cracow. But if we take a look at Mr. Grzegorz Czaja's bakery website, we'll see that what he bakes there is not pretzels, but something called ''obwarzanki'' (pronounced ''awb-vah-{{small|ZHAHN}}-kee''). It seems as though the ''obwarzanki'' magically turn into pretzels the moment they arrive in Warsaw! Can we chalk it up to merely yet another linguistic difference between Cracovian and Warsovian Polish? Or is there a more profound distinction between pretzels and ''obwarzanki''?


"Pretzel", "bagel", "''obwarzanek''" are all used by both tourists and native Cracovians to refer to the specifically Cracovian bread which "takes the form of an oval with a hole in the middle" and whose "surface is formed by strands of dough twisted into a spiral".<ref>Description of the product according to: [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52010XC0216(01) Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2010/C 38/08), EC No: PL-PGI-005-0674,] Official Journal of the European Union</ref> Although unique to Cracow, it nonetheless belongs to the great diverse family of holey breads. So let's take a look  at the bigger picture now.
"Pretzels, "bagels" and "''obwarzanki''" are all used by both tourists and native Cracovians to refer to the specifically Cracovian bread which "takes the form of an oval with a hole in the middle" and whose "surface is formed by strands of dough twisted into a spiral".<ref>Description of the product according to: [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52010XC0216(01) Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2010/C 38/08), EC No: PL-PGI-005-0674,] Official Journal of the European Union</ref> Although unique to Cracow, it nonetheless belongs to the great diverse family of holey breads. So let's take a look  at the bigger picture now.


== Common Ancestors ==
== Common Ancestors ==
[[File:Bread shop in the street.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A boy peddling ''ka'ak'' in the streets of Jerusalem in 2012]]
[[File:Bread shop in the street.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A boy peddling ''ka'ak'' in the streets of Jerusalem in 2012]]
Bagels, pretzels and ''obwrzanki'' are similar enough to each other as to suggest a common origin. According to Ms. Maria Balinska, who wrote a book on the history of bagels, holey breads date back all the way to ancient Rome. She believes the ancestor of all (or almost all) such bread products to be the ''buccellata'',<ref>{{Cyt  
Bagels, pretzels and ''obwarzanki'' are similar enough to each other as to suggest a common origin. According to Ms. Maria Balinska, who wrote a book on the history of bagels, holey breads date back all the way to ancient Rome. She believes the ancestor of all (or almost all) such bread products to be the ''buccellata'',<ref>{{Cyt  
  | nazwisko = Balinska
  | nazwisko = Balinska
  | imię    = Maria
  | imię    = Maria
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  | rok      = 2008
  | rok      = 2008
  | strony  = 7
  | strony  = 7
  }}</ref> or small, round, double-baked pieces of hardtack
  }}</ref> or small, round, jaw-breaking double-baked biscuits used a army hardtack by Roman legionaries at least as early as the 4th century CE. Whether they were actually ring or rather dics-shaped is uncertain. The author of [http://pass-the-garum.blogspot.com/2014/10/bucellatum-roman-army-hardtack.html ''Pass the Garum'',] a great blog about ancient Roman foodways, reconstructed them as the latter, with only little holes punched with a needle to let air and steam escape during baking. Another hypothesis, also mentioned by Ms. Balinska, says that the ''buccellatum'' was the ancestor of the round communion wafer used by Christians in the sacrament of the Eucharyst.


czyli okrągłe, twarde, dwukrotnie pieczone sucharki używane przez rzymskich legionistów jako suchy prowiant w&nbsp;IV&nbsp;w.n.e (jeśli nie wcześniej). Czy rzeczywiście miały one kształt pierścieni, czy raczej zwykłych dysków, chyba do końca nie wiadomo. Autor bloga [http://pass-the-garum.blogspot.com/2014/10/bucellatum-roman-army-hardtack.html ''Pass the Garum''] zrekonstruował je jako te drugie, z&nbsp;małymi tylko dziurkami wykonanymi szpikulcem, żeby powietrze i&nbsp;wilgoć miały którędy uciec podczas pieczenia. Bardziej wiarygodna wydaje się hipoteza, również wspomniana przez panią Balinską, że ''buccellatum'' było raczej prekursorem okrągłego opłatka używanego przez chrześcijan w&nbsp;sakramencie Eucharystii.
[[File:Martwa natura z&nbsp;ciambellami.JPG|thumb|upright=.6|Cristoforo Munari (1667–1720), ''Still life with a watermelon and ciambelle'']]
 
Another bread with a long history which, this time for sure, is made in the shape of elongated rings is the Middle Eastern ''ka'ak''. These breads are get a mention in the Talmud,<ref>Balinska, ''op. cit.'', p. 7</ref> so they must have been known at least as eary as the 6th century CE. Unlike the overly simple ''buccellatum'', made only of flour, salt and butter, ''ka'ak'' are made from leavened dough. What's interesting is the leavening agent used here is not yeast, but fermented chickpea.<ref>{{Cyt  
[[File:Martwa natura z&nbsp;ciambellami.JPG|thumb|upright=.6|Cristoforo Munari (1667–1720), ''Martwa natura z&nbsp;arbuzem i&nbsp;ciambellami'']]
Innym wypiekiem o&nbsp;długiej historii, który już na pewno wyrabia się w&nbsp;formie wydłużonych pierścieni, są bliskowschodnie ''ka'ak''. Wzmianka na ich temat pojawia się w&nbsp;Talmudzie,<ref>Balinska, ''op. cit.'', s. 7</ref> więc musiały być znane już co najmniej w&nbsp;VI&nbsp;w.n.e. W&nbsp;przeciwieństwie do banalnie prostego ''buccellatum'', wyrabianego tylko z&nbsp;mąki, soli i&nbsp;masła, ''ka'ak'' robi się z&nbsp;ciasta spulchionego. Co ciekawe, spulchniaczem w&nbsp;tym wypadku nie są drożdże, ale sfermentowana ciecierzyca.<ref>{{Cyt  
  | tytuł    = Food Composition Tables for the Near East
  | tytuł    = Food Composition Tables for the Near East
  | url      = https://books.google.de/books?id=YHvfetM9gcUC&pg=PA229
  | url      = https://books.google.de/books?id=YHvfetM9gcUC&pg=PA229
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  | rok      = 1982
  | rok      = 1982
  | strony  = 229
  | strony  = 229
  }}</ref> Do dziś ''ka'ak'', przed upieczeniem obficie obtoczone w&nbsp;ziarnach sezamu, można kupić na ulicach arabskich i&nbsp;izraelskich miast.
  }}</ref> ''Ka'ak'', generously sprinkled with sesame seeds before baking, may be still purchased in the streets of Arab and Israeli cities.


Wróćmy na Półwysep Apeniński, na południu którego, w&nbsp;miasteczku Puglia (wym. ''pulia''), pojawiły się w&nbsp;średniowieczu (pierwsze wzmianki pochodzą z&nbsp;XIV&nbsp;w.) najstarsze bodaj wypieki, które moglibyśmy nazwać obwarzankami. A&nbsp;to dlatego, że przed upieczeniem piekarze obwarzali je we wrzątku. Z&nbsp;tym że Włosi oczywiście nie nazywali ich obwarzankami, tylko ''taralli''. No dobrze, ale po co bawić się w&nbsp;to obwarzanie, zamiast od razu wsunąć ''taralli'' do pieca? Otóż kontakt ciasta z&nbsp;wrzątkiem sprawia, że skrobia na jego powierzchni ulega skleikowaniu, co daje charakterystyczną, lśniącą i&nbsp;chrupką skórkę. Ta usztywniona skórka z&nbsp;kolei sprawia, że ciasto podczas pieczenia już nie rośnie i&nbsp;utrzymuje nadany mu kształt pierścienia, a&nbsp;to pozwala na wyrób większych chlebków o&nbsp;tym właśnie kształcie.<ref>Balinska, ''op. cit.'', s. 2–6</ref> Sprytnie, co?
Let's go back the Apennine Peninsula. It was in the port town of Puglia (pronounced ''{{small|POOL}}-yah) in what is now southern Italy that ''taralli'' were being boiled and baked as early as the 14th century. That's right, it's a kind of bread that is first boiled and only then baked. Why? Because when the starch on the surface of the dough comes into contact with boiling water, it gets gelatinized, which results in shiny and crunchy crust. The stiffened crust also prevents the dough from rising further during baking, which helps to keep the breads shape. And this, in turn, means that you can bigger ring-shaped breads than you could without boiling them first.<ref>Balinska, ''op. cit.'', s. 2–6</ref> Clever, huh?


[[File:Ponti, Carlo (ca. 1823-1893) - Venditore.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.5|Chłopiec sprzedający ''ciambelle'' w&nbsp;XIX-wiecznych Włoszech]]
[[File:Ponti, Carlo (ca. 1823-1893) - Venditore.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.5|A boy peddling ''ciambelle'' in 19th-century Italy]]
Tylko dlaczego właśnie taki, a&nbsp;nie inny kształt? Dlaczego nie kulka albo dysk, tylko znacznie trudniejszy do uformowania torus? Taki kształt ma dwie zalety: po pierwsze, wypiek z&nbsp;dziurą ma niewiele mniejszą objętość, ale znacznie większą powierzchnię, niż podobnej wielkości wypiek bez dziurki (dowód poprzez stosowne obliczenia powierzchni i&nbsp;objętości torusa oraz elipsoidy obrotowej pozostawiam jako zadanie dla Czytelnika). Zaś większa powierzchnia oznacza, że podczas obróbki termicznej ciepło rozprowadza się wewnątrz wypieku szybciej i&nbsp;bardziej równomiernie. Po drugie, takie dziurawe pieczywo jest łatwiejsze w&nbsp;transporcie – zwłaszcza dla ulicznego sprzedawcy, który owe ''taralli'' mógł sobie po prostu nanizać na sznurek czy kij i&nbsp;tak chodzić z&nbsp;nimi po ulicy. A&nbsp;i&nbsp;klienci, jeśli nie zjedli go od razu, to czasem zakładali sobie taki produkt na rękę jak bransoletkę, by zostawić go sobie na później.  
But what's so great about the ring shape after all? Why not a ball or a disc, but a torus, which takes a great deal more skill to form? Well, this shape has two advantages. First, a holey bread has only a slightly smaller volume with a much larger surface than a whole bread of comparable size (I'm leaving the proof by calculating the surface areas and volumes of a torus and an ellipsoid as an exercise for the Reader). And a larger surface area allows the heat to spread more evenly inside the dough during the thermal treatment (boiling or baking). Secondly, a holey bread is easier to transport, especially for a street vendor who can just put his ''taralli'' on a string or a stick and walk with them in the street. And the customers could even wear it like a bracelet, if they didn't eat it right away.  


Suche i&nbsp;twarde ''taralli'' pełniły podobną funkcję co starożytne ''buccellata'' – można je było przechowywać nawet przez pół roku, a&nbsp;potem zjeść, maczając je w&nbsp;winie, żeby zmiękły. Czy inspiracją dla formy toroidalnych ''taralli'' były arabskie ''ka'ak'', przywożone przez lewantyńskich marynarzy do puglijskiego portu? Całkiem możliwe, choć nie wiadomo na pewno. W&nbsp;każdym razie wkrótce po tym, jak ''taralli'' pojawiły się na południu Włoch, na północy zaczęto wypiekać podobne w&nbsp;wyglądzie produkty o&nbsp;różnych regionalnych nazwach, jak ''bricuocoli, ciaramilie, pane del marinaio, mescuotte, ciambelle, ciambelloni, braciatelle, brazzatelle,'' czy ''brasadèle''<ref>{{Cyt  
Dry ''taralli'' were used in a similar way the ancient ''buccellata'' in that they could be stored for up to half a year and then eaten after being dunked in wine for softening. Were these toroidal ''taralli'' inspired by the Arab ''ka'ak'', brought by Levantine sailor to the port of Puglia? Quite possibly, but we don't know that for sure. Whaterver the case, soon after the ''taralli'' had appeared in southern Italy, similar breads were being made in the north. They bore a plethora of regional names, including ''bricuocoli, ciaramilie, pane del marinaio, mescuotte, ciambelle, ciambelloni, braciatelle, brazzatelle'' and ''brasadèle''<ref>{{Cyt  
  | tytuł    = The Oxford Companion to Italian Food
  | tytuł    = The Oxford Companion to Italian Food
   | nazwisko r      = Riley
   | nazwisko r      = Riley
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  | rok      = 2007
  | rok      = 2007
  | strony  = 70–73
  | strony  = 70–73
  }}</ref> (trzy ostatnie słowa przypominają ''braccialetto'', czyli „bransoletkę”; ostatecznie i&nbsp;''braciatella'', i&nbsp;''braccialetto'' pochodzą z&nbsp;łacińskiego ''bracchium'', czyli „przedramię”).
  }}</ref> (the latter three are reminiscent of ''braccialetto'', the Italian word for "bracelet"; ultimately, both ''braciatella'' and ''braccialetto'' derive from Latin ''bracchium'', meaning "arm").
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== Precle ==
== Precle ==
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