Are you a prune glazed? How about raspberry sugar? You like raisins...they've got those too! It's Paczki Day in Milwaukee. Hope you pre-ordered, cause today...they're going fast.
I took a trip to one of Milwaukee's oldest bakeries...National Bakery and Deli on 16th and Euclid. Open in 1925, National Bakery does a little bit of everything. Breads, wedding cakes, deli items, donuts and of course...PACZKI.
Jeff Callen and Bryant Krauss bought this iconic bakery five years ago, but made sure to keep the integrity of the bakery intact by using all the original recipes. "National Bakery is important to a lot of people," says Krauss. "It has so much tradition, it's a thread of the community." They still do things the old fashioned way. Each donuts is frosted, filled and sprinkled by hand.
Through days like Paczki day, Krauss and Callen hope to keep small, independent bakeries alive and well in our city. And with 17,000 paczkis pre-ordered and an estimated 32,000 sold this month, the folks at National have been busy keeping up with demand. They took a few moments out of their busy schedule last week to give me a tour.
And here's a secret...if you missed Paczki day today...no worries! They fry them up fresh all year long.
Check out the story above to see how National Bakery and their customers celebrate Fat Tuesday.
