Bublik

Bublik(alsobooblikorbublyk; Russian:бублик,romanized:búblik, plural:bubliki;Ukrainian:бублик,romanized:búblyk) is a traditionalEastern Europeanbread roll. It is a ring of yeast-leavened wheat dough, that has beenboiledin water for a short time beforebaking.
Bublikstems fromOld East Slavicбубьлъ (bubl), ultimately fromProto-Slavic*bǫbьlь, from whichPolishbąbel,CzechboubelandSlovakbublinaalso originated. All these words mean "bubble".
Russianbarankaorbaranokis a contraction of the wordobvaranok(обваранок), "scalded"/"parboiled". Belarusianabaranak, Ukrainianob[v]arinokand Polishobwarzanekshare the same etymology.The Russian spelling suggests that the word was adopted into Russian from Belarusian.
A class of such ring-shaped rolls is common for Eastern European cuisines.Ukrainianbublik is similar to anAshkenazi Jewishbagel, but is somewhat bigger and has a larger hole. Bubliks usually have a drier, denser and "chewier" texture than bagels.Russianbaranka(Russian:баранка; pl.baranki) is a dough ring somewhat smaller than a bublik, but also thinner and drier.Sushka(Russian:сушка; pl.sushki) is an even smaller and drier type, generally about 5 cm (2 in) in size, and has the consistency of a hardcracker.
In Russian and Ukrainian,bublikis often used as a generic designation for any ring-shaped product of this type. In Russian,barankais also used as a similar generic term, whereas "baranka-type products[ru]"  (Russian:бараночные изделия,romanized:baranochnye izdeliya) is a formal designation of the product class.A cognate term,obarinok(обарінок) orobvarinok(обварінок), is sometimes used as a synonym for bublik or baranka in Ukrainian.Bublik or baranka is known asabaranak(абаранак) inBelarusianandriestainisorbaronkosinLithuanian.
Polishobwarzanekis done with the same technology as bublik or baranka, but its most common form,obwarzanek krakowski, has a braided ring shape.
The first known written mention of thebagelis found in theCommunity Regulationsof the city ofKrakówin 1610.The bagel spread through Poland across all areas with significant Jewish population, reachingUkraine,where it got its current form. The wordbublikwas adopted from Ukrainian to Russian in which it is first documented in the 18th century. It is mentioned as "wheat bublik" (бублик пшеничнои) in theLexicon or Alphabetic Collection of Speeches from Russian to DutchbyJacob Brucepublished in 1717 in Saint Petersburg.
Thebarankais first mentioned in Russian sources in a 17th-century text. An entry for the year 1665 in the account ledger ofValday Iversky Monasteryreads: "Baranki and eggs purchased for the brothers inBogoroditsinovillage for tenaltyn."In the 19th century, the town ofValdaywas famous for its baranki.Valday baranki were mentioned byAlexander Pushkin,Alexander Radishchevand others.
William Pokhlyobkintraces the origin of Russian baranka to what is nowBelarus, in particular to the town ofSmarhon’(the formerGrand Duchy of Lithuania).Until they were murdered in theHolocaust, most of the population of Smarhon' was Jewish. Baranki were supposedly used to feed bears in the local school of bear training (the so-called "Bear Academy"). Written accounts of Smarhon' baranki appeared in the 19th century.Adam Kirkorwrote in the encyclopediaPicturesque Russia: "In Smorgon', Oshmyany district, Vilna province, almost all the petty bourgeois population is busy baking small bubliki, orkringles, which are widely known asSmorgon' obvaranki. Each traveller would definitely buy several bundles of these bubliki; besides, they are transported toVilnaand other cities."Władysław Syrokomlamentioned Smarhon' as "the capital of obwarzanki famous in all Lithuania".Smarhon' obwarzanki were a traditional treat atSaint Casimir's Fairin Vilnius.
Bubliks are made fromyeast-leavenedwheatdough that commonly containsmilk,butter, andegg whitesand is rather sweet. Poppy seeds are a popular addition to the dough, as well as several other fillings. For savory bubliks, sugar is omitted and instead grated cheese and a few drops of onion juice can be added.Bubliks are featured by professional bakers in their shops and at country fairs and regional markets. They are usually strung on a string by the dozen.
In Belarus, Russia and Ukraine bubliks and barankas are usually treated not likebread, but like a type of pastry, eaten as a complement toteaorcoffee.Therefore, bublik dough is generally sweeter and denser than that of bagel dough, and they are usually glazed with egg yolk. By far the most popular variety of bublik has a liberal amount ofpoppy seedsadded to it.
Bubliks are usually eaten as is, but it is not uncommon to dip them into tea, a practice that came from eating sushki and baranki, which were very similar in taste, but rather dry and hard and not easily palatable unless moistened.
Another common way of eating bubliks is to break them into several fragments and to eat them withjam(varenye),sour cream(smetana), or other similardips. While they often accompany tea, bubliks, again unlike modern bagels, are rarely considered abreakfastfood.
A short poem calledProtoptala stezhku cherez yar("I beat a path through the ravine") inKobzarbook by Ukrainian poetTaras Shevchenkorefers to a young woman who sells bubliki at the market to theCossacks.
Bublichki, adiminutiveof bubliki, is a title of a famous Yiddish-Ukrainian-Russian song written inOdesain the 1920s.Leonid Utyosovpopularised the song in the USSR.The Barry Sisterstogether with theZiggy Elman Orchestramade it popular in the US in 1939. Today it belongs to the repertoire ofklezmer,jazzand pop musicians.
A common Russian and Ukrainian phrase is "a hole from a bublik" (Russian:дырка от бу́блика,romanized:dyrka ot búblika,Ukrainian:ді́рка з (від) бу́блика,romanized:dírka z (vid) búblyka), which means "absolutely nothing" or "worthless". Examples:
This expression in literature is found inMystery-Bouffe, asocialistdramatic play written byVladimir Mayakovskyin 1918–1921: