New York Times Best Cookbook of 2025

“In Dobre Dobre, Laurel Kratochvila leads us down the gloriously buttery, poppy seed strewn path of modern and classic Polish baking. Ms. Kratochvila, who runs a bakery in Berlin, writes meticulous recipes that deliver impressive results.”
New York Times

Discover the vast and varied Polish baking tradition, old and new, Jewish and diasporic, in this authoritative collection of 120 plus recipes from James Beard Award finalist Laurel Kratochvila.

Poland’s distinctive baking culture is a product of its rich and complicated history, from the World Wars to the rise of Communism to the cultural exchange that inevitably comes with being a country with seven neighbors and generations of migration. Step into a Polish piekarnia or bakery and you are greeted by an abundance of tiny cookies and rugelach, decorative layer cakes and cheesecakes, sweet yeast buns and danishes, and hearty rye breads and sourdough loaves.

In this repertoire expanding baking book, American born, Berlin based baker and 2023 James Beard Award finalist Laurel Kratochvila brings you more than 120 familiar and inventive treasures. These include innovative recipes of her own as well as recipes from pioneering Polish bakers, such as:

• Horseradish, Beet, and Summer Greens Bialys
• Sunflower Rye Loaf
• Plum Butter Carnival Donuts
• Rano Piekarnia’s Summer Bilberry Buns
• Chocolate and Whipped Cream Warsaw Cake
• Karpatka also known as cream and choux cake
• Soft Iced Toruń Gingerbread
• Rose and Almond Jewel Rugelach
• Twisted Krakow Bagels
• Sauerkraut and Mushroom Rolls
• And much more.

Vivid storytelling and fascinating historical details illuminate the significance behind each recipe.

If you want to start a fight with a French person, tell them that baba au rhum is Polish. In the eighteenth century, while exiled in France, Polish King Stanislaw I sent a dry babka back to the kitchen. His pastry chef soaked it in sweetened alcohol to everyone’s delight and the emblematic French dessert was born in a Polish court.

Beautiful photography makes it feel as if you are right there beside Laurel. Step into a warm bakery on a cold winter day, pick baskets of wild bilberries in July, and bite into a soft yeasted bun with jammy strawberries oozing down your chin. Cheesecakes, wafer cookies, gingerbread, and country loaves. These recipes are not just for those curious about the new wave of Polish bakeries or nostalgic for old world treats or Jewish delights from childhood. They are for any home baker looking to fill cookie jars and bread boxes with inspiration.

EXPERT AUTHOR AND RELIABLE RECIPES
Lauded professional baker Laurel Kratochvila is the owner of Fine Bagels bakery and café in Berlin and the author of the award nominated cookbook New European Baking. Her thoroughly tested recipes range from easy to advanced and include clear instructions and detailed guidance for making and shaping a wide variety of base doughs.

A SURVEY OF POLISH BAKING
Dobre Dobre presents a curated selection of more than 120 recipes that capture the breadth and diversity of Poland’s exciting baking culture. Discover contemporary takes on classics, traditional holiday treats, desserts from the diaspora, and recipes with Jewish roots including bagels, bialys, and challah. No single book can capture an entire national baking tradition, but Dobre Dobre comes remarkably close.

UPLIFTING PIONEERING BAKERS
Alongside Kratochvila’s work, the book highlights ten standout bakers from Poland and the diaspora by featuring their recipes.

A BEAUTIFUL TRAVELOGUE
Travel through Poland via stunning photography and irresistible recipes, perfect for armchair travelers and heritage seekers alike.

Perfect for

• Home bakers of all skill levels
• Bakers of Jewish or Eastern European heritage
• Readers curious about the ongoing bakery renaissance in Eastern, Central, and Northern Europe
• Cookbook collectors
• Fans of Mooncakes and Milk Bread by Kristina Cho, New World Baking by Bryan Ford, Scandinavian from Scratch by Nichole Accettola, Mamushka by Olia Hercules, and The Nordic Baking Book by Magnus Nilsson

Dobre Dobre: Baking from Poland and Beyond by Laurel Kratochvila. is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca. 

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Sour Cherry and Sally Sheep’s Cheese Danishes

Drozdzówki z Bryndzą i Wiśniami

Though typically a sweet pastry, drożdzowki are now a format for any savory fantasy, often incorporating seasonal vegetables and traditional Polish ingredients. Here, we use bryndzą, the salty and crumbly sheep’s cheese found across Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. This cheese is very similar to feta, which makes for a perfect substitution when bryndzą is not to be found. The salt of the cheese, the sour of the cherries, the sweetness of the honey, and the earthiness of the thyme nod to some of the very, very good things from the Polish kitchen.

NOTE: For a morning bake, prepare your dough the night before and allow to proof in the fridge according to the recipe on page 98.

MAKES 12 drożdżówki

DOUGH

1 batch Chalka Dough (page 98)

FILLING

6 cups [1 kg] sour cherries, pitted fresh or thawed if frozen

½ cup (110 g) demerara sugar

9 oz [255 g] bryndzą or feta, drained

7 oz [200 g] thick full-fat sour cream

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 egg

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp ground black pepper

EGG WASH

1 egg and 3 Tbsp (45 g] whole milk, whisked until smooth

GARNISH

½ cup (115 g) pourable honey

Fresh thyme sprigs

Prepare your chalka dough according to the recipe on page 98, through the bulk proof.

Once your dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured work surface and divide it into twelve portions of 2% oz (80 g]. Form the divided dough into tight balls (see page 22) and arrange smooth-side up onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, evenly spaced at least 4 in [10 cm] apart These have to be far apart be cause you’ll press them out to shape after they rise. Brush each ball with egg wash and set aside to rise for 2½ hours, until light and puffed

While the dough balls are rising, prepare the filling. Mix the cherries with the demerara sugar in a small bowl and set aside to soften. To prepare your cheese filling, in a medium bowl, mix the bryndza, sour cream, flour, egg, thyme, and pepper until all  the ingredients are fully incorporated. Set aside.

Shortly before the balls have fully risen, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) with the convection setting turned on. Brush the balls a second time with egg wash, then dip a large spoon in the remaining egg wash and press down on the middle of each ball to form a pizza shape about 5 in [13 cm] across, each with a flattened middle and a 1 in [2.5 cm] thick rim. If the spoon sticks while you’re doing this, dip it again in the egg wash.

Spoon a generous portion of the cheese filling into the center of each bun, spread to the inner edge of the rim, then press a handful of sour cherries into the middle of the tilling. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown, then drizzle all over with honey and garnish with fresh thyme.

These are best served the same day, but can be extended 1 or 2 days when stored airtight at room temperature. Reheat in the oven to warm the cheese before serving, if you like.

Recipe published with permission from Chronicle Books.