Bublik

Bublik

Bublik topped with poppy seeds
Type	Bread
Region or state	Central and Eastern Europe
Associated national cuisine	Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine
Main ingredients	Flour, milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg whites

Bublik (also booblik or bublyk; plural bubliki; Belarusian: абаранак, abaranak, Russian and Ukrainian: бублик, Polish: obwarzanek, Lithuanian: riestainis) is a traditional Central and Eastern European bread roll. It is very similar to a bagel, but somewhat bigger and has a wider hole. Bubliks often also have a much denser and 'chewier' texture than bagels. The bublik has been hypothesized to be the progenitor of the bagel.

Bubliks are members of a class of bread products made from dough that has been boiled before baking, which also includes bagels, baranki, sushki, and other similar breads. In Russian and Ukrainian, bublik is often used as a generic designation for any ring-shaped product of this class.

Widely believed that making bubliks first started in Smorgon (the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, now in Belarus). The beigl (or bagel) spread through Poland across all areas with significant Jewish population, soon reaching Ukraine (Southern Russia at the time), where it was influenced by similar products and where it got its current form. These products are Russian baranki, Greek koulouri (κουλούρι) or Turkish simit. They form a dough ring about twice as big as a common bagel, usually with a denser and drier texture. Its name was also heavily russified to the current form —bublik.

Bubliks are made from yeast-leavened wheat dough that commonly contains milk, butter, and egg whites and 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.