Chleb Pradnicki

Chleb pradnicki is named after Pradnik, then a village outside Krakow and now a district, where it was baked for the city from the fifteenth century - the bishops of Krakow held the village and the bakers there supplied the town, with the loaf recorded in guild documents and in royal accounts. It is a sourdough rye bread made with a proportion of boiled and mashed potato, baked in very large loaves - traditionally up to fourteen kilograms, though the ones sold now are usually a few kilos - which gives it an extremely long keeping time, several weeks in some accounts, and a dense dark crumb with a thick crust. It holds EU protected geographical indication. It is not sold in every bakery: a handful of Krakow bakers make it, and the Stary Kleparz market is the reliable place to look. Sold by weight, cut from the loaf.

What you actually see

• Very large loaves - traditionally up to fourteen kilograms, cut and sold by weight.
• Rye with mashed potato - the addition that gives the dense moist crumb.
• Keeping for weeks - the practical reason the loaf was made that size.
• A protected name - EU geographical indication tied to Krakow.

When to go

All year. An hour.

Honest expectations

Few bakeries make it and it is not in supermarkets - Stary Kleparz market is the reliable source. It is dense and sour, not a light bread. Buying a whole loaf is impractical; ask for a cut piece.

Nearby

Stary Kleparz market is just north of the Krakow old town.