Prądnik bread ( Polish: ''Chleb prądnicki'') - is a traditional

secale ''Secale'' is a genus of the grass tribe Triticeae, which is related to barley (''Hordeum'') and wheat (''Triticum''). The genus includes cultivated species such as rye (''Secale cereale'') as well as weedy and wild rye species. The most well kn ...

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

baked in Kraków. The bread may be produced in huge loaves amounting to 14 kg. It is a protected produce, under

geographical indications and traditional specialities in the European Union Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG), promote and protect nam ...

. Prądnik bread was produced in villages located on the banks of the

Prądnik River Prądnik may refer to: Cuisine *Prądnik bread Rivers * Prądnik (river), Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland Places Villages * Prądnik, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, a village in Poland * Prądnik Korzkiewski, a village in the Lesser Pol ...

- in Prądnik Czerwony and

Prądnik Biały Prądnik Biały is one of 18 districts of Kraków, located in the northwest part of the city. The name ''Prądnik Biały'' comes from a village of same name that is now a part of the district. According to the Central Statistical Office data, ...

, from the fourteenth-century. Formerly, the river's upper course gravitational potential energy was harvested for the use of watermills for

milling Milling may refer to: * Milling (minting), forming narrow ridges around the edge of a coin * Milling (grinding), breaking solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting in a mill * Milling (machining), a process of using rota ...

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

. The oldest document to mention Prądnik bread originates from 1421, when the Bishop of Kraków, Albert gave his cook two domains (''źreb'') of land by the

and tasks him with baking bread for the bishopric. By royal prerogative, on May 26, 1496, King John I Albert gave the bakers on the River Prądnik (among others) the right to sell bread in Kraków once a week, during the market occurring on Tuesdays. Bakers outside of Kraków had limitations on their sale and production of bread, having only received full commercial rights in 1785.

References

{{Reflist Polish cuisine Kraków Lesser Poland Polish products with protected designation of origin