Veka ( pl, bułka paryska or ''bułka francuska'') is a

pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ma ...

produced in

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Its character is similar to French

baguette A baguette (; ) is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, though not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust. A baguette has a di ...

although the veka is wider, bigger, and fluffier and has smoother surface. It is made of

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...

. Its weight is about 350 grams.

Polish regional names

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

– weka *

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

– angielka *

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

– "lynga" or "weka" * Podkarpacie Province – bina *

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

Jelenia Góra Jelenia Góra (pron. ; Polish: ; german: Hirschberg im Riesengebirge; Exonym: ''Deer Mountain''; szl, Jelyniŏ Gōra) is a historic city in southwestern Poland, within the historical region of Lower Silesia. Jelenia Góra is situated in the Low ...

– kawiorka *

Kujawy Kuyavia ( pl, Kujawy; german: Kujawien; la, Cuiavia), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three t ...

– "baton" or "bułka wyborowa" *Central Poland – gryzka *

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

– linga *The veka is also referred to as "bułka kielecka" and "bułka wrocławska"

Uses in Czech cuisine

It is commonly used creating of

open sandwich An open sandwich, also known as an open-face/open-faced sandwich, bread baser, bread platter or tartine, consists of a slice of bread or toast with one or more food items on top. History During the start of the middle ages, thin slabs of coarse ...

es called ''

obložené chlebíčky Obložené chlebíčky ("garnished breads") are a type of open sandwich in Czech and Slovak cuisines. Various toppings and garnishes are used, and they are often served as an appetizer dish or as a snack. Overview Obložené chlebíčky consis ...

''. Eating of obložený chlebíček as a

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...

snack A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snacks are p ...

is widespread habit and they are even sold in specialized shops called bufet or chlebíčkárna ("bread shop"). The veka can be used for certain types of ''knedlik'' (

knödel Knödel (; and ) or Klöße (; ) are boiled dumplings commonly found in Central European and East European cuisine. Central European countries in which their variant of ''Knödel'' is popular include Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, ...

). It is a major ingredient of žemlovka dish.

Production

File:Postup výroby chlebíčkové veky (1).JPG, 1: Cutting and weighing the dough File:Postup výroby chlebíčkové veky (3).JPG, 2: Molding the dough File:Postup výroby chlebíčkové veky (4).JPG, 3: Loaves of the dough ready for insertion into the scrolling device File:Postup výroby chlebíčkové veky (6).JPG, 4: The scrolling device roll the dough up into... File:Postup výroby chlebíčkové veky (11).JPG, 5: needed shape of the veka File:Postup výroby chlebíčkové veky (12).JPG, 6: Rolled dough File:Postup_výroby_chlebíčkové_veky_(15).JPG, 7: The dough is rolled again by hands File:Postup výroby chlebíčkové veky (18).JPG, 8: Dough rolling File:Postup výroby chlebíčkové veky (17).JPG, 9: End of the dough shape is squashed File:Postup výroby chlebíčkové veky (14).JPG, 10: Last rolling File:Postup výroby chlebíčkové veky (19).JPG, 11: Fine baked vekas are being removed from an oven

References

{{pastries Czech pastries Polish cuisine Slovak cuisine