“What has been born between Poles and Ukrainians is something extraordinary. We must cherish it” Jacek Polewski from Poland came to war-torn Bucha to bake bread for the Ukrainian Army and people
Jacek Polewski, owner of Poznań’s Czarny bakery, came to town of Bucha in Kyiv region along with his son and friend. The trio took 500 kg of rye with them to bake bread for soldiers and civilians, enough to produce about 1,200 loaves.
Polewski said, “I thought that you need to help, to act, so I typed ‘Bucha bakery’ into the search engine, and wrote to the bakery that I felt suited me best. After 15-minutes received an answer that said: come!”
The bakery was used as a makeshift military headquarters during the town’s occupation. “Russian soldiers cooked on the stove, made food and sat around. They left a huge amount of crap,” said Polewski. Only after the cleanup was over was it finally possible to light the stove and get down to the business of baking.
“This bakery in Bucha is very artisanal. The bread is mainly sourdough, made all by hand, and the oven is wood-fired. Everything went well. We baked a few of these loaves, about 80 in two days,” Polewski said.
