What does “ciasto” mean in Polish?

Polish has a single word, ciasto, for the batter you pour, the dough you knead, and the cake you eventually eat. Context does the sorting: ciasto na naleśniki is crêpe batter, ciasto drożdżowe is yeast dough, and kawałek ciasta is a slice of cake. So when a recipe says gotowe ciasto na 30 minut it means “let the batter rest for 30 minutes,” not “the cake is ready.”

The recipe follows the word through its stages: wymieszaj (“mix”), dolej masło (“pour in the butter”), then smaż naleśniki (“fry the crêpes”) — and the cook warns that this ciasto is so delicate that beginners should add a spoon or two more flour. The family of the word is handy too: ciastko is a cookie or small pastry, ciasteczko an even smaller one, and ciastkarnia the shop that sells them.