Interesting. Kromka just means “slice” in Polish.
This mom minds very much being stuck with the heel. :dubious: I’ll open a new loaf rather than eat the heels if I can. Blech. (Though I will eat the heel rather than stick my kids with it. :o )
I’ve always called it the hell. And it’s my favorite part of a loaf. (Not a big fan of the brownie edges, though – I always liked the moist, chewie middles myself)
I call it the heel. My father-in-law, whose parents spoke Russian and Yiddish, calls it the shpitz.