Paska

The one Ukrainian dish that my family never had an actual recipe for was Paska. This glorious Easter treat was often just purchased from our local bakery or store. Because of this, I always just assumed it was super difficult to make and my Grandmother’s and Claudia thought it wasn’t worth the work.

Since COVID-19 quarantine has given me a lot more time to spend challenging my baking skills, and I’ve received a lot of email requests for a recipe, I decided to give this traditional bread a whirl. I am so glad I did. I combined 3 different recipes I found in old rural Manitoba cookbooks and online to create the one I am featuring here. I was actually very surprised at how different each Paska recipe is. Different techniques, ingredients, and baking vessels.

I unfortunately didn’t take many step-by-step photos, as I didn’t know how this recipe would turn out. But in the essence of time and before I forget what I did to create this delicious bread, I am writing it here and will add more photos in the near future.

This dough is pretty easy to work with. Ensure you knead it for a good 10 minutes until it becomes medium-soft. Consider it your workout for the day. You will feel pretty good about yourself afterward. I know I did.

I added raisins to my Paska. The store-bought versions I grew up on always had them and I just prefer it. I am not sure if it’s traditional to have raisins or any other kind of fruit/flavourings, but this is my preference. I’d love to hear yours in the comments below this post!

Like all dough, letting it rise in a warm place in your house is important. I actually turn on my oven for a few minutes on the lowest temperature, then turn it off before adding the bowl of dough.

This dough requires a couple of rises. I don’t know about you, but I find punching it down only for it to rise up again is quite therapeutic. Cue ‘Survivor’ by Destiny’s Child.

This recipe also makes two loaves of bread, so divide the dough in half once it’s done its second rise. If you want to get fancy and add some decorative braids or designs, divide it into 3. Divide the third dough ball in half and use that for your decoration portion for both loaves of bread.

Once your dough is divided into your pans, cover them with towels and let it rise again to double in size. If you divided your dough into three for decoration, wrap the third dough ball in some plastic wrap until you are ready to decorate.

I recommend using a 9-inch springform pan. I only had one, so I opted to use a 10-inch springform pan for the second loaf. It turned out great but obviously spread out more and didn’t rise as high.

Once your dough has risen, add your decorative elements and brush with an egg wash.

Bake in a 350F degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.

As you can see, I tried to get fancy with a braid ring on both Paskas. I am definitely not an artist.

Allow Paska to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to cool completely on wire racks.

You can play around with the size of pans or dough portions for a higher rise. Honestly, with this being my first go at it, I was really happy with the size of the Paska here. And, in the end, it tasted amazing. That’s all that truly matters.

Paska

Recipe by Claudia's Cookbook

Servings

2

Loaves

Prep time

3

hours 

Baking time

35

minutes

This traditional Ukrainian bread is dense with a hint of sweetness. Perfect for Easter or any day of the week.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp yeast

• 1 cup warm water

• 2/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tsp for yeast mixture

• 1/4 cup, plus 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

• 1 cup whole milk, scaled and cooled

• 1 tsp salt

• 3 eggs: 2 well-beaten for your dough, 1 egg beaten and combined with 2 tbsp of water for brushing

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 6-7 cups all-purpose flour

• 1.5 cups raisins

Directions

• In a large bowl, dissolve 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Add yeast. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes until the mixture is foamy.
• To the dissolved yeast mixture, add milk, butter, salt, remaining sugar, 2 beaten eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.
• Add two cups of flour to the liquid, mixing well. Continue to add flour 1 cup at a time. When the dough is difficult to stir, do not add any more flour.
• Knead dough in the bowl to collect all the flour.
• Turn dough onto a floured surface and add your raisins. Continue to knead until dough is medium soft, about 10 minutes.
• Please dough in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
• Punch dough down and let it rise again until double in size.
• Divide dough into two. If you want to make decorative braids, divide dough into three. If you are dividing into three, wrap one dough ball in plastic wrap and set aside.
• Shape remaining two parts into round balls and placed into greased 9-inch round pans (I use springform pans).
• Cover pans with towels and let rise in a warm place until dough reaches the top of the pans.
• If you reserved dough for decorations, divide it into two and use to create braids or any other decorations for your two loaves. I made two braids and circled them on top of the two loaves.
• Brush loaves with your egg wash.
• Bake in a 350F oven for 35-40 minutes, until your Paska is deep golden brown. If you find its browning too quickly, you can throw on some aluminum foil on top.
• Remove pans from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove Paska from tins and allow to cool completely in wire racks.
• Enjoy!