This recipe came up at a spur of a moment, after I made an error in purchasing chopped dates, rather than chopped figs, intending to make Cream Cheese Fig Bars.

Since I never baked with dates before, it was a wonderful experience, and the Granola Date Bars turned out great.

I will definitely make these again, since they make a perfect mid morning, or mid afternoon snack, not to mention the abundance of fiber in these.

Next time I will try to mix in some Super Cranberry, Cherry, and Almond Muesli, made by Dorset Cereals, which I love for breakfast.

I guess the good old saying  “If God gives you lemons, you have to learn to love lemonade”, pairs up well with the birth of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz chopped dates (2 cups)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup (Organic Vanilla Almond FlaxPlus Granola (or increase the oats by 1/2 cup)
• 1 -1/2 cups all-purpose flour ( I used unbleached flour)
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (may use margarine)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Directions:

1. Combine dates and water in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to boil, and cook 3-4 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
3. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
4. Set aside.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, granola,baking soda, salt and brown sugar.
7. Mix well, to incorporate all ingredients.
8. Stir in melted butter, and mix to moisten dry ingredients.
9. Measure 2-1/2 cups of oats mixture, and press gently into a 9 x 9 inch baking pan, to make the bottom crust.
10. Top with date filling, leaving 1/4 inch margin all around the edge, free of filling (to prevent filling from crusting up,  and burning during baking).
11. Combine chopped nuts with the remaining oats mixture, fill the margin around the date filling, and spread the rest on the top of the filling.
12. Press gently into the filling.
13. Bake at 350 degrees F, for 2o minutes.
14. Cool in pan on wire rack.
15. Cut into serving size, 1 x 3 inch bars, or 1 x 1 inch bite size chunks.

Enjoy.

TIP: This recipe is NOT for The Fat Smash Diet phase I, but is OK in phase III.

The traditional Christmas celebration on December 24th is over, but we are still in the Christmas season.

On January 6th, a Christmas Eve is observed by many Ukrainians, Greeks, Orthodox Christians, and others, who follow the Julian calendar.

Our family, here in the US, celebrates  Christmas on December 24th, since our church observes it on this date.

However, we also commemorate this holiday on January 6th, to unite in spirit, with our family and friends in Ukraine, Poland, Portugal, France, Germany, England, etc, who celebrate on this date, only .

The Kolach in this post, is complimentary by one of my readers, Marilyn K, who baked it this year for her Christmas holiday, and was kind enough to share the picture with all of us.

She did a beautiful job with this special bread.   The presentation is very creative, and festive.

Congratulations Marilyn on job well done.

Thank you for sharing.

Best Christmas wishes to all my readers, and their loved ones.

Khrystos Rozhdayetsia!  Slavite Yoho!

Christ Is Born! Glorify Him!

Merry Christmas !

It is a known fact that holidays mean spending fun time with family and friends, as well as enjoying lots of delicious food and drinks.

As our family tradition, and to alternate with our married children in-laws, we celebrate Christmas Eve on December 24th, by the  Gregorian calendar , and then again the Traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve, per Julian calendar, on January 6th.

I am still making all the traditional foods and baked goods for both dates, but have more time for shopping, as this year’s  gift exchange will take place in January.

Since I will be doing most of my baking later on this month, I will share links to my past year’s baked goods recipes, for your convenience and baking pleasure.

Cream Wafers

Miniature Nut Cups – Tea Tassies

Sugar Cut- Out Cookies

Sugar Wafers

Pecan Butterballs

Dycio Crescents

Frosted Lemon Cookies

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

Chocolate Scotcheroos

Ginger Chocolate Truffles

This should give you a good start for early holiday baking.

This recipe has been in our family since at least the late 18oos.  My great-grandmother was making these sauerkraut filled pyrizhky, she called “Kapusnyachky”, and my grandmother continued making them for her family as well.

My maternal grandmother always made these for me, as a special treat, on our visits with my mom.  I was a very finicky eater, as a child, but these were my favorite snack.

Sweet treats were not as popular then, maybe because of high cost of many of the ingredients, as well as their unavailability.   However, yeast raised baked goods were made fresh on regular basis.

One of my readers inquired about a recipe for these pyrizhky, so I promised to make them, and to prepare a post with pictures.

These pastries may also be filled with fruits, jams, buckwheat, sautéed onions, spinach, cheese, poppy seed, or even ground cooked meat.  They may be eaten as a snack, an appetizer, or as an accompaniment to soups, or salads.

There is a similar pastry called “Pyrih”, or “Pyrohy” (plural), same recipe and fillings, but in a form of a sheet cake.

Some folks use the word “Pyrohy”, to describe Varenyky, which is totally incorrect.  The word “Varenyky” derives from the base word “varyty”, which means to cook, hence these filled dumplings are cooked.

Pyrohy,or Pyrizhky, as you see in this recipe, are not cooked dumplings, but rather a baked pastry.

Next time you hear someone asking for “Pyrohy”, but expecting to receive “Varenyky”, please correct them politely, by explaining the difference between these two dishes.

My favorite filling is the sauerkraut filling, which I am using in this post.

This recipe yields at least 24 pieces.

Ingredients:

• 1 package (3/4 oz = 21g) Fleishmann’s Rapid Rise dry granular yeast
• 1 tsp. white sugar
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 cup whole milk, scalded
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp white sugar
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg (to use as egg wash for the final step)

Filling:

• 2 lbs sauerkraut
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Filling Directions:

1. Filling needs to be prepared ahead of time, and cooled off, or it can be done during the time the dough is rising.
2. Place the sauerkraut in a colander, and rinse for about a minute, under running cold water.
3. Fill a 4 quarts pot with 5 cups of cold water.
4. Add sauerkraut and bay leaf.
5. Bring to boil, partially over, and cook for at least 20 minutes.
6. Remove bay leaf, drain onto colander.
7. Mix with a spoon, to cool it off faster.
8. Using your cupped hands, squeeze out the water from the sauerkraut, over colander, until fairly dry.
9. Place the butter in a saucepan, warm up, add chopped onions, and saute until golden.
10. Mix in sauerkraut, salt and pepper, and saute few more minutes, to blend the flavors.
11. Set aside to cool off.

Dough Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix the warm water with 1 tsp. sugar, and sprinkle the yeast over the top.
2. Keep it in a warm place, free of draft, for about 10 minutes, so the yeast becomes bubbly.
3. Scald the milk, add butter, and cool to lukewarm.
4. Mix the flour with the salt and sugar, and set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs .
6. Add the yeast to mixture to the lukewarm milk, pour into the egg mixture.
7. Add the flour, and mix about 10 minutes to form a soft bread dough. You can use a mixer with a hook, but I mix it by hand, just like my Paska dough.
8. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, keep it in a warm place, free of draft, until the dough doubles in bulk.
9. Punch down, and knead it a few times, cover it up again, and let it double in bulk, once again.
10. Divide the dough in half, for easier handling.
11. Place one half of the dough onto a floured work area, and knead it for a minute.  I love working withe the doughon a Silicone Silpat.
12. Roll out into a rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick.
13. Using a pizza cutter, or a knife, cut into  2 x 3 inch rectangular pieces.
14. Spread a teaspoon of filling, in the center of each rectangular piece.
15. To close up the filling into the pyrizhky, fold over one side of the longer end of the dough piece, pushing the filling under, and keep on rolling to the other end, overlapping it.  Before final overlapping, moisten the other edge of dough with a drop of water, to form a better seal.
16. This is how they should look, once rolled and sealed.  While you are working with the rest of the dough, turn them over on the seam, so they do not open up during rising and baking.
17. Grease a cookie sheet ( I use vegetable Crisco shortening, since butter burns too quickly), and place the rolled pyrizhky, seams down, spaced enough to allow for growth, so they don’t stick together during baking.
18. Beat one egg with 1 tsp of water, to prepare an egg wash.  Using a pastry brush, dip it in egg wash, and brush tops and sides of the pyrizhky set up on a cookie sheet.
19. Place them in a warm place, until they rise again, about 20 minutes.
20. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, place the cookie sheet on a middle oven rack, and bake for 25 minutes.
21. Remove onto a wire rack to cool.
22. I quickly brush some butter on the warm tops and sides, to retain the softness of the crust.

These are absolutely delicious while still warm, but they are just as great at room temperature.

Once fully cooled, they freeze very well.  Actually, if you do not plan to use them within a day or two, it is better to freeze them in a ziplock bag, to preserve their freshness.

Enjoy.

Today I decided to turn my regular Banana Bread into a delicious cake like creation, and the results were quite rewarding.

I was convinced that adding some chocolate to the recipe, will enhance the texture and flavor of my Banana Bread, and topping it off with a creamy chocolate glaze, will make it that much more decadent.

After all, how can anything chocolate, not taste great!

I am sure all the chocolate lovers will agree with me on this one.

The total baking time took a little longer than I expected, but once the bread looked done (springing back up when lightly tapped), I was happy with the results.

Dark and White Chocolate morsels, melting on top of the baked cake, to form a creamy topping.

Creamy Chocolate glaze on this Chocolate Banana Bread, is indeed the “Icing on the Cake”.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbs. Vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk (whole of low fat)
• 2 large, very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
• 2 cups cake flour (Softasilk)
• 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup dark chocolate morsels

Chocolate Glaze Ingredients (optional)

• 1/2 cup white chocolate morsels
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate moresels

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the white and brown sugar with the eggs, until a thick creamy mixture forms.
2. Add Vanilla extract, melted butter, salt, milk and sour cream.
3. Add mashed bananas.
4. Mix, to blend in well.
5. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cocoa.
6. Gradually add to the egg mixture, mixing continuously on medium speed, until smooth batter is formed.
7. Fold in 1 cup of dark chocolate morsels.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
9. Grease a loaf pan with vegetable shortening (Crisco), flour lightly bottom and sides.
10. Pour the cake batter into the pan.
11. Bake on the middle oven rack for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean.
12. I lightly tapped the top of the bread, and once it was springing back, I knew it was fully baked.
13. Remove from the oven, and cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
14. Remove from the pan onto a wire rack (see TIP below), and gently arrange the remaining dark and white chocolate morsels on top of the loaf.
15. Leave them on until melted enough for easy spreading all over the top of the bread, to form a creamy chocolate glaze.
16. Cool off completely before slicing.

Keep at room temperature for serving, or cover loosely with foil, and refrigerate for later use.

Enjoy.

TIP: For easier chocolate glaze preparation, you may prepare a “paper lift” to remove the bread from the pan. Place a large enough sheet of wax paper or aluminum foil, in the pan, so it extends a few inches above the long pan sides.  Place the cake back in the pan, on top of the paper lift.  Arrange the chocolates morsels all over the bread as stated in the directions.  Once the topping sets, you can lift out the bread from the pan, by grabbing both sides of the extended paper, and pulling it upwards, to lift it out of the pan.

The month of June is known to be the most favorite month for weddings.  So if you have an upcoming wedding marked on your calendar, and are scrambling around for Korovai suggestions, you will have a great head start after this post.

If you read my previous Korovai post, or my Paska recipe post, you already have a recipe for a Ukrainian Wedding Bread – Korovai.

Today I will share my recipe and technique for making the various symbolic decorations for your Korovai.

Korovai bread is basically a paska bread, with additional decorations.  Korovai can be a single layer (one round bread), two tier (two round breads in two different sizes, and stacked up), or even three tier.  No matter how many tiers is your Korovai, the basic decorations consist of love birds, cones, rosettes, branches, etc.

There are two types of love birds on a Korovai.  Ones with closed wings, which are the females, and ones with wings spread out (for courting and protection) are the males.

I have seen many Korovai makers using only one style of a bird, and usually they are the ones with closed wings only.  I prefer to have them in pairs, the male and female version, and will demonstrate how to make both of these.

The dough for Korovai  decorations is totally different than the Korovai itself.  Korovai decorations are not suitable for consumption, while Korovai can be cut up and shared with quests.  Actually, in Ukraine Korovai is always consumed at the wedding, and the Bride and Groom have a second one for themselves to take to their new home, or to keep as a memento.

Korovai Decorations Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup, plus 3 Tbs all purpose flour
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 2 tsp shortening  (Crisco)
• 2 cups water ( you will use only 1/4 cup water)
• 1 drop of yellow food coloring
• Clove stems, or cinnamon sticks
• Egg whites
  

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, place half of the flour, corn starch, and shortening.
2. Mix together.
3. Add 1 drop of yellow food coloring to 2 cups of water, set aside.
4. Use 1/4 cup of the yellow water, and add it to the flour mixture.
5. Mix with a spoon.
6. Mix in the remaining flour.
7. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, to make it nice and pliable.
8. Place the dough in a plastic bag, to keep it from drying out.
9. Line a baking sheet with an aluminum foil, and grease lightly with shortening (I use Crisco).
10. Wipe off excess fat with a paper towel, set aside.
11. Using a little bit of the dough at a time, make the birds (the smaller the birds, the less dough.  Medium size birds will require a ball of dough the size or a grape, 0r 1 inch in diameter).
12. Make more birds than you really are planning to use, to allow for better selection, and breakage.
13. Make sure to make the bird’s eyes out of clove tips, before baking, while the dough is soft.

Here are some of the steps in assembling male and female birds:

This is the dough ball, which will allow you to form two 4 inch long dough logs to form a bird. These will make medium size birds.  You will need less dough for smaller bird, and more for bigger ones.  All your birds do not need to be the same size.

If you are making two or three tier Korovai, I would suggest to use bigger birds for the larger tier, and smaller ones for the top (smallest) tier.

You can also make other decorations, like swirls and pine cones, as I have demonstrated for my Paska decorations.

Step 2 – laying out the body and wing parts.

Step3 – Crossing the wings over the body.  Lifting up, and forming the head.  Dab a little bit of water on the top of  the

body where the wings will cross so they stick better, and do the same to the wings at their crossing point.

Pinch the front if the head to form a beak.

Use tips of whole cloves for the eyes.

Use a paring knife to feather ( make slits) in the flattened ends of the wings and tail of a male love bird.  You may trim the tail to make it proportioned to the rest of the body.

To make a female love bird, you tuck the wings under her body.  There should be equal number of male and female birds on a Korovai.  These Love Birds represent the Wedding Couple.

You can also use a different version of a male love bird, with different style wings.  In this case, you would form the bird as illustrated.  Starting with one dough log, and forming the bird’s body and  head, flattening the tail, and wrapping a flattened smaller log over the body, to give it some bulkiness.

To form these type of wings, you need to have a short log, flattened to form an oval shape, split it in half lengthwise, and feather the outside edges, starting in the middle buy cutting out a small triangle as above, and feathering toward the tips of the wings.  Dab a little water on the back of the bird, and position the wings on his back, as shown.

Once all the birds are assembled, brush them with egg white wash, which is an egg white beaten slightly, with addition of a few drops of water.

Do not beat the egg white too much, as not to get it frothy, since this will give the birds spotty and flaky finish after baking.

Place the glazed birds, in sitting position, NOT on their side, on lined baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees F, for about 20 minutes, or until the tips of wings and tails are turning slightly golden.  The bodies of the birds will stay very light, do not brown them.

Remove from the oven, and while still warm, insert tooth picks into the bottom of their bellies, glaze again with the egg white wash, and set to dry, in a cool airy place, for at least 24 hours or even few days.

Best way to dry these birds, and to store them,  is to space them wide apart, and insert the tooth picks into Styrofoam coffee cups.  Set the coffee cup studded with birds, on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels, since the egg white wash will be dripping off.

These may be made way ahead of time, but do not store them in a plastic bag, or they will mold.  Keep them speared on the coffee cups, covered loosely with paper towels, and kept in a dry cool place, until ready for decorating the Korovai.

Besides the birds, branches of the Tree of Life (some Brides prefer their Korovai with that theme), Rosettes, or Cones, and Swirls are used.  The Korovai is also decorated with fresh Periwinkle or Vinca (Barvinok), or Myrtle (Myr), and Corn Flowers (Nezabutki), and Poppies (Maki), as well as stalks of Wheat, and ribbons.

Here are the steps to make the Tree of Life branches.  You need two of these, as they are spread apart at the entry into the Korovai and joined together at the top (Tee Pee like format).  If you prefer to have a more of a regular tree like decoration, with a main tree trunk and several side branches, then it would be much easier to use a floral wire, rather than wood sticks, to assemble the tree format first, then cover each part with the dough prepared in a the same manner as demonstrated below.

You need to make a long, thin dough rope.  Then you need to flatten it.  The length of the rope depends on the length of the branch you would like to cover.  Branches are usually at least 10-12 inches long, so the dough rope needs to be few inches longer.

Using a sharp knife, or scissors,  cuts slits along one side if the flattened dough, leaving at least 1/3 of an uncut edge on the opposite side.  Get two wooden skewers, and soak them in water.

Moisten the uncut site of the dough rope with water, and starting at the top of the skewer, start wrapping it around the skewer, overlapping slightly, so the wood is not exposed, until the whole stick is covered. Leave at least 1/2 inch of exposed stick at the bottom, to be able to stick it into the Korovai during decorating.

To make a Rosette, or Pine Cone, you would use the same process as for the above branch, but the dough rope will be thicker and shorter, depending on how large you want this Rosette to be.  I used scissors to cut the edge, for a cleaner cut, since these slits are deeper.  To assemble it, moisten the uncut edge with water, and wind it around at the bottom to form a flower like Rosette.  For a taller Pine Cone, you will need a longer dough rope, or even a short stick to help it hold its shape.  Like with the Love Birds, stick a tooth pick from the bottom, before baking. Baking and drying instructions are the same for all decorations.

To make the Swirls, you need a dough rope (use your own discretion as to the length and thickness, depending on the size you want these decorations to be).  Please remember that these will stay the same size, or may get a little bit smaller during baking/drying time.  As you see above, you start curling each end in the opposite direction, until they meet in the middle.

These may also have a tooth pick inserted in the middle of each swirl, or you can just make pin holes before baking, and use push pins to fasten them with for decorating.  Once baked and dried, it is almost impossible to make holes, without cracking and damaging the decorations.

Assembling and decorating a Korovai takes some time (it took me over 2 hours to get mine completed- in the picture above), so do not leave it as a last minute project.   It does not seem like it should take this long, but you would be surprised how perfect you want the Korovai to turn out, and how you want everything to be positioned just right, fastened well enough, so it stays sturdy at least throughout the wedding reception, as well as for many years ahead.

If you do not plan to use the Korovai for consumption, you can preserve it with the egg wash glaze as well, but make sure it is totally dry, before assembling, to prevent molding.

If stored properly, the bread will dry out completely, and will keep for years as a centerpiece on your dinning room table, or in a showcase, as a conversation piece.

I heard of horror stories from other people whose Korovai turned into a heap of mold.  This means that it either was not baked well, or improperly stored afterward.

I kept my daughter’s Korovai on a wire cookie cooling rack, for several months, so that the air was able to flow under it, to prevent any build up of moisture, which helped the drying out process.   Once it is totally dried out, it may be set up on a nice pedestal, and serve as a conversation piece.

Enjoy your Korovai making experience, and please share pictures, and comments.

If you missed my posts about the various Ukrainian weddings I attended, and took pictures of the Korovai, here are the links to these posts.

Ukrainian Traditional Wedding

Ukrainian Wedding with a Special Flair

Ukrainian – Jewish Wedding

Ukrainian-  Greek Wedding

Korovai is a special, creatively decorated bread, with one, two, or three tiers, which is usually made by the Mother of the Bride, and presented to the  Bride and Groom, with a special blessing.  This elaborately decorated bread is displayed at the wedding reception hall, placed near the head table, or by the wedding cake, on a small table adorned with Ukrainian embroidered scarf (rushnyk).

There are different styles of Korovai, depending on the region of Ukraine it originated from.

A basic Paska recipe, may be used to make the Korovai, or any other special bread recipe will do.

One of my readers, Olya M. from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, shared a picture of the Korovai she made for her daughter’s wedding.

She did a beautiful job, and you will not believe that this was the first Korovai she ever made by herself.

As you can see she is a very talented lady, and her daughter must have been very proud of her mom’s creation.

I made my daughter’s Korovai, but used my Paska recipe, and she selected a three tier Korovai, as you can see in the picture above.

Today I will post a Korovai recipe from the Peremyshl region of Ukraine, now (Przemysl) under Poland, located very close to the border of Ukraine,  and the city of Lviv.  This region is very dear and near to my heart, since my family roots are from there.

This recipe has been shared with me at a Korovai baking class, which I participated in a while back.  This recipe is for one tier Korovai, and a smaller one, for the Bride and Groom to keep as a memento.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 2 packets dry yeast (1/4 oz each)
• 10 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup butter (6 oz), melted
• 6 extra large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp rum extract (optional)
• zest of 1 lemon (optional)
• 1 egg beaten with a little water, for glaze

Directions:

1. Combine milk , water, and 2 Tbs sugar, in a large bowl.
2. Sprinkle yeast over it, and let it rise, until frothy.
3. Add 5 cups sifted flour, and salt.
4. Mix well, and allow to rise until double in bulk.
5. Beat eggs with 1/2 cup sugar, until frothy.
6. Add vanilla, rum, and lemon zest, as desired.
7. Add remaining flour to yeast mixture.
8. Add beaten eggs, and melted butter.
9. Knead until the dough is smooth, and no longer sticks to the hand (15 minutes).  See TIP below, for food processor instructions.
10. Allow to rest 5 minutes.
11. Knead the dough for several minutes on a lightly floured work surface.
12. Divide into 3 parts (3 lbs for the main Korovai, 1 lbs for the memento Korovai (0r a second tier, if you chose to have two tiers), and the remainder of the dough for decorations.
13. Place the dough in lightly oiled bowls, turn once, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and allow to rise until double in bulk.
14. Grease and flour a 10 inch  diameter  paska baking pan, for the main Korovai.  Repeat the same for a smaller pan  (8 inch) for the second Korovai.
15. On a floured work surface, knead the larger portion of dough, removing bubbles.
16. Cut into the following pieces:
17. 3 pieces – 12 oz each
18. 2 pieces – 4 oz each
19. 1 piece – 3 oz (or the remaining dough)
20. Roll the 12 oz pieces into 3 strands, 28 inches long, and more than 1 inch thick, and form a braid.
21. Arrange in a circle around the bottom of the pan, overlapping ends.
22. Roll the 4 oz pieces into 2 strands, about 29 inches long.
23. Twist tightly (about every inch), and place on top of the braid, on its outermost rim, overlapping ends.
24. Roll the 3 oz piece into a small ball, flatten the top, and place in the center.
25. Cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until double in bulk.

Smaller Korovai:

1. Repeat above instructions to make a smaller replica of the Korovai in the smaller pan, if you will use it as a second tier, or in a pie plate if you to be kept as a memento.
2. Cut the second piece of the dough into the following pieces:
3. 3 pieces, 4 oz each
4. 2 pieces, 3 oz each
5. 1 piece, 1 1/2 oz each
6. Brush both breads with egg glaze and bake in preheated 350 degrees oven, with pans not touching, for 15 minutes.
7. Lower the temperature to 325 degrees, and continue baking.
8. Remove the smaller Korovai after about 30 additional minutes of baking (total of 45 minutes).
9. Glaze again.
10. Allow to rest for several minutes, then remove from the pan, and cool on a rack.
11. Bake the larger one 15 minutes more (total 1 hour), or until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
12. Remove from oven.
13. Glaze again.
14. Allow to rest for few minutes, then remove from pan and cool on a rack.
15. Once totally cooled off, wrap in aluminum foil and refrigerate, or freeze, until ready to assemble and decorate for the wedding.

Please stay tuned for my next post which will provide recipe, instructions, and technique, for the symbolic decorations for Korovai.

TIP: If you wish to use a Food Processor or a Bread Maker, you may use these instructions (please note I DID NOT test this process)

1. Combine milk, water, salt, and 2 Tbs of sugar.
2. Pulse once.
3. Add yeast and and pulse again.
4. Set aside.
5. Beat the eggs with 1/2 cup of sugar until frothy.
6. Add vanilla, rum, and lemon zest.  Melt butter and cool.
7. Combine 5 cups of flour with 1/2 of the yeast mixture, 1/2 the egg mixture, and 1/2 of the melted butter.
8. Process until a ball of dough forms (2 -3 minutes).
9. Allow to rest.
10. Process 1 more minute.
11. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
12. From this point on, follow the remaining instructions in the original recipe.

One of my favorite traditions for Ukrainian Easter is baking Paska, a special bread, which takes center stage on the breakfast table for Easter, and is the main part of the Easter Basket, among other special foods, being blessed on Holy Saturday, or Easter Sunday.

I already shared with you my favorite Paska recipe, and many of you asked about the kind of pans to use for baking this bread, since the traditional Ukrainian Easter Paska should be round, in shape.

I decided to write this short post, and share some ideas of the kind of bakeware to use for baking paska.

The above pans are my favorite ones to use.  They have quite thick walls and bottom, are just the right size for paska for my basket (the largest one), and the smaller ones were always great for small paskas for my children’s baskets.  The largest one is 6 1/2 inches in diameter, and 3 inches tall.

These are stainless steel mixing bowls, which also are great for baking paska. These are larger in size than the first set, they have thinner walls, and the bottom is not as flat, but still very convenient to use.

These are glass bowls by Pyrex.   Very convenient to use for baking paska, but you will need to allow less time for baking, than in the other pans.   Also, you have to be careful with handling these hot glass vessels,  as not to burn yourself or place them on a cold surface, so they don’t crack.

These containers are made by Corning Ware, and excellent for baking paska.   May daughter used these for her paska, and it worked like a charm.  You need to make sure to grease well the upper lip of the posts,  and dust it lightly with flour, as it flares out, so the paska does not stick, making it difficult to remove.  You might need to loosen the edges up with a knife, so you do not damage your paska during removal for cooling.

Here is a clay flower pot, which was suggested to me by one of my readers (this one is for display only, as I am actually using it for my plant),  is also a great container to use for baking paska.   She recommended to use olive oil to grease the inside, before filling it with paska dough.

I have yet to try to use this idea for baking paska, but it sure makes perfect sense, since I am aware of terracotta cookware which some cooks highly recommend.  I would take a little more careful handling, so you don’t scratch your work surface, as terracotta pots usually do not have very smooth bottoms.

Some bakers use large coffee cans ( like those from Folgers or Maxwell House), line the inside sides and bottom of the can with a thick brown paper (brown paper grocery bags), greased of course, and cut about 1 inch taller than the can,to prevent the rising dough from spilling over.  These paskas are nice and tall, thus easy to arrange in an Easter Basket for blessing.

Tip: If you are using different sizes of bakeware, at the same time, keep the larger ones towards the back of the oven, and the smaller ones closer to the front, as the smaller ones will be done sooner, and more accessible for removal from the oven.

As Christians are preparing for Easter, the people of Jewish faith are preparing for Passover.

Previously I posted about the traditions of Easter, which my family and I celebrate, and Passover traditions, which my friends shared with me (click on the above highlighted  words to read the posts).

My friend Andi, shared her recipe for a One Step Sponge Cake, she bakes for their Passover dessert, served after Seder.

This is my first cake baking experience with using Matzoh Meal, instead of regular flour, even though I did bake a flourless chocolate cake before.

Needless to say, the cake came out delicious, and its flavor reminds me of Lady Fingers cookies.

This cake may be served plain, or with your favorite accompaniments.

I enjoyed my piece with Blueberry Syrup under it (the bottom of the cake was deliciously saturated), plus a little drizzle over the top, and a bit of whipped cream.  For those of you who “worship” chocolate, I bet some chocolate syrup, or hot fudge, would be even better than blueberry.

Ingredients:

• 10 whole eggs
• 2 cups sugar, granulated
• 1 cup Matzoh Meal ( Cake Meal – see TIP below)
• 1/3 cup Potato Starch
• Juice of one lemon, or orange, and some rind of the same fruit
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Break the whole eggs into a large mixer bowl (I use a fork to remove the white, stringy part of each egg, attached to the yolk, but it is not necessary, if it does not bother you).
2. Beat the whole eggs, for at least 20 minutes, or until the bowl of almost full (the mixture will be thick and frothy)
3. Add sugar, and salt, and keep on beating.
4. Add Matzoh Meal (Cake Meal), and keep on beating.
5. Add lemon/orange juice and rind, and beat some more.
6. Add Potato Starch.
7. Beat for one minute longer, or until mixed in.
8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
9. Position oven rack on the middle of the oven.
10. Pour the cake batter into an ungreased, 10 inch tube pan (see TIP below).
11. Bake for 1 hour.
12. Remove from the oven, turn upside down on funnel, and cool in pan.
13. Remove from pan, place on a serving platter, ready to serve.
14. Cover well, for storing, to prevent from drying up.

TIP: I was not able to find Cake Meal, and according to Google search, it consists of finely ground up Matzoh, so I placed several broken up Matzoh sheets in a food processor, and made my own Matzoh Meal.  I used about 8 oz of Matzoh sheets, for 1 cup of Matzoh Meal.  Much cheaper as well, since ready made Matzoh Meal costs $3.95 a box (probably 12 oz).  I paid that much for 6 – 16 oz. boxes of Matzoh.

Also, this recipe specifies NOT to grease the pan for the cake.  I was kind of skeptical about it, since the cake pan I have always gives me problems with removing cakes from it, so I did grease it with vegetable shortening, and dusted it with some Matzoh Meal.  The cake still had to be loosened up around the edges for easier handling.  It did not slide right out, as I expected.

The Great Lent has began today for the Eastern Right Catholics, but for the Roman Catholics, it starts on Ash Wednesday.

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras – in French), which always falls before Ash Wednesday (beginning of the Great Lent for Christians).

So by tradition, everyone loves to eat, drink, and be merry, on Fat Tuesday.

Many of the Eastern Europeans indulge in homemade donuts, Pampushky (in Ukrainian), or “Paczki” (in Polish).

I found a fairly easy recipe for this delicacy, on one of the websites I frequently visit, where my  friend, Babara , posts many Eastern European recipes.

I also noticed that many grocery stores have “Paczki” available around this time of the year.  They are even labeled as  “Paczki”, rather than ” Polish Donuts”.

If you live in  New Jersey, or New York City, you can find fresh ones (soooo delicious) at these establishments:

East Village Meat Market and Deli

139 Second Ave., New York City, NY  (between 8th and 9th Street)

Owner: Julian Bachynsky

212-228-5590

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

If you are up to making these for tomorrow, you may click on this link, to get to my post for the recipe.

However, if you prefer something comparable in taste, but steamed rather than fried, click on the link below, to view my recipe for Steamed Dumplings:

Steamed Fruit Dumplings – Recipe and Technique

Enjoy your Fat Tuesday!!