paskaEaster is one of my favorite holidays, because of its rich traditions.  One of these is the blessing of a basket of special foods which becomes the Easter Sunday brunch, being the first meat meal, after a strict fast on Good Friday and Saturday.  One of the special foods in that basket is a round shaped Easter Bread, called Paska in Ukrainian, or Babka in Polish.  The top of this bread is elaborately decorated with fancy dough ornaments, having a cross as the central motif. Here is my family Paska recipe, which makes two large loaves, or several small ones.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 package dry granular yeast
  • 3 cups scalded whole milk, lukewarm
  • 5 cups of flour
  • 6 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 Tbs. orange zest
  • 1 tsp. lemon zest
  • 6 cups of sifted all purpose flour

Directions:

  1. Dissolve the sugar in the lukewarm water and sprinkle the yeast over it.
  2. Let it stand for 10 minutes.
  3. Combine the softened yeast with the lukewarm milk and 5 cups of flour.
  4. Beat well until smooth.
  5. Cover and let the batter rise in a warm place until light and bubbly (I place it on a heating pad, and cover it with plastic wrap, then with towels, to keep it warm).
  6. Add the beaten eggs, sugar, melted butter, salt, and orange and lemon zest.
  7. Mix thoroughly.
  8. Stir in enough flour to make dough that is neither too soft nor too stiff.
  9. Knead until the dough no longer sticks to the hand.
  10. Turn the dough on a floured board, or other work surface, and knead until smooth and satiny.
  11. Place in a bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm place until double in bulk.
  12. Punch down and let it rise again.
  13. Prepare your loaf pans by thoroughly greasing them with shortening.
  14. Divide the dough into 3 parts, if you have large enough pans to make only two loaves, and leave the third part for ornamental decorations.
  15. If you wish to make several small breads, then fill your greased pans 1/3 full with the dough, still leaving some dough for decorations.
  16. To make ornaments, one of them being the cross, you roll out some dough into a rope like shape and form it into an ornamental cross to place in the middle of the top of the bread.

    17. making-a-braid-for-paska-decorating1 ornamental-cross-for-paska2

    You can also make other ornamental decorations for your Paska, such as a braids, rosettes, twisted swirls, cones, etc.

    swirle-twists-for-paska1 braid-and-cross-on-paska

  17. Now that your loaves are decorated, dip a pastry brush in whole milk, and gently brush the bread tops, and ornaments, to give them a nice golden color once baked.  For a darker shade, you may use a wash made out of one egg beaten with 2 Tbs. of water.
  18. Set the loaves in a warm place, once more, until almost double in bulk.
  19. Do not let the loaves rise longer than necessary, because the ornaments will lose their shape.
  20. Preheat you oven to 400 degrees, and bake the bread for 10 minutes.
  21. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees, and bake for 30 minutes longer, or until done.
  22. For smaller loaves your baking time should be shorter, so you need to use your judgment.
  23. To prevent over browning of the tops, you may cover them with loose pieces of aluminum foil, once the Paska is lightly browned.
  24. Remove the loves from the pans, and cool completely.
  25. You may wrap cooled loaves in aluminum foil, and plastic bag, and freeze until ready to use, to keep them fresh.
  26. To thaw, keep covered, to prevent from drying out.

Tip: If you like raisins in your bread, you may add 1-2 cups of golden raisins to your dough, and you need to make sure to push them deeper into the dough before baking, or they will burn if stickig out of the bread.

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14 Responses

  1. Suzy

    April 11th, 2009 at 4:13 pm

    1

    My grandmother made this same bread each year, and my aunts now follow her traditions. Yours look beautiful!
    Happy Easter!!

  2. Suburban Grandma

    April 12th, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    2

    Happy Easter to you Suzy, and to your family!!
    Making this bread adds such a special touch to our Easter celebration, and my daughter now is also continuing this tradition.

  3. Diana

    April 12th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    3

    Happy Easter!! WOW that bread looks great. I love right out of the oven or toaster warm bread! For one Easter a few yrs back I went to a friends house and her mom had made bread where there were holes in the top to lay the Easter Egg in after it was cooked!

  4. Suburban Grandma

    April 13th, 2009 at 8:28 pm

    4

    Thank you Diana. I hope your Easter was Blessed as well.
    Wow, that sounds like a great idea, to make a bread which can be adorned by Easter Eggs, after it’s baked.

  5. Diana

    April 16th, 2009 at 8:50 pm

    5

    Hi again! I saw these Easter eggs and thought of you. Arent they beautiful?!

    http://goodfinking.com/2009/04/14/an-egg-cellent-little-vacay/

  6. Suburban Grandma

    April 16th, 2009 at 9:52 pm

    6

    I just checked out the link you provided me with. Thank you.
    Yes, these Polish Easter Eggs are really nice. Have you noticed the difference in design style and color choices, between the Polish and the Ukrainian Eggs? I noticed there was a Star of David Egg as well. Egg decorating is such a wonderful art.

  7. D.marie

    April 17th, 2009 at 1:40 am

    7

    Yes she noted that the star of david was for her jewish husband…how cute and thoughtful! It seems as if the Ukrainian Eggs are more detailed and probably take long hours to complete. Both are very beautiful though.

  8. Suburban Grandma

    April 17th, 2009 at 9:44 pm

    8

    Yes, that was very thoughtful….I am sure he is very proud of her.
    I think all egg decorating requires lots of time and patience, and the more intricate the design the longer it takes to complete it.

  9. D.marie

    April 17th, 2009 at 10:58 pm

    9

    Hi again!! Thanks so much for the beautiful compliment you left about my Easter cards! I sent one to my future Mother-in-law and she told my fiance that it was so beautiful and thoughtful that she wants to frame it!! AWW!! :)

  10. Suburban Grandma

    April 19th, 2009 at 4:26 pm

    10

    I think you scored a point in your favor, with your mother-in-law, with your Easter cards, and rightfully so. You did a super job indeed!

  11. Tricia

    March 29th, 2010 at 1:26 pm

    11

    Help! I’m making Paska for the first time, for blessing this Saturday. What kind (size) of loaf pans do you use? Thanks for the recipe. Your designs are beautiful! Christ is risen!

  12. Suburban Grandma

    March 29th, 2010 at 8:36 pm

    12

    Traditional Ukrainian Paska for blessing should be a round shape, and the sides need to be taller than regular cake pans. I actually found three stackable round pans: 6 3/4” x 3”, 6 1/2” x 2 3/4”, and 5 1/2” x 2 1/2”. If you do not have round pans that are at least that size and height, you can use coffee cans, like those from Folgers or Maxwell House, but you need to line them up with brown paper like the one from paper grocery bags. You will need to cut a rectangle that is slightly longer than the circumference of the can and about 1 inch taller than the can. Also cut out a round circle for the bottom of the can. You will need to grease the can so the paper sticks to it and the paper from the inside so the dough does not stick to it. You can also use metal mixing bowls, which also work out nicely. If you are not using the same size pans, the smaller ones will have to be taken out sooner, of course, than the larger ones. I always cover my paska with foil paper as soon as it turns golden color, then it still brows more as it bakes.

  13. allan j s

    March 31st, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    13

    i love cooking and i think i’m quite good at it , so i’d like to offer a suggestion. i’ve tried it and it works excellent, get a good quality ceramic flower pot , use a touch of olive oil and bake your paska. it works well plus it gives you the beautiful shape you want…..

  14. Suburban Grandma

    March 31st, 2010 at 9:36 pm

    14

    Thank you so much for the wonderful suggestion on using a ceramic flower pot as a vessel for baking a paska. I read about clay pots for cooking and baking, so it does make sense. I actually will have to try this one, to test the length of time it takes for the paska to bake, if there is any difference between this pot and regular metal pot.


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