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Easter Paska Bread

April 5, 2017 by Nicole 10 Comments

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Easter Paska Bread | Culinary Cool www.culinary-cool.com

Easter Paska Bread | Culinary Cool www.culinary-cool.com

Paska is, hands-down, my favourite Easter food tradition.  The usual suspects – perogies, cabbage rolls, perishke – all make an appearance, of course.  But it’s the Paska that I fill up on.  It’s usually force fed to me by my Baba along side a cup of tea.

In all fairness, I do love the stuff (and my Baba) so it’s not entirely torturous.

Easter Paska Bread | Culinary Cool www.culinary-cool.com

Back home in Winnipeg, and in most of Manitoba, you can find fresh baked Paska at any grocery store at Easter.  Here in Saskatchewan, not so much.  I may have seen it once or twice in the past, but it’s not nearly as prevalent as back home.

So if I want it, I have to make it myself.

Easter Paska Bread | Culinary Cool www.culinary-cool.com

Paska is an Easter bread with Eastern European roots.  It’s made with a soft dough enriched with eggs, butter and sugar (you know, the good stuff), then formed into a round loaf and topped with ornate braids, twists and swirls.  I’m fond of the addition of raisins, but it’s completely optional.

The egg wash before baking is crucial if  you want to achieve that beautiful, glossy browned crust – don’t skip it!

Easter Paska Bread | Culinary Cool www.culinary-cool.com

Paska is best when it’s fresh out of the oven and still a touch warm.  Cut a few awkwardly large slices,  slather on some butter, (or in my sweet nephews case, some jam) and indulge in my favourite Easter treat.

5 from 1 vote
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Easter Paska Bread

My families traditional Easter bread

Course Dessert
Cuisine Eastern European, Ukrainian
Keyword Easter, Paska
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup raisins *optional
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast**
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup butter melted
  • 1 egg + splash of water for egg wash

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan, add the milk and heat over medium heat until scalded (reaches 180 degrees F). Remove from the heat. Add the raisins to the hot milk and set aside.

  2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, yeast** and salt and whisk to combine.

  3. Add in the milk, raisins, eggs and melted butter. Mix with a spoon until a rough dough is formed. Dump onto the counter and knead with your hands until a soft, cohesive dough is formed, about 5-8 minutes.
  4. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl and allow to rise for about 3 hours in a warm location.
  5. After 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Cut off about 250 grams (very small handful) of dough for decorations.

  6. Form the remaining dough into a ball and place into a greased, round baking dish, about 8 inches wide and 4 inches deep.
  7. Form the remaining dough into decorations. I like to make braids, twists, and swirls. Use toothpicks to hold in place.
  8. Allow the dough to rise for about another hour.
  9. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  10. Whisk together egg and water, and brush on the risen dough.
  11. Bake for 35-40 minutes. If the top gets too brown, cover with foil.

  12. Let cool in the pan. Once it's cool enough to handle, remove from the pan. Cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Recipe Notes

**I use instant yeast, which means you don't have to proof the yeast in warm water and sugar - you just add it to your flour and move on! If you're going to use dry-active, you will need to proof it first, so you can use the warm milk with some sugar added.

Notes on Baking:  You can also make the Paska in regular, rectangular bread pans, just adjust the baking time, as you will likely need to split the dough into two loaves.

 

Easter Paska Bread | Culinary Cool www.culinary-cool.com

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Filed Under: Breads, Muffins & Yeasted Doughs Tagged With: Babka, Easter Bread, Paska, Ukrainian Easter Bread

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. The Finer Cookie/Kim

    April 7, 2017 at 9:44 am

    What a spectacular photo. My oh my. I see the love you have for Paska Bread. Love this post.

    Reply
  2. Markus Mueller | Earth, Food, and Fire

    April 8, 2017 at 5:51 pm

    This looks very similar to a the German raisin bread (Rosinenbrot) my father makes every year! This has me all motivated to try and bake this tomorrow!

    Reply
  3. Maggie

    April 15, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    5 stars
    This is the first time ever I made Easter bread and my family and I just Love this recipe . My husband was very eager to share it with his family. This will be a must have at our house at Easter time . Thank you for sharing it

    Reply
    • mmNicole

      April 16, 2020 at 9:05 pm

      It makes me so happy to hear that! I’m thrilled you and your family loved it!

      Reply
  4. Michael R Foisy

    April 27, 2020 at 1:12 pm

    Hi there,

    I was wondering what dimensions your pan was — I am trying to figure out what kind of pan I need to get a shape like this.

    Thanks very much!
    Michael

    Reply
    • mmNicole

      April 29, 2020 at 10:21 pm

      Hi Michael, in step 6, I list my pan dimensions as 8 inches wide and 4 inches deep.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Pistachio Cream and Mini Egg Babka | Dish 'n' the kitchen says:
    April 11, 2017 at 1:39 pm

    […] blog about it. When I saw my friend and fellow blogger Nicole’s (from Culinary Cool) gorgeous Paska Bread on my Instagram feed, I was inspired to shut down my email inbox, hide my excel charts and pick up […]

    Reply
  2. Pistachio Cream and Mini Egg Babka - Dish 'n' the Kitchen says:
    October 2, 2018 at 9:10 pm

    […] blog about it. When I saw my friend and fellow blogger Nicole’s (from Culinary Cool) gorgeous Paska Bread on my Instagram feed, I was inspired to shut down my email inbox, hide my excel charts and pick up […]

    Reply
  3. 21 Traditional Easter Bread Recipes | The View from Great Island says:
    March 26, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    […] EASTER PASKA BREAD ~ Culinary Cool […]

    Reply
  4. The Best Ideas for Easter Paska Bread Recipe - Best Seasonal Ideas - Holiday and Travel Ideas says:
    April 24, 2020 at 3:44 am

    […] Best Easter Paska Bread Recipe from Easter Paska Bread. Source Image: http://www.culinary-cool.com. Visit this site for details: http://www.culinary-cool.com […]

    Reply

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I'm Nicole, a cookbook addict, cooking school instructor, travel junkie, and lover of all things sweet.

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