Easter Paska Bread Recipe 2024: A straightforward recipe for Paska, a tin-baked traditional Ukrainian bread served at Easter.
My family has a strong Ukrainian ancestry, as some of you may already be aware. Although they were raised in the Canadian Prairies, my maternal grandparents were born in Ukraine. My Baba has had a lasting impact on my homesteading methods, which include gardening, batch cooking, canning food at home, and more.
My family and I are advocating, praying, donating, and believing for a peaceful conclusion as this terrible conflict on our motherland continues. I feel that it is the least that any of us can do while I continue to observe the violence in Ukraine every day.
Easter is only a few weeks away, so we still have hope despite all the suffering. These days, I can barely express the overwhelming weight of my emotions with words, which is why I bake and cook. Learn more about Paska, the culture that inspired today’s meal.
Easter Paska Bread Recipe 2024
Ingredients
Potato Starter*
- 3 medium potatoes peeled, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
Dough
- 1 cup 2% milk warmed
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1 orange zested, juice reserved
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 5 1/2 -6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
Glaze
- 2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- sprinkles
Instructions
Starter
- In the evening before you want to bake, make this starting. Transfer the potatoes to a medium-sized pot and add one inch of cool water to cover them. Boil and continue cooking until tender. Set aside three-quarters of the cooking water.
- After draining, mash the potatoes until smooth. To get a smooth paste, add the flour and potato water. Cool after transferring to a bowl. For twelve hours, leave this beginning covered and in a warm location.
Mix the Dough
-
Whisk the yeast and the warm milk together in a small basin. For around seven minutes, place in a warm location to prove.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until the mixture turns pale yellow. Indulge in the orange zest.
-
Incorporate 1 1/2 cups of the potato starting and thoroughly blend. Add the salt, the yeast that has been proofed, and stir gently.
-
Change to the dough attachment and gradually add 1 cup of the 5 1/2 cups of flour. Stir until a shaggy, rough dough forms. Add the butter and thoroughly combine.
-
Take off the dough hook, throw a tea towel over the bowl, and place it in a warm area to rise for an hour.
- Place the bowl back in the mixer and attach the dough hook after it has risen. For ten minutes on low, knead the dough until it becomes elastic and smooth. Stir in the remaining flour gradually. Once more, place the dough in a warm area and let it rise for an hour.
Shape the Dough
- Grease the empty tomato cans liberally. Cut the dough into three equal parts. Form them into spheres and place them inside the tins. Dough should be poured halfway into tins. Use any surplus dough to fill a small loaf pan or tin. Place a towel over the tins and leave them to rise for an hour in a warm location.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lowest shelf and preheat the oven to 350°F. After setting the pans in the oven, place them on a baking tray. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the top is dark golden.
- After 5 minutes of cooling in the tins (any longer and they will become soggy), remove the bread by running a knife around the edges and letting it cool on a wire rack.
Glaze the Paska
-
In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. It should be runny and drip from the whisk. Brush or spoon over the tops of the cooled paska, letting the glaze drip down the sides. Garnish with a few sprinkles.
ALSO SEE
Sausage Egg Muffin Cups Recipe
Advertisement
Notes
- Overnight rising: Refrigerate the dough after you knead it in Step 6. So the second rising will take place in the fridge; it will be slow but it will add great flavour!
The next morning, shape the dough and allow to rise at least 90 minutes. Proceed with the recipe.
Nutrition
- Calories: 357kcal
- Carbohydrates: 63g
- Protein: 7g
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Cholesterol: 109mg
- Sodium: 317mg
- Potassium: 447mg
- Fiber: 3g
- Sugar: 34g
- Vitamin A: 341 IU
- Vitamin C: 18mg
- Calcium: 63mg
- Iron: 2mg