Basic Paska for Easter

After reading a Ukrainian folktale to my girls this morning, we got busy baking our Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday, Easter Doves, and Paska!  Jennifer recently posted her beautiful Paska recipe, but since I didn't have all the ingredients necessary, and I wasn't going to be able to make it back to the grocery store, I decided to adapt "Mary Urim's Paska" recipe from Romancing the Stove incorporating some of the decorating tips from Ukrainian Classic Kitchen.  I just love how pretty the Paska turned out, and it smells heavenly!

Basic Paska

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 4 eggs, beaten and separated
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 9 1/2 – 10 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, scald the milk. Add the sugar, stirring with a whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, and let cool.

In another bowl, mix 3 eggs (saving one for the egg wash), butter, oil, and salt. Add the yeast mixture, and milk mixture, and whisk to combine.

Add 9 1/2 cups of flour to a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Gradually add the egg/milk/yeast mixture while mixing. Mix the dough for 10 minutes. Adding up to 1 to 1 1/2 cups of additional flour. The dough should pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and not stick. If it is sticking, gradually add more flour. (Note: My stand mixer was not quite large enough for this recipe so I ended up kneading the dough by hand. If needing by hand, knead well, letting the dough rest a couple times between kneading to let the gluten work. Continue kneading until the dough no longer sticks to hands.)

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with oil, turning to cover all sides of the dough with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1-2 hours).

After the dough has risen, take it out of the bowl, punch it down a little, and shape into loaves, reserving a little dough to create decorations. Place loaves into well oiled round baking dishes, filling only 1/3 full. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until once again doubled in bulk (about 30-45 minutes).

Note:  I had to be creative finding deep round baking dishes!  I ended up using an Oven-proof Batter Bowl, a white casserole we were given for our wedding, my new Round Covered Baker, and an old Pampered Chef Bread Crock! 

Meanwhile create decorations for the top of the paska.

Note: Adding decorations after the shaped Paska has risen prevents the decorations from rising unevenly.

To make a braided cross: Using 3 small pieces of dough, roll each piece into a rope, then braid the 3 pieces together. Repeat to make a second braid. Place one of the braids over the dough ball in the pan, tucking the sides under the ball. Place the second braid over the first in the form of a cross, again tucking the ends under the dough ball.

 

Additional decoration suggestions/designs can be found in Jen's post.

 

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Make egg wash - beat 1 egg and 2 tablespoons of water. Brush the tops of the loaves with egg wash. Bake for 45 minutes or until the bread is golden.

 Let cool in the pan.

Remove from pan, place on wire rack and cool completely.

NOTE:  This recipe will create 2-3 Paska, depending on pan size.  I used the leftover dough from our Easter Doves to create a 4th small Paska.  

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Easter Doves (Paska Dinner Rolls)

This morning I asked my girls to choose a book for us to read from our Lent and Easter Book Basket and they picked The Birds' Gift: A Ukrainian Easter Story.  This sweet book, unfortunately out of print at the moment, is a folktale describing the origin of pysanky.   After reading the story we were talking about other Ukrainian Easter traditions and decided to add Paska to our Easter menu this year.   We also learned that in earlier times in Ukraine "birds made from dough were baked representing the larks, who were migrating back to the north.   Today, these bread “doves” are seen made for Easter. "

I posted the recipe we used below, but you could also save some dough from your favorite paska recipe, or even make Dinner Roll Doves out of Rhodes Rolls!  Ours didn't turn out as well as I would have liked - you have to look at them just the right way to see that they are actually birds - but the children are looking forward to enjoying them with our Easter dinner!

 

Easter Doves (Paska Dinner Rolls)

Adapted from Ukrainian Classic Kitchen 

Ingredients: 

• 1 package dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 cup milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups flour

Directions: 

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and honey in lukewarm water. Let stand 10 minutes till yeast begins to work.

Beat eggs until foamy. Add the honey, oil, milk, and salt, and beat until well mixed. Add 2 cups of the flour and blend in well. Knead in by hand the 3 additional cups of flour or enough to make a workable dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. (I used my stand mixer with the dough hook.)  Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk.

Shape doves; place on greased cookie sheet and let rest 10 to 15 minutes. (The doves will keep their shape best if they are not allowed to rise too long. They will rise some in the oven.) Just before baking, insert cloves or raisins (push in deeply to avoid burning or popping out) for eyes. Brush with an egg yolk wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired. Bake at 350˚ F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

HOW TO SHAPE DOVES

Doves may be shaped in two ways:

1. Roll out the dough into snakes about the thickness of a finger; cut into 4 inch sections. Place one strip horizontally on your work surface; lay another strip on top like a cross. Pull the arms of the strip beneath up and cross to the opposite side) left side becomes right, right side becomes left); flatten and shape slightly as for wings. Shape one end of the straight strip of dough like a head (pinch for a beak); flatten the other end and make three or four slits for tail feathers.

 

 

2.  Roll out the dough into snakes about the thickness of a finger. Cut in strips 5-6 inches long, tie each in a knot. Shape one end like a head (pinch to form beak); flatten other end to make three or four slits to form tail feathers, spreading them apart a bit.

NOTE:  I only used some of the dough to bake a couple batches of the Easter Doves.  I used the remaining dough to make an extra loaf of Paska! 

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Paska: Ukrainian Easter Bread, Updated

In 2009 I posted about Festive Easter Breads and Cheese. My cookbooks are full of margin notes regarding these recipes, so I thought I would update and share my notes. Crossposted with my food blog, Family Food in Feast and Feria.

For the Ukrainian Easter Bread, Paska, I now adapt a recipe from Celebration Breads: Recipes, Tales, and Traditions by Betsy Oppenneer. I highly recommend this cookbook– it is very detailed instructions and diagrams.

I find one of the most difficult aspects of baking ethnic recipes is finding the right tools. This is an example — “Paska molds are somewhere between the height of a souffle dish and a 3-pound coffee can.” So this recipe uses either two 3-pound coffee cans or two 8-inch souffle dishes. I have neither on hand, and always forget this until it’s too late. So I’ve made due either with a Pyrex or Corning Ware casserole dish that is 8 inches across, or a wider mouthed (clean) flower pot that is also 8 inches across. (More on the flowerpot in my Pascha update post.)

The details on the recipes are two pages long, but basically you can compare the previous recipe for Paska.

Here’s my adapted ingredient list:

Paska, Ukrainian Easter Bread

Ingredients
For the Dough:
1 scant Tablespoon or 1 (1/4 ounce) package of active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)
1/2 cup warm milk (about 100 degrees F)
8 large egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2-3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange peel, zested
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon brandy or rum
4 to 5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 to 1 cup golden raisins (soaked in brandy or rum)

For the Molds:
Butter
1 cup dried bread crumbs (I use flour)

For the Topping:
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon cold water

Using a mixer: Sprinkle the yeast in the water to soften in the mixer bowl. Add the milk, yolks, butter, sugar, zest, vanilla, salt, brandy and 2 cups of the flour. Beat on medium-low for 2 minutes, adding the flour 1/4 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides. Add raisins and mix. Change to the dough hook and and continue kneading on medium low, adding a tablespoon at a time.

Put the dough in an oiled bowl and coat the ball of dough with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (This is one of my frustrations with my kitchen. This always takes longer for me, almost double the amount of time. I’m hoping my “proof” setting in my new oven will change this.)

Meanwhile, heavily grease the pans, and if desired sprinkle the sides and bottoms with bread crumbs. (If skipping the bread crumbs, do flour the pan.)

On an oiled surface, turn out the dough and set aside about one-fourth (1/4) of the dough and cover it. Divide the remaining dough and shape each piece into a smooth ball. Place the dough in the prepared molds. Divide the remaining piece of dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each one into a short dough equal to the diameter of the molds. Snip the ends of each rope about 1 inch. Lay 2 ropes at right angles to each other (the shape of a cross) on each loaf and curl the ends outward.

The decorations on top of the loaf are very individual, and can be ornate. These hints from Ukrainian Easter by Mary Ann Woloch Vaughn are extremely helpful. One year I made a simple cross and made an Alpha and Omega on either side of the cross, reminiscent of the Paschal Candle decorations. (Graphics from Ukrainian Classic Kitchen: )

Cover allow a second rise for about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. with 10 minutes remaining. Right before baking beat the egg with the cold water and brush over the top of each loaf.

Bake for 25 minutes until the internal temperate of the bread is 190 degrees F. Remove the bread from the pans  immediately let cool on a rack.

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Festive Easter Breads and Cheese: Paska and Pascha

ETA 2013: See my updates for Paska and Pascha.

Since my family has no dominant ethnic heritage, I love to dig up cookbooks and be inspired by different cultural traditions for feast days. Florence Berger echoes my thoughts:

Being American Catholic, we can choose the best of the cultures of all the nations of the world and make them ours in Christ. We can call the songs, the stories, the dances and the foods of all peoples our own because in our American heritage there is blood and bone and spirit of these different men and women. If America is a melting pot, it can also be a cooking pot from which we women can serve up a Christian culture. (Cooking for Christ, NCRLC, 1949)

My favorite area is through festive breads (although I confess I haven't been as adventurous since my son was diagnosed with food allergies). My interest in Ukrainian psyanky (and Polish pisanki) made me interested also in the Ukrainian and Polish foods used to celebrate Easter.

One year I made this very simple Paska, Ukrainian Easter Bread from The Festive Bread Book by Kathy Cutler (1982). It's festive, but not heavy, and a perfect accompaniment to the sweet Easter cheese mold. This is usually included in the Easter Baskets brought to church for a blessing (also the Roman Ritual). I simply used a Corning Ware 1-1/2 quart round covered French White Casserole without the lid and it worked out fine (use what you have!).

Paska (Ukrainian Easter Bread)

1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup golden raisins (I used more, up to one cup)
1/2 cup milk
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
melted butter, if desired

Beat egg and egg yolk until fluffy and light. Add 2 cups flour, sugar, salt yeast, lemon peel, orange peel, vanilla and raisins. Mix thoroughly.

Heat milk and butter to hot (120 to 130 degrees F). Add to flour mixture. Mix thoroughly.

Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth -- about 10 minutes.

Place in greased bowl, turning to coat top. Cover; let rise in warm place until double -- about 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Set aside a little of the dough to be used as decoration on top for the loaf. Shape the rest into a ball.

Place in greased cake pan 3 inches deep and 6 inches across or 1 quart souffle dish. Make cross of remaining piece of dough; place on top of loaf.

Cover; let rise in warm place until double -- about 30 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 45-60 minutes or until done. Cool on wire rack. While still warm, brush with melted butter if desired.

The decorations on top of the loaf are very individual, and can be ornate. These hints from Ukrainian Easter by Mary Ann Woloch Vaughn are extremely helpful. I did a simple cross and made an Alpha and Omega on either side of the cross, reminiscent of the Paschal Candle decorations.

We enjoyed spreading the Easter Cheese Mold on the bread. At first I was a bit confused, as the name for the dessert cheese is Pascha (or Pashka), very close to the Ukrainian name for the bread. And "Pascha" is the Orthodox name for Easter. Once I got the names sorted out, I was convinced I had to try the cheese. I didn't have an "official" mold, so used the clean clay unglazed flowerpot as per A Continual Feast's directions. Be sure to make ahead (today or tomorrow). I omitted the candied fruit. My cheese did not mold (it didn't drain), so I ended up serving from the flowerpot. It was still delicious.

Pascha

This is an absolutely beautiful and delicious dish; versions are prepared in Poland, Russia, the Ukraine, and Latvia. It is made in a tall mold (or flower pot), then turned out onto a large platter and decorated. Cool and rich, it tastes like a cross between ice cream and cheesecake. It goes wonderfully with the sweet Easter breads, such as Kulich, or with the various Easter cakes.

1 whole egg
4 egg yolks
2 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 pounds farmer cheese (see comments)
1/2 pound sweet butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fruit: raisins and/ or dried currants, mixed candied fruit peel
1 cup blanched almonds, chopped
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange or lemon rind
For decorating:
Candied fruit peel, maraschino cherries, or nuts
Fresh strawberries to place around the base and on top

Beat the egg and the yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until the mixture is thick and creamy. Pour into a saucepan and add 1/2 cup of the cream.

Heat over medium-low heat, beating constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken. Do not boil. Remove the pan from the heat and continue beating until the mixture has cooled to lukewarm.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cheese, butter, the other 1/2 cup of cream and the vanilla. Cream until the mixture is smooth. Add the egg mixture, then the fruits, almonds, and orange or lemon rind. Blend thoroughly.

Line a flower pot or Pascha mold with 2 thicknesses of cheesecloth. Place the pot over a bowl (to catch liquid), and pour the Pascha mixture into the pot. Put a layer or two of cheesecloth over the top, set a plate on it and something heavy on the plate. (The purpose is to press the extra liquid out of the Pascha and into the bowl below.) Chill overnight or for a day or two.

Remove the top cheesecloth. Unmold the Pascha onto a large platter, and remove the rest of the cheesecloth.

Decorate the Pascha with the candied fruit peel or maraschino cherries or nuts to form the letters XB or CR (Christ is risen) on one side, and on the other side a cross. You may use the Western cross form or the Orthodox cross, or any other cross design that you prefer. In Russia, Pascha is often decorated with an angel and a lily, as well as the cross.

Around the base and on top of the Pascha, place fresh strawberries. Serve chilled.

Yield: 14 to 16 servings
From A Continual Feast by Evelyn Vitz

The best part after making these goodies, was arranging the Easter basket for a blessing at our parish by the pastor. I included our Easter eggs, pysanky, ham, wine, butter lamb, paska and pashka. I loved seeing all elaborate cloths and baskets and beautiful breads and goodies, and it inspired me to do more the next year.

Pictures from easteuropeanfood.about.com and FoodNetwork.com . Pin It