Happy Easter to Everyone… Христос воскрес!!!
Easter is the brightest, most majestic holiday in Ukraine, and it is celebrated with a variety of traditions. Some of them were inherited from ancestors, keeping ancient rituals and activities intact. Others have been modified over the years and have diversified among various family customs.
Traditionally, we would gather as a family and cook food, bake bread, and make beautiful decorative Easter eggs.
Ukrainian Easter bread or paska (which means Easter) is a slightly sweet egg bread that is a symbol of a traditional Ukrainian Easter celebration. A pysanka is a Ukrainian Easter egg decorated with traditional folk designs using a wax-resistant method. The word pysanka comes from the verb pysaty meaning “to write”, as the designs are not painted on but written with beeswax.
These items are usually taken to church on Easter morning in a special basket with other foods to be blessed and shared with family.
During this time, we are having our own celebration at home and displaying our bread and decorative eggs to enjoy safely as a family.
Ukrainian Easter Paska Bread Recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup sugar (plus 1/2 teaspoon)
- 1/2 cup water (lukewarm)
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (divided)
- 3 large eggs (room-temperature, beaten)
- 1/3 cup butter (melted)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- For the Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg (room-temperature)
Steps to Make It
- Scald the milk and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
- Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon sugar in water and sprinkle yeast over it. Mix and let stand 10 minutes.
- Combine yeast mixture with cooled scalded milk and 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Cover and let rise until light and bubbly.
- Add eggs, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and 4 1/2 to 5 cups of the remaining flour to make dough that is not too stiff and not too slack.
- Knead until the dough no longer sticks to the hand and is smooth and satiny (about 7 minutes in a mixer, longer by hand).
- Place dough in a greased bowl, turn to grease both sides, cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise again.
- Reserve 1/3 of the dough for decorating (see Note below). Shape the rest into a round loaf and place in a 10- to 12-inch greased round pan.
- Now shape the reserved dough into decorations of choice — a cross, swirls, rosettes, braiding, etc. — and arrange on top of the dough.
- Cover the pan with greased plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled.
- Heat oven to 400 F. Brush bread with 1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water. Bake 15 minutes.
- Reduce temperature to 350 F and bake an additional 40 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 190 F. If necessary, cover the top of the bread with aluminum foil to prevent over browning.
- Remove from oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
