Contributed by (Recipe adapted from “Suburban Grandma” at http://suburbangrandma.com)

Paska is a popular Ukrainian Easter bread that represents a family’s prosperity for the coming
year. Traditionally, to ensure a perfect loaf, the baker of this bread must keep his/her
thoughts pure and the household must remain quiet. No strangers are allowed in the house while
the bread is being made to ensure that they don’t threaten the family’s fortune.

Ingredients

1 tsp Sugar
1 C lukewarm Water
1 package dry granular Yeast
3 C scalded whole Milk, lukewarm
5 C Flour
6 Eggs, beaten
1 C Sugar
1/2 C melted Butter
1 tsp Salt
1 Tbs Orange zest
1 tsp Lemon zest
6 C Flour

Instructions

Dissolve the sugar in the lukewarm water and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let it stand for 10
minutes. Combine the yeast with the lukewarm milk and add the 5 C of flour. Beat well until
smooth. Cover and let the batter rise in a warm place until light and bubbly. Add the beaten
eggs, sugar, melted butter, salt, and orange and lemon zest. Mix thoroughly. Knead until the
dough no longer sticks to the hand – add flour as needed. Turn the dough on a floured board and
knead until smooth and satiny. Place in a bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm place until double
in bulk. Punch down and let it rise again. Grease two loaf pans. Divide the dough into 3 parts -
two for loaves and one for ornamental decorations. You can make ornamental decorations for
your Paska, such as a cross, braids, rosettes, twisted swirls, cones, etc. Once 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. Set the loaves in a warm place, once more, until almost
double in bulk. Preheat you oven to 400°F, and bake the bread for 10 minutes. Lower the
temperature to 350°F, and bake for 30 minutes longer, or until done. Remove the loaves from
the pans, and cool completely.

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