Paska The secret traditions behind Ukrainian easter bread

Paska is one of Ukraine’s most meaningful Easter foods. Chef Yevhen Klopotenko returns to his family kitchen to bake it with his mother and show why this Easter bread is both recipe and ritual, from pre Christian symbolism to today’s Easter baskets. Whether written as Paska, Paskha or Pasca, it remains a symbol of life, renewal and home.

CREDITS
Report: Yevhen Klopotenko
Camera: Lev Kostenko, Oleg Gienko
Edit: Gleb Sushchev

RECIPE
750–800 g wheat flour
250 ml warm milk (2.5%)
25 g fresh yeast
1 egg
1 egg yolk
225 g sugar + 1 tbsp for the starter
10 g vanilla sugar
1 orange (juice and zest)
100 g softened butter (82.5%)
2 tbsp sunflower oil

100 g cranberries
200 g powdered sugar
a pinch of salt
decorative sprinkles (optional)

Step 1
Take the butter out of the refrigerator—it should come to room temperature. Rinse the raisins well, place them on a paper towel, and pat them dry with another towel. They should be completely dry.

Prepare the starter. Heat 220 ml of milk (2.5%) in a saucepan to 30–35°C and crumble 25 g of fresh yeast into it. Mix well until fully dissolved. It’s best to do this by hand to make sure there are no lumps.

Add 1 tbsp of sugar and mix again until the sugar dissolves. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 20 minutes so the yeast can activate.

Step 2
The starter should double in size. Then add one egg and one egg yolk to it.

Step 3
Add 225 g of sugar, 10 g of vanilla sugar, and a pinch of salt.

Step 4

Add 100 g of softened butter (82.5%) and 2 tbsp of sour cream (20%). Mix everything well with a whisk. You can also use a stand mixer with a whisk attachment on medium speed.

Step 8
Add 750–800 g of flour and mix the dough with a spatula until smooth. The amount of flour will depend on the size of the eggs you used. For baking, we usually use size M eggs (marked C1).

Step 9
Knead a soft dough. It’s best to knead it for about 10 minutes so it becomes smooth and uniform. You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. The dough should not stick to your hands.

Shape it into a ball and place it in a large, deep bowl greased with sunflower oil. Cover with a towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour to rise. The dough should increase in volume by 2–3 times.

Punch down the dough and shape it into a ball again. Let it rise once more for 40 minutes to achieve a light and airy Easter bread.

Step 10
Then knead the dough again and incorporate 100 g of raisins into it. Do this in a way that the raisins are not on the surface of the dough, so they don’t burn while baking the Easter bread.

Preheat the oven to 180°C using the convection setting.

Step 13
Fill paper or metal molds with the dough, but only up to 2/3 of their volume. If using metal molds, line the bottom with parchment paper first, then grease both the bottom and the sides of the mold with butter.

Step 14
Leave the molds in a warm place, covered with a towel, until the dough rises to the edges of the molds. Bake the Easter breads in an oven preheated to 180°C for 20–35 minutes, depending on the size of the molds.

Use either the convection setting or top-and-bottom heat. Check for doneness with a wooden skewer.

#easter #ukraine