Paska

A tall, golden, lightly sweet Ukrainian Easter loaf of richly enriched wheat dough soft with eggs and butter, baked in a high tin and crowned with dough crosses and rosettes, its glazed crust deep amber and its crumb tender and faintly fragrant with vanilla and citrus

Origin: Ukraine

From the journey of Wheat.

Paska is the great Easter bread of Ukraine, the centrepiece of the consecrated Easter basket carried to church on the morning of the Resurrection to be blessed by the priest and shared at the breaking of the long Lenten fast. Its name descends from the Aramaic and Greek words for Passover, Pascha, and the bread itself stands at the meeting point of an ancient Slavic veneration of wheat and the Christian feast of Easter. Wheat, milled to fine white flour and enriched far beyond the everyday loaf, is the heart of the matter: a tender, golden dough worked with eggs, butter, milk, and sugar, leavened slowly and baked tall in a high, round tin so that it rises into a proud, domed pillar, the better to be admired upon the festive table. The loftiness is deliberate and symbolic, a small architecture of plenty raised in celebration after the privations of Lent. What truly distinguishes paska is its crown: ribbons, rosettes, plaited bands, crosses, and birds fashioned from reserved dough and laid over the top before baking, an old folk artistry in which the baker, traditionally the woman of the house, expresses devotion and skill alike. Brushed with egg before the oven and sometimes glazed afterwards, the finished loaf emerges burnished and fragrant, and it is eaten through Easter week sliced and savoured with the blessed eggs, cheese, and meats of the basket. Rich, festive, and deeply bound to faith and the turning of the year, paska is the edible emblem of the Ukrainian Easter.

Ingredients

Dough

600 g strong white wheat flour, plus extra for the ornaments
250 ml whole milk, warmed to blood temperature
7 g fast-action dried yeast (1 sachet)
100 g caster sugar
3 egg yolks, plus 1 whole egg
80 g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp finely grated lemon or orange zest
0.5 tsp fine salt

Finishing

1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for glazing

Method

Warm the milk to blood temperature, stir in a teaspoon of the sugar and the yeast, and leave for 10 minutes until frothy. Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt into a large, warm bowl.
Beat together the egg yolks, the whole egg, the remaining sugar, the vanilla, and the citrus zest. Make a well in the flour and pour in the yeasted milk and the egg mixture. Bring together into a rough, shaggy dough.
Knead on a lightly floured surface for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, then work in the softened butter a little at a time, kneading after each addition until the dough is glossy, supple, and no longer sticky. This takes patience.
Place the dough in a buttered bowl, cover, and leave in a warm, draught-free spot for 1.5 to 2 hours until doubled in size. Butter and line a tall, round tin (a deep cake tin or a clean tall tin works well).
Knock back the risen dough and reserve a fist-sized piece for the ornaments. Shape the remainder into a smooth ball and settle it into the prepared tin.
Roll and shape the reserved dough into crosses, plaits, rosettes, or birds. Brush the underside lightly with water and lay them over the top of the loaf, pressing gently so they adhere. Cover loosely and prove for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour until risen.
Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Brush the loaf and its ornaments gently and thoroughly with the egg glaze. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until deep amber and risen, and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean.
Let the paska cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out carefully onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Traditionally it is taken to be blessed and eaten through Easter week.

Notes

Paska rewards a strong bread flour and an unhurried, gentle hand, as the high butter and egg content makes for a soft, slow-rising dough that must be coaxed rather than forced. Recipes vary widely from one household and region to the next: some bakers add raisins, candied peel, or saffron, others keep the crumb plain and pale, and the ornamentation ranges from a single cross to an elaborate garden of dough birds and braids. Do not confuse this tall, yeasted Easter bread with the Polish and eastern Slavic moulded curd-cheese pyramid also called pascha; in Ukraine, paska is the blessed bread of the Easter basket, shared with the consecrated eggs, cheese, and meats once the Lenten fast is broken.

The Gastrographer

Name: Paska
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 5 h
Yield: 1 tall loaf
Cuisine: Ukraine
Ingredients: 600 g strong white wheat flour, plus extra for the ornaments; 250 ml whole milk, warmed to blood temperature; 7 g fast-action dried yeast (1 sachet); 100 g caster sugar; 3 egg yolks, plus 1 whole egg; 80 g unsalted butter, softened; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp finely grated lemon or orange zest; 0.5 tsp fine salt; 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for glazing

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control