Paska

Ingredients

Sponge

• 150 mlwarm milk
• 10 ginstant yeast
• 100 gplain flour
• 1 tbspsugar

Dough

• 650 gstrong white flour
• 150 gcaster sugar
• 1 tspsalt
• 150 gbutter, softened
• 4egg yolks
• 2whole eggs
• 150 mlwarm milk
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• grated zest of 1 lemon

Fruit

• 150 graisins
• 3 tbspwarm water, to soak
• 2 tbspflour, to dust the fruit

Icing

• 1egg white
• 200 gicing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsplemon juice

To finish

• coloured sprinkles

Equipment

• tall cylindrical tins, or clean tall tins lined with paper

Directions

1. Warm the milk to blood temperature and no hotter. Whisk in the yeast, the tablespoon of sugar and the hundred grams of flour. It should be the consistency of a thick batter.
2. Cover it and leave it somewhere warm for forty-five minutes. It should become foamy and roughly double. Put the raisins in a bowl and pour over the warm water. Leave them for thirty minutes to plump up. Drain them and pat them dry on a cloth.
3. Toss them in the two tablespoons of flour. That flour coating stops them sinking to the bottom of the loaf. Beat the egg yolks and whole eggs with the sugar until pale. Add them to the sponge with the warm milk, vanilla and lemon zest.
4. Stir in the flour and the salt. Mix it into a rough shaggy dough. Turn it out and knead it for ten minutes before any butter goes in. Adding the butter is done gradually.
5. Add the softened butter a piece at a time. Knead each piece in completely before adding the next. Keep kneading and it will come back together, smooth and satiny. This takes about fifteen minutes of steady work. Put it in a large oiled bowl and cover it.
6. Leave it somewhere warm for two to three hours. It should roughly double, though it may take longer in a cold room. Turn the dough out and flatten it gently. Scatter the floured raisins over it. Fold and knead gently until they are evenly spread. Do not overwork it, since the fruit will tear the dough. Grease the tins and line them with baking paper.
7. Line the sides higher than the rim, since the dough rises above it. Clean tall tins work perfectly if you have no proper moulds. Fill each tin only halfway with dough. The second rise takes another couple of hours. Cover the tins loosely and leave them somewhere warm.
8. Let them rise until the dough reaches the rim of the tin. This takes one and a half to two hours. Heat the oven to 180C while they prove. Baking them needs some watching. Bake them for forty-five to fifty minutes. The tops colour quickly because of the sugar and eggs. Cover them loosely with foil after twenty minutes. It should come out clean with no wet crumb.
9. Let them sit in the tins for ten minutes. Turn them out carefully, since a tall loaf can collapse under its own weight. Lay them on their sides on folded towels. Turn them every fifteen minutes so they do not go flat on one side.
10. Let them cool completely before icing. Whisk the egg white until frothy but not stiff. Beat in the sifted icing sugar a little at a time. Add the lemon juice and beat until thick and glossy. It should hold its shape but should still pour slowly.
11. Stand each loaf upright on a plate. Pour the icing over the domed top. Let it run down the sides in irregular drips. Scatter coloured sprinkles over while the icing is wet. Let the icing set for two hours before moving them. It is cut across in thick rounds, from the top down.

Technique

• Make a sponge first, since a heavily enriched dough rises slowly without one.
• Toss the raisins in flour so they do not sink to the bottom.
• Cool tall loaves on their sides, turning them, or they collapse.

Substitutions

• Clean tall tins lined with paper, in place of proper moulds.
• Sultanas or chopped candied peel in place of raisins.

Variations

• Decorated with dough braids and birds instead of icing.
• With saffron in the milk for a golden crumb.
• Made small, in individual tins.

History

Tall Easter bread blessed in a basket with eggs and salo at the Easter morning service.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paska?

Paska is a bread & pastry from Ukraine: tall glazed Easter bread blessed in baskets. Tall Easter bread blessed in a basket with eggs and salo at the Easter morning service.

How long does Paska take to make?

Paska takes 1 hour plus 4 hours rising of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 tall loaves. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Paska?

Yes, within limits. Clean tall tins lined with paper, in place of proper moulds. Sultanas or chopped candied peel in place of raisins.

What is the most important thing to get right in Paska?

Leave it somewhere warm for two to three hours. It should roughly double, though it may take longer in a cold room. Turn the dough out and flatten it gently. Scatter the floured raisins over it. Fold and knead gently until they are evenly spread. Do not overwork it, since the fruit will tear the dough. Grease the tins and line them with baking paper.