Moms Paska Bun Recipes

PASKA BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the sugar, warm water and yeast and allow to sit for about 10 minutes until the yeast becomes soft and starts to bloom.
• Combine the yeast mixture with the cooled scalded milk and 5 cups flour.
• Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until light and bubbly. Depending on how warm your warm place will be this could take an hour or so.
• Once you have reached the light and bubbly stage it is time to add the melted butter, 6 beaten eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon salt and Stir to combine.
• Add enough flour to make the dough come together. It should not be too sticky or too stiff. This could be up to 10 cups of additional flour
• Place the dough in a large pot or bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size.
• After the rise, punch the dough down and work it into a smooth ball adding additional flour if needed.
• Divide the dough into rounds, or braid it or shape it for small loaf pans. Make sure the dough is tight and well worked before you place it on a pan.
• Cover and allow the dough to rise ONE MORE TIME! Yes, this is the FINAL rise.
• Whisk together the egg with about a tablespoon of water to make an egg wash.
• Brush the egg wash over the dough for a shiny finish when the bread comes out of the oven. Score the dough if you are looking for a bit of decoration.
• Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes.
• Lower the temperature in the oven to 350 (but don't remove the bread). Cover the bread with foil to prevent over browning.
• Bake an additional 25 minutes at 350.
• Cool completely and store wrapped in plastic wrap or a zip top bag to keep it fresh.

PASKA EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• Warm the milk to between 100 to 110 degrees F (usually 30 seconds in the microwave does the trick!) and pour into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over top and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy.
• Add the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract, and stir to combine.
• Add the flour and the salt and stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Add the golden raisins then, using the dough hook, knead on medium-low speed until a smooth, shiny ball of dough is formed, 3 to 6 minutes, adding additional flour as necessary. (You can also knead by hand until smooth ball is formed.) Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours (rise time will depend on temperature and humidity in your kitchen).
• Punch dough down and remove from the bowl to a clean work area. Remove one-quarter of the dough and set aside. Form the large piece of dough into a ball and place in a 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan.
• Divide the remaining piece of dough into three pieces and roll them each out into a 20-inch strand. Braid the three strands together for one long braid. Divide the braid in half and use it to form a cross over the top of the large ball of dough in the pan. (Alternately, you can wrap the braid in one length around the inside edge of the pan.)
• Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy and nearly doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Whisk together the egg and water, then brush evenly all over the top of the dough and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
• Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 190 degrees F. You can tent the pan with aluminum foil if it is browning too quickly. Remove from the oven, turn the bread out of the pan, and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.

PASKA EASTER BREAD RECIPE (KULICH)

Steps:

• In a large Mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups + 2 Tbsp warm milk, 6 eggs, 1 Tbsp yeast, 2 cups sugar, 2 sticks melted butter (just warm, not hot!), 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 tsp vanilla. Whisk in 4 cups flour. Your batter will be thick like sour cream. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place or a warm oven (about 100˚F) for 2 hours.
• Add 5 more cups of flour; one cup at a time or until the dough no longer sticks to your hands (it will still feel sticky but wont' stick to your fingers). I find it's easiest to fold flour in with a silicone spatula. Dough should be soft. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups raisins. Cover and let dough rise another 2 hours in a warm oven (100˚F).
• Divide dough evenly into the three paper baking molds; try not to mix it or stomp it down too much. Let dough rise uncovered in a warm 100˚F oven for an additional 2 hours or until the molds are almost full. Remove from the oven and preheat oven to 350˚F.
• Bake at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes in the middle of the oven until the top is golden brown. Let cool to room temp or just warm and then tear off the wrapper.
• Once the Breads are at room temperature and wrappers are off, get your frosting ready. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups powdered sugar with 3 Tbsp lemon juice. Add a little water if it's too thick or a little more powdered sugar if it's too runny. Pour the glaze over each cooled Easter bread. Traditionally, these are topped with colorful sprinkles before the glaze sets.

MOM'S PASKA BUN RECIPE

Steps:

• 1. Dissolve yeast in the warm water and 1st amount of sugar, let yeast set for 10 minutes.
• 2. Beat eggs well and add sugar gradually, beat until dissolved.
• 3. Mix flour and salt. Make a well in flour mixture and pour in scalded milk, stir and add egg mixture. Beat well.
• 4. Add salt, margarine, lard, fruit juices and rinds. Mix well.
• 5. Add yeast mixture and mix again.
• 6. Turn dough on a floured surface an kneed well as if making buns and return to mixing bowl.
• 7. Let rise until double in bulk (2 hrs. approx).
• 8. Punch dough down and make buns. Let rise on pan until double in bulk (2 hrs. approx.).
• 9. Bake @ 350°F for 20 minutes or until tops are slightly browned. Keep watch that buns don't burn! Serving Ideas : Can also be made into 4 - 5 bread loaves.

MOM'S AIR BUNS (ROLLS)

Steps:

• Mix the 1/2 cup warm water, yeast, and 1 tsp sugar, and allow to proof.
• Melt the lard, and mix in sugar, salt, vinegar, and warm water. When body warm, add the proofed yeast, and beat in 1 1/2 cups flour. Let rest for 15 minutes.
• Knead in approximately 3 cups more flour.
• Let dough rise till double (approximately 2 hours).
• Deflate dough, and form into buns, any size, (I make 16 large) or loaves. Rise till double (takes approximately one hour, but depends on size/shape chosen).
• Bake buns at 350°F for approximately 20 minutes.
• For ABM, in my machine, on the "dough" cycle, I use 2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast, and I reduce the water to about 1 1/2 cups, the flour to 4 cups, adding a tad more water or flour as it kneads to get a smooth,soft ball of dough. I leave the other ingredients as posted.

PASKA BREAD

Steps:

• Stir sugar into warm water. Sprinkle yeast on top of sugar water, gently incorporate. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes, until bubbly.
• In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, continue to cream until well incorporated and fluffy once more.
• Add juices, zest, and salt to the mixture, mix until combined. Add scalded milk, continue to mix until well incorporated and smooth. Add 4 cups of flour, combine well. Add yeast mixture, mix until well incorporated.
• If you have a dough hook attachment for your mixer, affix it now.
• Slowly add remaining flour until a good, coherent bread dough comes together. It should be only very slightly sticky to the touch - not super sticky, and not really DRY.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for a few minutes. Dough should be smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky when it's been kneaded enough.
• Put dough into a lightly greased bowl or pot, cover top with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 1/2-2 hours. Once doubled, beat down the middle of the dough and allow to rise another hour.
• Reserve about 1/3 of the dough for decorations, and divide remaining dough out among the pans you'll be using (grease them first!). For reference, we used a 9″ round pyrex pot, a large loaf pan, and 3 mini loaf pans to bake ONE batch of this. It makes a *LOT* of bread... this is a good thing!
• For the main body of your breads, you'll want the dough to fill about 1/3 of each baking pan - they'll rise a LOT. Halfway full if you're adventurous, but don't say I didn't warn you. Cover pans and reserved 1/3 dough loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise another 30 mins.
• Once your 30 minutes are up, use the reserved dough to make designs on the top of each loaf.Braids, twists, curls, crosses and rosettes are popular/traditional, but have fun with it. (Google can be a great source of design inspiration.) Toothpicks can be used to help secure designs in place until after baking. Cover loosely with plastic, allow to rise one last time, 30 minutes.
• While your dough is rising, whisk together the remaining egg yolks and water to create an egg wash. This glaze will give your finished Paska a shiny, dark brown finish. Beautiful!
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Once final rise is finished, brush entire top of each loaf with egg wash. Bake loaves for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven door, lower the heat to 325°F and continue to bake for another 40 minutes.
• Cool Paska for 10-15 minutes (if you can handle the wait), then gently remove from pans and transfer to a wire rack or wooden cutting board to continue cooling.

UKRAINIAN PASKA

Steps:

• Warm the milk to 110°F or just warm to touch. Dissolve 1 tsp of the sugar in 1/2 cup of the milk and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside in a warm space for 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast turns bubbly.
• By HandTake the flour in a large mixing bowl, add the salt and sugar and stir well. Make a well in the center and break the eggs into it. Whisk the eggs with a fork to break them up. Add the yeast mix to it and start kneading. Slowly add the remaining milk and keep kneading until all the flour is mixed in. The dough at this point should be wet and a little sticky. Keep kneading for 2 more minutes and add the butter. Knead for another 5 to 7 minutes. The dough should be getting less sticky and smoother at this time. If still sticky add a couple more tablespoons of flour. Knead for 2 to 3 more minutes until the dough feels soft and pliable and a little glossy.
• In MachineAdd the flour, salt, and sugar to the mixing bowl. Fit the kneading hook and set the machine on stir or setting 0. Let it mix for 30 seconds. Add the yeast, eggs, softened butter, milk, and sugar to the bowl. Set the machine to low or setting 1 and knead for about 4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl if needed. By this time the dough should come together in s soft mass. If needed add a few more tablespoons of flour and knead for 1 more minute.
• Form the dough into a smooth ball and place it in an oiled bowl. Roll the dough in the bowl once so all sides are lightly coated with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled - about 1 hour.
• Punch down the dough. Lightly oil the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Divide the dough into halves. Form one half into a disc and press into the bottom of the springform pan. Divide the remaining dough into 3 pieces. Form each piece into a rope and create a long 3 strand braid. Place the braid on top of the outer edges of the disc leaving an open area in the middle. Pinch off the extra length from the braid and form into any desired shape and place in the middle. Cover and let rise until almost doubled.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F(175°C). Beat an egg with 1 tsp water to make an egg wash. Brush the tops of the bread with the egg wash just before baking. Place in the oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done. Check the bread at around 30 minutes to see whether the tops are browning too rapidly. If so, reduce the temperature to 325°F(160°C) and cover the bread with aluminum foil. The bread is done when the internal temperature reaches 190°F (88°C).
• Remove from the oven and rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
• If adding raisins, knead them in by hand towards the end of kneading.
• If using vanilla add it along with milk.
• If using saffron, add it to warmed milk.
• If using coarse sugar to decorate sprinkle it on top of the loaf after brushing the eggwash.