A classic Easter bread that took two tries: Paska

Mom used to do massive baking on Good Friday before Easter. Regular readers know the family tradition involved having nothing but fresh baked homemade bread with butter, followed by fried dough sprinkled with sugar we called kreppe. She also made paska for the Easter dinner, a raisin bread on the sweet side with a distinct shape thanks to baking it in a round oven-proof pot.

I made, or helped make, paska a few times when I was still living at home, but it’s been at least three decades. My brother Jay (of Uncle Jake’s Favorite Recipes, to regular readers), has been handling the tradition. This year I decided to try it anew.

To put it kindly, the effort did not fully succeed. The bread stuck fiercely to the pot, and I left most of the outer crust in the vessel. While the top looked beautiful, the loaf started to fall within minutes on the cooling rack, sinking like a hapless soufflé in a cliched ‘60s sitcom. I baked it at the West Hazleton homestead, where I had also made the traditional white bread and kreppe with plenty of success, and left it there to finish reaching room temp. Not far along the trip back to Wilkes-Barre I got a text from Jay.

“Your paska is turning into a pancake. Don’t understand it.”

That night I Googled a few recipes looking for tips to a successful paska. The one I used calls for baking at 350° for 35-40 minutes. I found three that varied markedly from that, suggesting 15 minutes at 400°, then another 40-50 minutes at 350°. All three also said to use an instant thermometer and bake to 190° at the center.

So on Saturday I made a second attempt, using the ingredients and directions in the family recipe, but baking according to instructions from thespruceeats.com, a website recommended by a reader some time ago, which I have found reliable. I baked at 400° for 15 minutes, and turned it down to 350°, checking every 15 or 20 minutes. At first I was just checking the color, and I covered it with foil fairly early to keep it from getting too dark, but then I started checking it with a thermometer, making sure it got to 190°.

The other change I made was pot preparation. This recipe calls for an oven-proof, 1.5 quart pot/sauce pan. We have a fine set of Cuisinart cookware that is comfortably rated above 450° degrees. With the first loaf sticking so strongly to the pot, this time I coated with Crisco and added a generous dose of vegetable spray. I got this idea from the pan prep used in the Detroit-style pizza I did for a test kitchen in September 2021, which used oil and a spray.

I have never before temped bread. Never occurred to me that you would. But I’m glad I did for this. The bread looked done long before it hit 190°. And if you don’t have a quick-read thermometer, you may get away with an old-fashioned cake tester, one of those long needle-like things that you stick in and pull out until it comes out clean and dry.

As to the problem of paska being a pot sticker, it disappeared. The extra coating of cooking spray did the trick, with the loaf sliding out easily.

Two important and related tips if you decide to add the braid to the top of the rising dough. Let the dough in the pot rise until it’s near the top of the pot before putting the braid on, and leave enough room from the edge so the bread clears the pot rim as it continues to rise. The goal is to make sure the braid doesn’t start sticking to the pot.

Dobru chut!

Paska Bread (mom’s old family recipe, slightly modified)

1 ¼ cup warm milk

⅓ cup shortening or butter

½ cup sugar

4 cups flour

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup raisins (optional)

1 pack (about two teaspoons) dry yeast

Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup warm water. Mix together milk, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add yeast mixture. Add shortening and flour and mix into soft dough. Reserve small ball (½ cup) for braid (optional).

Add raisins to main part of dough, place on lightly floured board, cover and let stand 10 minutes.

Knead till smooth. Knead reserved dough without raisins.

Place doughs in greased bowls, turn, cover with damp cloth and let rise till double (about two hours). Punch down and let rise again until almost double, about 45 minutes.

Punch down, round up and place dough in greased 1½ quart, oven-proof pot. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Make the braid from small ball of dough by cutting into thirds and rolling each out into long thin strips, about 18 inches. If you want, roll out long enough to cut several pieces off to make a cross (or three crosses). Braid the three strands together, form into circle and press ends together. Moisten one side with water and place moist side down onto top of dough. Make cross(es) in center of braid ring.

Let dough finish rising. It should be above the top of the pot before putting it in the oven. Brush with a beaten egg. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes, then at 350° for another 50 minutes, or until an instant thermometer inserted to center reads 190°. Check regularly and cover with aluminum foil if the top starts to get too dark. Remove from pot immediately and let cool.