Paska (Ukrainian Easter Bread)
Adapted from Traditional Ukrainian Cookery, Savella Stechishin, Trident Press, Winnipeg.
Although this round-shaped Easter bread is not sweet, it's richer than ordinary bread. The top is decorated by dough ornamentation in the form of an ornate cross.
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon granular yeast (1 package)
3 cups scalded milk, lukewarm
5 cups flour
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon salt
9 to 10 cups sifted flour
1 egg
Dissolve the sugar in the lukewarm water and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let sit for 10 minutes. Combined the softened yeast with the lukewarm milk and 5 cups of flour. Beat well until smooth. Cover and let the batter rise in a warm place until light and bubbly. Add the beaten eggs, sugar, melted butter, and salt; mix thoroughly. Stir in enough flour to make a dough that is neither very soft nor very stiff. Knead until the dough no longer sticks to the hand.
Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead until smooth and satiny. Place in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Punch down and let it rise again. Divide the dough into 3 parts. Wrap one in plastic and set aside. Shape the remaining two parts into round balls and place in greased, round pans, such as a 9-inch springform pan. Cover the pans with towels and let rise in a warm place until dough reaches the tops of the pans.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Divide the reserved dough into 4 equal parts. Shape each into a 20-inch rope. Cross the center of each pan of dough with the ropes. With a scissors, make a 6-inch slit lengthwise down the end of each rope and twist the ends into swirls, forming a stylized cross. Once the cross is in place, use additional dough to fill in spaces with rosettes, birds, or other designs. 艩
Brush loaf tops with a beaten egg diluted with 2 tablespoons of water. Bake in a moderately hot oven (400 degrees) for about 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 25 minutes or longer, or until done. It may be necessary to cover the top with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning. Remove the loaves from the pans and allow them to cool.
Makes 2 large loaves.
======================================鈥?br>
Baba or Babka
This traditional egg-rich sweet bread is baked in tall round containers such as a coffee cans. Care should be taken not to disturb it while it's baking so that it doesn't fall. To serve, slice in rounds across the loaf. Here are two babka recipes:
Cossack Baba with Vanilla
This recipe is from Festive Ukrainian Cooking, Marta Pisetska Farley, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990.
4 envelopes dry yeast or equivalent fresh yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1 tablespoon sugar
6 cups flour
1 cup heavy cream
30 large egg yolks
2 cups sugar
zest of 1 orange
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 pound unsalted butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk
1 cup golden raisins (optional)
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water for glaze
Dissolve yeast in milk and add 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir and set aside until bubbly. Mix in heavy cream and 1/2 cup sifted flour. Beat egg yolks until thick, and gradually add 2 cups of sugar, orange zest, and vanilla extract. In a large bowl combine yeast mixture with egg yolk mixture. Add 4 1/2 cups sifted flour and raisins. Knead, alternately adding milk and cooled melted butter until dough is satiny. It will be loose, as for very rich yeast rolls. Cover and allow to rise again.
Butter 3 or 4 cans (about 6 inches in diameter) and dust with dry bread crumbs. Divide dough into parts and form each into a smooth ball a little larger than a third of the volume of a can. Fill cans without disturbing crumb coating. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until dough reaches the rim. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 15 to 20 minutes, not allowing cans to touch oven sides or each other, then reduce heat to 325 and bake about 1 hour. Brush with egg glaze about 10 minutes before babas are done. Gently remove from cans and cool on their sides on a pillow covered with tea towels, rotating every so often.
Easter Babka
from Ukrainian Easter: Traditions, Folk Customs, and Recipes, Mary Ann Woloch Vaughn, Ukrainian Heritage Company, 1983. 艩
3 cakes fresh yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
2 tablespoon flour
Mix yeast cakes, sugar, and flour in lukewarm milk; stir until dissolved. Cover bowl and let stand in warm place to work until bubbly, about 1 1/2 half hours.
15 egg yolks
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
8 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 1/4 cups butter, softened
1 cup golden raisins, lightly floured
Beat the egg yolks until thick; add confectioners' sugar, mixing in until thoroughly blended. Add yeast mixture to yolk mixture; mix well. Stir in flour, salt, vanilla, and grated lemon rind; knead together until the mixture is smooth. Add the softened butter, kneading it in a little at a time. Continue kneading the dough until it no longer sticks to your hands. Knead in raisins, Cover with plastic wrap and a bath towel and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in height.
Punch dough down to release air. Grease hands with butter and shape dough to fit greased round baking containers (four 1-lb coffee cans work well) approximately 1/3 full. Let rise until doubled in height. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 8 minutes; turn oven down to 300 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes.
Variation: if desired, use only 1/2 cup raisins and add 2 ounces blanched chopped almonds and 2 ounces finely diced candied orange peel; mix these in near the end of kneading.
No comments:
Post a Comment