PieSusan
02-22-2009, 11:43 AM
Poltavaska Paska (Ukraine)
Originally from The Plain Dealer.
Adapted and based on a recipe from Lucy Komichak, St. Vladimir's Church, Parma.
Makes about 60 servings, 6 or 7 paskas; dairy
Ingredients:
Vegetable shortening, plain bread crumbs to coat cans
4 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
18 egg yolks
8 egg whites
2 cups of sugar
2 cups warm milk (scalded and cooled to warm)
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks equals 3/4 pound) sweet butter,
melted
1 cup golden raisins
2 teaspoons vanilla
Almond extract (if desired)
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 Tablespoon lemon or orange peel
10 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
Glaze ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
Juice squeezed from 1 to 2 lemons
Optional colored sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees as paskas near completion of the second rising. Grease 6 or 7 coffee cans with melted vegetable shortening. If your coffee cans have ridges, line the greased cans with parchment paper then
grease the parchment. Dust the insides with plain bread crumbs being sure to shake out the excess.
Proof the yeast: Mix the 4 packages of dry yeast with 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir. Then, let rest in a warm place for several minutes, until mixture foams and bubbles.
Prepare the dough: In an extra-large bowl, mix the 18 egg yolks, the 8 whites, 2 cups sugar, 2 cups scalded milk cooled to warm, 3 sticks sweet butter, 1 cup golden raisins, vanilla and optional almond extract(s), orange juice and lemon or orange peel. Next, mix in the proofed yeast with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. The dough will be thick but should not be pasty.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 45 minutes by hand or if you are using a KitchenAid mixer, knead about 15 mnutes using the dough hook attachment.
Fill the coffee cans with dough until they are one-third of the way up the can. Cover loosely with a towel rung out in warm water. Place in a draft-free spot and let rise 1-2 hours. Punch down and let rise for a second time for about an hour. Second rises help improve flavor. The original recipe says not to skip this step. Paska requires two rises. When it is part way through this second rise that you should preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
When dough rises almost to the top of the coffee tin, bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees and then drop the temperature to 325 and bake for about 35
minutes for smaller tins or 1 hour for larger ones. The test for doneness is when you tap the bottom of the and it sounds hollow and it should be a deep golden brown color.
Remove the coffee tins from the oven and carefully remomve each paska out of the tin, removing any parchment paper. Now the following is an odd direction but it is what Lucy Komichak advises: "Place the paska on a pillow that is covered with kitchen towels. Gently roll each paska back and forth on the towels so that the bread doesn't settle to one side. Do this for about 5 minutes." Then,
let each paska cook and stand it upright after about 15 minutes.
While paskas are coming to room temperature, make a glaze by mixing 2 cups powdered sugar with the juice from 1 to 2 lemons. Make sure he glaze is very smooth. After the paskas are cool, glaze the tops of each one.
Optional: If you wish, at this point, before the glaze sets sprinkle the glaze with colored sugar. Let the glaze set.
Notes: This is very similar to the traditional Easter sweet babka bread. This particular recipe is one based and adapted from Lucy Komichak, which she teaches at her yearly Paska Baking Class at St. Vladimir's Church in Parma. This was her Baba's (grandmother's) recipe. Poltavaska means that it comes from the Poltava region in Ukraine.
Originally from The Plain Dealer.
Adapted and based on a recipe from Lucy Komichak, St. Vladimir's Church, Parma.
Makes about 60 servings, 6 or 7 paskas; dairy
Ingredients:
Vegetable shortening, plain bread crumbs to coat cans
4 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
18 egg yolks
8 egg whites
2 cups of sugar
2 cups warm milk (scalded and cooled to warm)
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks equals 3/4 pound) sweet butter,
melted
1 cup golden raisins
2 teaspoons vanilla
Almond extract (if desired)
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 Tablespoon lemon or orange peel
10 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
Glaze ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
Juice squeezed from 1 to 2 lemons
Optional colored sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees as paskas near completion of the second rising. Grease 6 or 7 coffee cans with melted vegetable shortening. If your coffee cans have ridges, line the greased cans with parchment paper then
grease the parchment. Dust the insides with plain bread crumbs being sure to shake out the excess.
Proof the yeast: Mix the 4 packages of dry yeast with 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir. Then, let rest in a warm place for several minutes, until mixture foams and bubbles.
Prepare the dough: In an extra-large bowl, mix the 18 egg yolks, the 8 whites, 2 cups sugar, 2 cups scalded milk cooled to warm, 3 sticks sweet butter, 1 cup golden raisins, vanilla and optional almond extract(s), orange juice and lemon or orange peel. Next, mix in the proofed yeast with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. The dough will be thick but should not be pasty.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 45 minutes by hand or if you are using a KitchenAid mixer, knead about 15 mnutes using the dough hook attachment.
Fill the coffee cans with dough until they are one-third of the way up the can. Cover loosely with a towel rung out in warm water. Place in a draft-free spot and let rise 1-2 hours. Punch down and let rise for a second time for about an hour. Second rises help improve flavor. The original recipe says not to skip this step. Paska requires two rises. When it is part way through this second rise that you should preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
When dough rises almost to the top of the coffee tin, bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees and then drop the temperature to 325 and bake for about 35
minutes for smaller tins or 1 hour for larger ones. The test for doneness is when you tap the bottom of the and it sounds hollow and it should be a deep golden brown color.
Remove the coffee tins from the oven and carefully remomve each paska out of the tin, removing any parchment paper. Now the following is an odd direction but it is what Lucy Komichak advises: "Place the paska on a pillow that is covered with kitchen towels. Gently roll each paska back and forth on the towels so that the bread doesn't settle to one side. Do this for about 5 minutes." Then,
let each paska cook and stand it upright after about 15 minutes.
While paskas are coming to room temperature, make a glaze by mixing 2 cups powdered sugar with the juice from 1 to 2 lemons. Make sure he glaze is very smooth. After the paskas are cool, glaze the tops of each one.
Optional: If you wish, at this point, before the glaze sets sprinkle the glaze with colored sugar. Let the glaze set.
Notes: This is very similar to the traditional Easter sweet babka bread. This particular recipe is one based and adapted from Lucy Komichak, which she teaches at her yearly Paska Baking Class at St. Vladimir's Church in Parma. This was her Baba's (grandmother's) recipe. Poltavaska means that it comes from the Poltava region in Ukraine.