Ukrainian Easter Bread with Sour Cream
This is a simple recipe for the Ukrainian Easter Bread with sour cream. You can top it with sugar glaze or a more fancy decor as we did.
Equipment
- 1 springform
- 4 backing cups
- 1 Chef's knife
Ingredients
Ingredients for the starter:
- 25 g dry yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 500 g lukewarm 3.2% milk
Ingredients for the dough:
- 1 kg white flour
- 3 tbsp sour cream
- 100 g sugar
- 4 eggs
- 30 ml unsalted butter, melted
- 9 g vanilla sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ¼ tsp salt
- 100 g raisins
- 100 g dried apricots
- 1 tbsp vegetable/olive oil
Ingredients for decor:
- 3 tbsp chocolate powder
- 100 ml water
- 200 g flour
- 5 ml olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
Instructions
- To prepare a starter, combine lukewarm milk with yeast and sugar, and mix well. Cover the bowl with a towel and put the starter in a warm place for 20 minutes. During this time the starter will rise.
- In a bowl, whisk eggs and sugar for 5 minutes.
- Add sour cream and melted butter and whisk again.
- In a larger bowl, combine flour with salt, vanilla sugar, and lemon zest. Mix well.
- Add the starter, eggs, sour cream, and butter to the flour mixture. Also, add olive oil and knead for about 15 minutes.
- Cover the dough with a towel or food plastic paper and put it in a warm place to rise for an hour.
- Meanwhile, chop finely dried apricots, rinse, and dry raisins.
- While you are waiting for the Paska dough to rise, prepare the dough for decor. Combine 200 g of white flour with water, oil, salt, sugar, and chocolate powder. This bread will be too dry and won’t be tasty. However, the dough is easy to shape.
- Knead the dough for décor well and roll it into a thin pancake on a cutting board, dusted with flour.
- With a chef’s knife, cut the chocolate dough into long strips. Use the remainder to make flowers for poppy seedboxes. Make chocolate braids. Put all your creations aside.
- Once the dough for Paska is ready, knead it again, add raisins and chopped dried apricots. The dough should not flop between your fingers.
- Cut the dough into 2 parts. One part to make a big Paska, and a smaller one to make poppy seed boxes. (If you want to make one big Easter Bread, don’t cut the dough).
- Add chocolate powder to the second part of the dough, mix well. Roll the chocolate dough and cut into four pieces.
- Brush the springform with vegetable oil. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).
- Make nice balls from the dough and put them in the forms. Make sure the tops is smooth and without wrinkles. Brush them with egg yolk.
- Top with the chocolate décor (braids and flowers).
- Bake for 35 minutes.
- Once the Paskas are ready, remove them from the oven and put them aside to cool.
- Refrigerate your Paskas overnight. This bread tastes better after it rests in the refrigerator for a day or two. Keep the leftovers in the refrigerator too.
