“The Ukrainian Easter tradition is to prepare a basket of specific foods on Saturday which are taken to church the next day and blessed, then taken home to be eaten. Butter, cheese, salt, kielbasa or ham, pysanky, beet relish or vinaigrette, boiled eggs and babka or paska, often decorated with flowers, candles or embroidered cloth,” Cindy Lazarenko, Culina Family.
photo: Let the Baking Begin
In a large mixing bowl add:
| 1 c | granulated sugar |
| ½ c | unsalted butter (softened) |
| 10 | egg yolks |
Cream together until smooth. Set aside. In a medium bowl add:
| 1½ c | milk |
| 1 pkg | traditional yeast |
| 1 c | all-purpose flour |
Whisk until foamy. Then add:
| 1 c | warm water |
| ½ t | salt |
| 1 t | vanilla |
Stir well. Add milk mixture to egg mixture. Then add:
| 7 c | all-purpose flour |
| 1½-2 c | raisins (soak in ⅓ cup water or rum for 20 minutes and then drain) |
Mix all ingredients well until dough forms a ball. Dough will be sticky.
Transfer dough to a floured surface, adding more flour as needed and knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Let rise for two hours. After two hours punch down with your fists to deflate. Then let rise for another two hours.
Grease your hands and pinch off pieces of dough and drop into well-greased tins, approximately ⅓ full. Press gently with floured fingers to fill in gaps and smooth tips.
Let rise for another 1½ to 2 hours (cover with tea towel).
Brush with egg wash (1 egg + 1 T water). Bake for 30 minutes at 350ºF until very golden brown. Leave in cans for 10 to 15 minutes and they should pop out easily. Let loaves cool on their sides, rotating every so often to help keep their shape.
Yields 6-7 loaves depending on size of tins.
Tips: We use 796 ml tomato cans. Make sure the cans are food grade-safe when heated and that their interiors do not have a coating inside (usually white) because the plastics and chemicals in the coating can leach into the bread. Babka is traditionally baked in cylindrical tins but can be baked in regular loaf pans or even a Bundt pan. Whichever you choose, be sure internal temperature reaches 200ºF.