Paska

This Paska recipe makes the perfect sweet Paska buns to enjoy in spring or at Easter! It’s the BEST Paska bread recipe made with a fresh citrus-infused sweet dough, creamy frosting and sprinkles!

 

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

When it comes to Easter treats, nothing beats a deliciously sweet and fluffy Paska bread! The sweet bread dough is made with an infusion of citrus, making it ultra fragrant and oh so sweet and tasty. We love enjoying this Paska recipe as buns, but it can also be made into loaves and sliced like sandwich bread or braided into loaves for an extra special treat!

Paska is a traditional Eastern European sweet bread made with a strong citrus flavour. A festive bread or bun recipe, it’s made to celebrate Easter and it’s one of those dishes that has so many different variations depending on the culture and region in which it’s made.

Paska recipes are passed down in families, so don’t be surprised if you discover different variations of Paska bread that come from different Eastern European countries. We love adding a simple frosting and sprinkles to take it to the next level (and the kids LOVE it!), but the simple lemon and orange infused dough on its own makes for a beautiful sweet Easter treat.

Follow these tips to make the BEST Paska bread or Paska buns!

Read the recipe in its entirety before you begin and make sure you have all the ingredients. You can even measure out the ingredients in advance before you combine them – this can help you measure accurately.

Use ingredients like eggs, milk, and butter at room temperature to ensure they incorporate smoothly into the dough and maintain the right temperature for optimal rising.

In order to achieve a fluffy dough that rises well, the temperature of the wet ingredients when they hit the yeast is critical: too cold, and the yeast won’t be able to grow; too hot and the liquid will kill the yeast. Both of these situations will cause your dough to be tough and dry and you’ll be lucky if it rises at all.

Ensure the butter/milk/sugar mixture is slightly warm to the touch (about 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 to 43 degrees Celsius) to activate the yeast without killing it. An instant-read thermometer is a handy tool for this, if you’re unsure. If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer aim for the temperature of a baby’s bath water: not hot, just barely warm

This recipe calls for active dry yeast which, technically, is already active and could be added to the dry ingredients. We love dissolving it in water with a little sugar to give the dough it a faster rise time and to make the dough more smooth because the yeast is dissolved first.

Measure flour in a dry measuring cup and aerate the flour first (fluff it up). Don’t pack it down into the cup. Instead, lightly scoop the flour and scrape the excess off the top with something flat (like the back of a knife).

Too little flour and the dough will be too sticky and will result in dense buns. Too much flour and the dough will be tough, resulting in dry, crumbly buns. Be sure to measure your flour accurately.

Liquid should be measured in a liquid measuring cup, NOT a measuring cup used for dry ingredients like flour or sugar. Measuring the liquid correctly can prevent you from adding too much, which makes the bread dough too sticky to work with.

The Paska dough should be tacky to the touch, but not so sticky that it’s very messy. It should pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl easily and the bowl should appear fairly clean. If the dough appears too sticky, continue kneading and add flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough reaches that tacky texture.

Letting the dough rise too long will cause it to deflate or develop large air bubbles that completely ruin the structure of the loaf when baking and prevent it from rising in the oven. Be sure to follow the recipe directions carefully to be sure you don’t overproof the dough.

Turn the dough out onto a very lightly greased work surface rather than flouring the work surface. This makes the dough easy to roll out and it helps the surface of the dough to remain soft instead of drying it out like adding more flour would do. I like to spritz my counter top with a little bit of vegetable oil to make sure the dough doesn’t stick and it works like a charm!

Allow the buns to cool for at least 20-30 minutes before trying to remove them from the pan. If you plan to frost the buns, we recommend waiting until they’ve cooled almost completely to prevent the frosting from melting off.

If the Paska bread is dry, it could be from over-baking or adding too much flour to the dough. Follow the recipe for the recommended bake time and be sure not to add extra flour to the dough beyond what’s written in the recipe.

Under-proofing the dough will cause it to be too dense. Be sure to knead the dough well and rise until the dough has doubled in size.

Under-baking the Paska bread makes it gummy on the inside. Never cut into a loaf or a bun that’s hot from the oven because there’s a good chance it’ll be gummy inside. Let it cool to room temperature before slicing or serving. Bread continues to bake on the inside even after it’s been removed from the oven.

Proper proofing is important. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place. A lightly greased bowl covered with plastic wrap, placed in a warm spot like an oven with the light on is ideal (don’t turn the oven on – just the light). Allow enough time to rise but don’t let it over-rise or the dough will start to deflate and lose its shape.

If the loaf or buns aren’t shaped properly, it can lead to uneven rising. Make sure the dough is shaped evenly. Expired yeast can also lead to uneven rising. Make sure to check your ingredients and their best before dates before you use them.

If the Paska buns bake unevenly, it can be because the yeast wasn’t distributed properly or you might have a hot spot in your oven. Make sure to preheat the oven first. Uneven oven temperature can cause inconsistent baking. If you’re not confident that your oven heats evenly, we recommend rotating the baking pan halfway through baking for more even baking.

You’ll need these items on hand to make this Paska bread recipe (paid links):

• Stand Mixer
• liquid measuring cups
• measuring cups and spoons
• mixing bowls
• Microplane Zester
• Silicone Spatula
• Cutting Board
• large sheet pan or loaf pans

You’ll need these ingredients to make this sweet Paska bread recipe (paid links):

FOR THE BUNS

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup room temperature water
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 7 – 7 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar

FOR THE FROSTING

• 8 ounces full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• a few drops of milk, until spreadable consistency is reached
• sprinkles (if desired)

Here are a few variations to try for this sweet Paska Easter bread recipe!

1. Orange and Cranberry – Soak dried cranberries in orange juice, then drain them. Add the rehydrated cranberries to the dough.
2. Chocolate Chip – Add chocolate chips into the dough for extra sweetness.
3. Rum and Raisin – Soak some raisins in rum for an hour or so, drain them, and then add the raisins into the dough.
4. Almond and Apricot – Add in some almond flavouring and chopped dried apricots to the dough before its first rise.

We hope you love this Paska buns recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite traditional Easter recipe? We’d love to know!  

• Easy No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream
• Easy No Churn Creme Egg Ice Cream
• Mini Eggs Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Mini Eggs Easter Brownie Parfaits
• Easy No Bake Mini Eggs Cheesecake
• Balsamic Honey Glazed Carrots
• Maple Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Easy Maple Dijon Glazed Ham

Watch the video below to see exactly how we make this great spring recipe. You can find more delicious recipe videos on our YouTube channel.