Doing your Easter baking?

As you do your baking on this Holy Saturday (or enjoy the scents from the kitchen) I thought you might be interested in a few recipes for Easter breads from different cultures. Enjoy!

Croatian Easter Bread (Paška)
1 cake or package yeast

2 cups lukewarm milk
9 cups flour
1 cup butter, soft
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt

Crumble yeast into bowl. Add 1 cup milk and 1 cup flour.

Mix and set aside to rise in warm place.

Cream butter; add sugar and eggs and mix well.

Add remaining milk. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic.

Set aside in warm place until double in bulk. Form into desired shapes.
Allow dough to rise in double buld in pans;

bake at 350 F for 30 to 35 minutes.

Halfway through baking, brush top with beaten egg yolk to which
a little milk has been added.
Tip: If you melt 1 stick butter and knead into dough

it will keep paška soft.

From "Our Favorite Recipes" St. Anthony Croatian Catholic Church,

Los Angeles, California compiled by Karen Mintzias.

Hungarian Easter Loaf

1 sugar cube

3 cups (700 ml) milk

1 3/4 cakes (30 g) compressed yeast

8 1/2 cups (1 kg) flour

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon salt

Scant 1 cup (100 g) confectioners' sugar

Generous 1/2 cup (140 g) butter

1 egg for glazing

Dissolve the sugar cube in scant 1/2 cup (100 ml) lukewarm milk.

Crumble into the milk the yeast and leave for about 10 minutes in a warm place.

Sift the flour, and combine with the egg yolk, salt and yeast mixture.

Add the confectioners' sugar, half the butter, and the remaining milk, slightly warmed.

Knead to a smooth dough, using the dough hook of a mixer.

When the dough begins to come away from the sides of the bowl, add

the remaining softened butter, a teaspoonful at a time.

Knead in firmly. Sprinkle with flour, then cover with a

kitchen cloth and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled

in size (about 30 minutes).

Divide the dough into three equal portions,

and shape each into a long roll on a floured working surface.

Braid them together. Place on greased baking tray to

prove again and double in size.

Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C).

Brush the loaf with beaten egg, and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Allow to cool completely before slicing.

From Anikó Gergely's Culinaria Hungary.