Paska is a Slovak bread that is traditionally eaten during Easter. It is often the centerpiece of the traditional Easter basket that is blessed on Easter Sunday. A traditional basket usually contains smoked meats, sausage, butter, hrudka (a sweet custard-like cheese), bread, salt, horseradish and pysanky eggs. Since Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians fast during Lent, the food in the basket is not eaten until after Mass on Easter Sunday. Each food item in the basket is symbolic of a religious theme. Paska represents Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, and is considered to be the most important food in the basket to be blessed. Paska is typically baked into a round loaf and usually features a dough braid around the edge along with a decorative cross or other religious symbols made from dough placed on top.
The attached recipe was provided to us by the Belensky family.
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Hello Slovak Easter Basket Blessers!
My maternal Grandmother made hers in a tube pan. She made the regular bread or sweet bread and placed a dried yellowish cottage cheese egg bread filling inside. Magnificent. Nothing like the smell of homemade bread wafting through the house. Along with her recipe came her annual superstition— if the bread didn’t crack she would live another year. She had no written recipe back to the time I remember. It was all the feel of her dough.
Thank you for sharing this story!