Paska is the Easter Bread is a big part of the Easter tradition. Conventional Paska Bread consists of a round shaped, sweet tasting bread with raisins. Light and flaky dough that will melt in your mouth!

This recipe is my all-time favorite Paska Bread. I’ve made it many times and have never been disappointed. The process seems to be lengthy, but it’s actually pretty simple, as long as you follow the steps.
Paska is supposed to come out moist and flaky, but not crumbly. This recipe achieves all of the above.
What is the Difference Between Babka and Paska Bread?
Babka and paska are both traditional Easter yeast breads. Ukrainians make them during the holiday as a special treat that is both holy and delicious. However, they can be enjoyed by all during Easter because they are just THAT tasty. Here’s the difference between the two:
Babka
Babka is a tall and cylindrical cake that is baked in a bundt-style pan. It typically contains raisins and is iced on top. It’s very sweet and similar to the Italian panettone.
Paska
Paska, which translates to “Easter” in Ukrainian, is slightly sweet and similar to challah. This egg bread is typically braided and decorated with religious symbols for Easter. Then, it is taken to the church in a beautiful basket and blessed.

Paska Bread Topping
Paska Bread is typically finished off with a topping. Combine together 2 cups of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. Drizzle the mixture over the top of the paska bread.
Tips for The Perfect Paska Bread
- If you can get your hands on Canadian flour, I would highly recommend using it.
- Depending on the flour you use, you may need to add a little more. This dough is on the sticky side but shouldn’t be runny.
- To activate the yeast, the milk temperature should be at around 110 °F – 120 °F.
- Soak raisins before adding them to the dough; they will have a nicer texture.
- You can freeze Paska without the glaze in an airtight container; thaw at room temperature.
- Here is the mold you can purchase, or you can also get a cake pan.






Other Recipes to Try
- Stuffed French Toast Recipe – one of the best ways to use brioche bread leftovers!
- Easy Brioche Bread – Braided sweet bread that can be used for a toast or just a snack with coffee!
Recipe
Ingredients
Bread
- 2 cup Milk lukewarm
- 1 1/2 tbsp Dry Yeast
- 6 cup white flour
- 6 Eggs
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 200 g Butter melted
- 2 cup Raisins
Topping
- 2 cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 tbsp Milk
Instructions
Bread
- Combine warm milk together with yeast and two cups of flour. Combine by whisking all the ingredients together. Cover the bowl with a towel and set it aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
- While the dough is rising, separate the egg yolks from egg whites. Whisk egg yolks together with 1 cup of sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk whites until they turn into a foamy (stiff peeks) mixture.
- Mix egg yolks into the dough, followed by butter, vanilla extract and egg whites.
- If you’re using your mixer, mix in the rest of the flour in small portions. Knead the dough until it becomes elastic. In the picture, you can see how smooth the dough will turn out. The dough is going to be more on a sticky side.
- Cover the dough with a towel and set it aside to rise for about an hour.
- While the dough is rising, soak raisins in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain the raisins completely and mix them into the dough; Cover with a towel and set it aside, once again.
- The dough will be sticky, so you may want to oil your hands. Fill up each buttered pan, half way, with the dough. Cover the bread with a towel and set aside to rise for about 30 minutes.
- Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, depending on the size of your paska. Let the bread cool completely to room temperature.
difficult to get any flour lately cause I sheltering in Place ,,,but scored 10 pounds of 00 flour on Amazon ,,,will start using this weekend ,,any tips on using 00 flour ,,,????
No, I am not familiar with it. Maybe Google or read the label. I think label would have some tips.
thank you so very much for your quick response. so many chefs never answer. I will let you know what I find out about 00 flour and it is from Italy
hello, can I make dough in a bread machine on dough setting also Mom always baked in old coffee cans that what your looked like ???? what are those paper deals you show in photo. Bin cooking for 65 years. was an associate of James ,Jimmy to his friends ,,Beard . just found your site today bin reading and commenting on breads ,,,,, I'm a Lithuanian Italian with a touch of Polish ,Mom was a great cook Italian every Sunday Fish on Friday and you name it in-between may GOD bless young Family ,,,stay safe and as Jimmy would say Good Eating
Joseph, welcome to the blog. I love Italians because they are amazing in working with the dough. We traveled to Italy a few years ago and I would always watch bakery chefs do the magic. As far as the mold, you can sue coffee cans and I have done it before. But now I use a mold that I got on amazon, I liked to it in the recipe notes. You can use a bread machine, I just hope it's large enough.
Hello, by 1 cup how much grams / ml do you mean?
Hey Moon, which ingredient are you referring to.
This year I tried out two different Easter bread recipes, and my husband loved this recipe. He said only make this recipe from now on. Thank you for sharing your recipes and tips! I appreciate you!
Hi Kristina, I am so happy to hear your feedback. Thank you for sharing.
Made Easter Bread for Easter for the first time and it turned out perfect, also check out momsdish French toast made out of Easter bread, it’s a bomb ! We loved it !! It’s a win-win !!
Hey Roxy, I am so happy to hear this. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! You are awesome!
First time making this! Totally messed up the first time thinking it was 6 cups instead it was 2 cups of flour in the beginning so that went to trash 🤦🏼♀️ Second time around I was almost all done until I noticed my butter was still standing there!! Agh! So towards the end right before pouring them into molds I added the butter last minute. Fingers crossed 🤞🏼 I waited patiently and worriedly...timer went off and I opened the oven to my surprise it looked beautiful!! It was delish and I’m so happy it turned out better than I thought it would!! Thank you! Definitely making this an Easter tradition!
Hey Allie, thank you for sharing. Baking can be tricky at times but I am glad it worked for you. Thanks for sharing all the details.
Thank you for the recipe! My first time baking Easter Bread and it was delicious.
Hey Irina, thank you so much for sharing your feedback. I am so glad it turned out great for you!
The recipe didn’t turn out for me. I had to add 2 extra cups of flour. I realized afterwards that some of the wording was confusing. When it said to add the egg whites into the main mixture, it said “foamy mixture”. That is very different from stiff peaks. That is why my dough turned out runny because I did not beat it until stiff peaks but only until a foamy mixture. Also the photo with the stiff peaks egg whites was not in the step-by-step breakdown of the recipe. It would be helpful to have it in between picture three and four not in the beginning of the whole recipe where it is overlooked. I hope I’m not the only one making that mistake.
Hey Vinny, we received several hundred photos with success stories of this bread. I am sorry yours wasn't perfect. Egg whites alone will not ruin the bread, they just need to be fluffy, foamy or stiff peeks would work. We also have a video in highlights of our Instagram. I hope that helps! I am sorry again.
I had the same issue!!!! I didn’t know that it needed to be stiff peaks Bec I was reading the bottom of the page. Now I know. I too had to add an additional 2cups of flour to make it work. Still good but yah wish I saw the picture of the stiff peeks.
Hey April, that part shouldn't mess up the dough because you just want to get them as fluffy as possible. Thanks for sharing the tips. I will add them to the recipe. As far as flour, each brand works differently and it's hard to say exact measurements.
Hi Natalya: This is such a delicious kulich recipe. I've tried a few other recipes before and this one is by far the best. I'm still having issues with the glaze, it never looks as fancy as the pictures (I may try dipping the bread in next time). I also omitted vanilla extract because I ran out. However, overall it tastes amazing! Thanks again for another awesome recipe.
This recipe yielded 2 - 6"panettone pans and a 10" loaf pan. This was a practice run, will be making more for next week.
Thank you for sharing this Dina. I allow them cool off slightly before I spoon the topping. And sprinkles cover all the imperfections.
Hi Natalya, I was reading posts, before asking my questions I got some Canadian flour; however, it's bleached...cash and carry don't carry unbleached version. Which Canadian flour are you referring to in your tips? In addition, I have Panettone paper molds 6.75" diameter...how many paskas will this recipe approximately yield with my molds? Thank you kindly for your time, and the beautiful recipe!
It makes 3 breads and you can use bleached flour.
Do I let to rise the dough in a warm place again? Or just at room temperature ( after I added the flour)
Warm meaning proofing temperature and if your house is warm, that works too.
Thank you! They turned out really good!
I am so glad! Thanks for sharing!
Nataliya- Ive tried making this first time and the dough didn’t rise at all :(((. so disappointed.I used Canadian flour, used Instant dry yeast(red star brand), I don’t know what I could’ve done wrong. Could the milk have been too warm? I warmed it up on stove.
Do I let the dough rise for an hour before adding in the raisins? Or I can add the raisins in after I soaked them for 15min and continue to rise it after raisins added.
You want the dough to rise. You can do 30 minutes and add raisins. Its best to give the dough the time to do the magic 🙂
Hi Natalya! Do u use bleached or unbleached flour For this recipe?
Hey Diana, I usually use unbleached flour, this is one of my favorites: https://amzn.to/2Xp0wgc
Hi Natalya, I was reading posts, before asking my questions 🙂 I got some Canadian flour; however, it's bleached...cash and carry don't carry unbleached version. Which Canadian flour are you referring to in your tips? In addition, I have Panettone paper molds 6.75" diameter...how many paskas will this recipe approximately yield with my molds? Thank you kindly for your time, and the beautiful recipe!
To be festive, I soaked my raisins in Amaretto.
Hey Jeanne, you are definitely festive. I like the idea!
Is this still the same recipe as before? You have updated your photos so I just wanted to make sure it is still the same recipe.
This is by far the best recipe I’ve used!
Hey Kris, yes it is the same recipe. Just added a few nicer pictures 🙂 So glad you loved it before!
Do you think I could make foil mold instead of paper ones?
I think it could work, as long as it holds the shape.
Hi there, is it the same process if I am using instant dry yeast from the Russian store?
Hey Julia, I think so. I am actually testing it out today with yeast from a local Russian store. Thanks
I would love to try this amazing recipe but I wanna make just 1, 8-9 inch round mold of this easter bread.. would you be able to tell me how much of each ingredient I would need to make it?
Hey Rose, this recipe makes about 3 of 8 inch round loaves of bread. Cut all ingredients into 1/3.
How many Loaves of bread will this make? And I Absolutely love this recipe. Thank you for sharing! 😊
This would depend on the size of the mold, for 8-inch round mold it makes 3.
Very good recipe, thanks Natalya. I also added some ground cinnamon , cardamom and tiny bit of allspice, because that's how Easter bread should smell according to my childhood memories. Next time I'll add some lemon zest also. I loved the whole experience, will use this recipe many times.
Hope you don't mind my frivolous alterations to the recipe.
P.S. Today is the 4th day since i baked it and the bread is still very soft and fluffy. It's a huge portion for our family of 5, but we don't complain 😉
I love that you took the time to share all the ideas. I know it would be useful for others.Thank you so much!
Mine rose nice and high and then collapsed after i took it out of the oven? Any tips?
This has never happened to me. I am wondering if it’s the change of temperature or flour.
Have you tried making this with bread flour?
I haven’t. I think you might need to add less or more flour. Just pay attention to consistency.
Hi Natalya! I wantes to make this bread so bad but asked Mom to do it (working). She brought it to my work and I had some.
This is the BEST Easter bread I have ever tasted. So moist and fluffy. Reminds me of a bakery style type.
Awesome work. Folks , dont be afraid to try it.
Blessings Natasha!!!
OH Lena, so sweet of you. I am glad you guys loved the bread.
Lena
Hello Natasha, I was wondering how far in advance can I make this recipe and should I put the glaze on top right away?
Yes, add glaze on top right away. I would recommend making it the day before so it still stays fresh.
Hey Natasha. Question would it be ok if I add more sugar to the dough ?
Yes, but dont add too much more because it can change consistency of the dough.
I've been using this recipe for the past two years and this year I will also bake my easter bread using this recipe. Alwas turns out soft and stays soft for couple of days. Thank you.
Oh I am so looking forward to baking this on Easter, I am excited. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your sweet comment.
What king of dry yeast do you use? Active?
Yes, active
I made it. Soooo goooood!
Oh, thanks for sharing!!! Happy you love it.
Hey Natasha! How long do you mix the dough with a mixer???? Looks like it's not enough flour:(
Based on the brand of flour you use it may need a little more but this dough should be a little runny. Mix the dough until no longer sticky.