Pasca – Romanian Easter Bread






Ingredients
  • Active dry yeast – You can use instant yeast if that’s what you have. If you use instant, you won’t need to bloom it first, but it’s a good idea to test if it’s still alive. If your yeast doesn’t foam up your yeast is dead and the bread won’t turn out.
  • Water – The water is used to bloom our yeast. Make sure it’s lukewarm – you can test with your finger. It needs to be warm to the touch, not hot. If it’s too hot it will kill the yeast.
  • Milk – I used whole milk (3.25%) but you can use whatever is in your fridge.
  • Butter – I only use unsalted butter. This way I have full control over the sodium in my recipes.
  • Lemon zest – I know 2 tablespoons seems like a lot, but this recipe makes a pretty large pasca. The lemon is what really makes this bread taste so incredible! You can, of course, add less or more depending on your tastes.
  • Sugar – This bread is meant to have a touch of sweetness. You can add a little more or less if you’d like.
  • All-purpose flour – You can use bread flour for this recipe if you’d like. The difference is that you’ll get a bit more gluten formation. If you use gluten-free flour, make sure to get a protein such as xanthan gum to replace the gluten.
  • Eggs – Use large eggs for this recipe.
  • Vanilla – The way the vanilla warms up the lemon zest is just irresistible!
FOR THE FILLING YOU’LL NEED:
  • Ricotta cheese – You can use a low-fat ricotta if you’d like. Since this is the star of the show for your filling, getting a good quality ricotta will taste so amazing.
  • Sugar – You can adjust the amount of sugar in the filling to suit how sweet you’d like it to be.
  • Eggs – The eggs are used to bind the filling and keep everything together without spilling out when you slice the pasca.
  • Lemon zest – The lemon makes the flavor of this filling really pop! You can add more or less zest if you’d like.
  • Vanilla – Just like in the dough, the vanilla tastes incredible paired with the lemon zest in your filling.

How to Make Pasca

  1. 1/ Bloom the yeast: Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. You can add a tablespoon of sugar from the sugar needed for the dough to help activate the yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes until it has foamed up nicely. If your yeast doesn’t get foamy, don’t move forward. Buy a new jar and store it in the freezer so it lasts longer.
  2. 2/ Dissolve the sugar: In a saucepan, add the milk, butter, lemon zest, sugar, and vanilla. Stir over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves a bit. We don’t want the mixture to boil or get too hot. It should just be warm to the touch. Remove from heat and whisk in the eggs.
  3. 3/ Finish the dough: Add the flour, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the bowl of your mixer. Knead it with the dough hook for about 5 minutes until it’s soft and elastic. Remove the dough, spritz the bowl with cooking oil, place the dough back in, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let the dough rise until doubled in size.
  4. 4/ Make the filling: Whisk the filling ingredients together, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
  5. 5/ Assemble the pasca: Split the dough into 4 equal-sized pieces. Spritz them with some cooking spray so they don’t dry out. Roll one of the pieces out until it’s about 10″ in diameter. Split the other 3 pieces in half, and roll each piece into a 36″ long rope. Read below for instructions on braiding the ropes. Wrap the braid around the edge of the 10″ rolled circle of dough. Pour the filling into the center, and leave the pasca to rise for 20 minutes.
  6. 6/ Bake the pasca: While you wait for your bread to rise, preheat the oven to 350F. Brush with egg wash then bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until nicely browned. The center will still be a bit jiggly when you take it out.