Ukrainian Easter Bread – Kulich (video)
No Ukrainian or Russian Easter celebration is complete without this amazing, buttery and flaky Ukrainian Easter Bread, also known as Kulich or Paska! I’m sharing my family recipe for this traditional Paska bread, dotted with dried apricots and cranberries and glazed with royal icing! This delicious, sweet yeast bread has been a staple in Russian Orthodox Easter for millennia and is still immensely popular to this day in Russia, Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. You can also find this recipe in my new cookbook, Beyond Borscht, which includes 75 Eastern European recipes!
My Easter Bread Video Tutorial
Watch my YouTube video for step-by-step instructions and watch me make this sweet and delicious yeast bread! Want to receive new recipe emails in your inbox? Make sure to subscribe to my website emailing list and my YouTube channel and turn on notifications!
Ingredients for Ukrainian Easter Bread
Here are the main ingredients you’ll need to make this soft and delicious bread:
- Whole Milk: using whole milk makes the dough more rich and buttery. The milk should be between 120 and 130F (49 to 54C); hot milk will kill the yeast and cold milk won’t activate it properly.
- Dry Active Yeast: I recommend using regular, not instant, yeast for best results.
- Eggs & Egg Yolks
- Sour Cream & Butter: for making the yeast dough. The butter makes the dough extra buttery and rich and the sour cream makes it more moist. I recommend using unsalted butter.
- All-Purpose Flour: while you can use a bread flour for this recipe, I find that it works great with regular flour, too.
- Dried Fruits & Nuts: more about the various fillings in the next paragraph!
- Egg Whites: for making the royal icing glaze to garnish the top of the bread. The glaze is optional but it makes the bread look extra festive!
- Confectioner’s Sugar: for the glaze.
Dried Fruit & Various Fillings
Traditional Ukrainian Easter bread is always made with some sort of dried fruit or nuts mixed into the yeast dough. For my video recipe, I used diced, dried apricots and dried cranberries. Before adding the dried fruit into the bread, I soak it in warm water. The rehydrated fruit will help add moisture to the bread as it bakes. This bread can be made with just about any type of fillings. Here are some more suggestions and popular choices:
- Dried Fruit: cherries, cranberries, plums, figs, apricots, mango, apples, dried blueberries, golden or red raisins.
- Chocolate/Nuts: white, milk or dark chocolate chips; chopped hazelnuts, pecans or almonds.
Preparing the Yeast Dough
Making this sweet Easter bread or Kulich takes a little bit of time due to the double proofing process but it’s totally worth the effort! The recipe itself is very simple and straightforward and doesn’t require any special equipment or ingredients!
- I start this dough with the milk and active yeast first and let the yeast proof for 5 minutes. Next, I add the sugar, salt and remaining wet ingredients: melted butter, eggs, egg yolks and sour cream. The butter and sour cream make this sweet bread extra buttery and flaky!
- Next, I add in just 2 cups (250 g) of all-purpose flour and the batter is ready for the first proofing stage, which usually takes about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
- After the first proofing, I add the remaining flour and knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic.
- Next, it’s time to add the dried fruit, which I soak beforehand in warm water. The rehydrated fruit will make the dough slightly sticky, so I dust it with a little bit of flour and knead it again until it’s smooth. Paska can also be made with chocolate or nuts.
More Dough Tips for Easter Bread
This Ukrainian Easter bread is a breeze to make! Here are more tips for success:
- Measure the temperature of the milk and the butter. The milk should be between 120 and 130F (49 to 54C); hot milk will kill the yeast and cold milk won’t activate it properly. And always make sure the butter isn’t too hot either, which can also kill the yeast.
- Have the eggs and sour cream at room temperature. Cold eggs and sour cream will lower the temperature of the dough.
- Don’t add too much extra flour! This bread needs 5 2/3 cups (708 g) all-purpose flour. I typically use a couple extra tablespoons for dusting my work surface but not more! Too much flour will make the bread too heavy and it won’t rise as well.
- Let the dough proof the second time until it’s doubled. This can take 1 ½ to even 3 hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. The more the dough proofs, the better it will be.
Shaping the Easter Bread
Once I’ve added the dried fruit, I then divide and shape the dough into three pieces. This Easter bread is traditional prepared in paper molds. You’ll need three, 6-inch (15-cm) paper molds for this recipe. I love these pretty, floral bread molds I found on Amazon, but you can also use panettone bread molds. I let the bread proof the second time in the bread molds for at least 2 hours, until doubled in size. Read on for my oven proofing method!
Proofing the Bread in the Oven
In commercial bread kitchens, proofing rooms or ovens are used to more efficiently proof yeast breads. The warm and humid environment is the perfect place for dough to proof. You can easily create your own proofing oven at home! This method ensures the yeast dough rises nicely. First, fill a large casserole dish with boiling water and place it in the bottom of the oven. Place the bread in its bread molds onto a baking sheet and space the bread evenly apart. Place the bread onto the middle rack of the oven and close the oven door.
I recommend changing the water every 45 minutes, to keep the oven warm and humid. This Easter bread will take about 2 to 2 ½ or even 3 hours to proof and double in size.
Baking Easter Bread
Once the yeast dough as proofed and doubled in size, it’s time for the final step – baking! I bake this bread at 350F for approximately 45 minutes for 6-inch bread loaves. As this bread bakes, it will darken on the top. I like to place a sheet of foil over the top to prevent the bread from getting too dark. Once the bread is done baking, remove it from the oven and onto a wire rack to cool in the bread molds.
Adding a Royal Icing Glaze
You’ll find most Ukrainian Easter bread is covered in a simple glaze or Royal icing as a garnish on top! And, the icing is typically sprinkled with rainbow or colorful nonpareils or sprinkles. This glaze is optional and a personal preference – my husband doesn’t like the glaze but I personally do! When making this bread for the first time, try it with and without to see which one you like better.
Royal icing is made with egg whites and confectioner’s sugar. This glaze contains raw egg whites. You can use pasteurized egg whites, which are safer to use. It’s super easy to make – just slowly incorporate the confectioner’s sugar while whisking the eggs whites, until a thick glaze forms. Don’t want to use raw egg whites? Make a simple sugar glaze with 2 cups confectioner’s sugar and water or lemon juice. Add a couple tablespoons of liquid at a time and mix to the desired consistency.
NOTE: this icing recipe makes enough to generously coat all three loaves. If you don’t want too much glaze, I recommend cutting the recipe in half. For half a recipe you’ll need 1 ½-oz egg whites and 2 cups confectioner’s sugar.
History of Ukrainian Easter Bread
This delicious sweet yeast bread has been a long standing tradition in Ukraine, Russia and Eastern Europe. The Kulich tradition began in Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox churches. Parishioners would bake this bread the day before or on Easter day and bring the bread to the church in a large basket decorated with flowers and eggs. The bread would be blessed by the priest then enjoyed for breakfast.
Beyond Borscht Cookbook
You can find the recipe for this traditional Easter bread or Kulich in my Eastern European cookbook, Beyond Borscht. This cookbook features 75 of my favorite traditional recipes from Russian, Ukraine and even Poland. It’s a collection of all the food I grew up enjoying, made by my mother and grandmother. This book includes appetizers, soups and salads, main entrees and of course, desserts. You can purchase this cookbook online on Amazon (direct link), Walmart and Target and in-stores at Barnes & Noble.
More Recipes!
Enjoyed this traditional sweet bread recipe? Check out some of my other recipes you’re sure to enjoy!
- Pumpkin Chocolate Babka – soft and fluffy pumpkin bread twisted and filled with chocolate spread! So delicious and great with a cup of coffee!
- Apricot & Walnut Poppy Seed Rolls: these are made with a fluffy yeast dough and filled with apricots, walnuts and poppy seeds. Delicious!
- Rogaliki – these Russian crescent cookies are made with a soft yeast dough and filled with jam.
- Apple Piroshki – you’ll love these delicious fruit hand pies made with soft yeast dough and baked in the oven.
- Orange Cranberry Bread – one of my favorite breads, with orange zest and juicy cranberries! It’s super easy to make!
- Blueberry Lemon Bread – another fantastic bread with lemon zest, fruity blueberries and a simple glaze!
Share it on Pinterest!
Tools/Supplies
Need some supplies to make this recipe? You can get them here (Amazon affiliate links):
- 6-inch Floral Paper Molds – these Ukrainian bread molds come in various different designs.
- 6-inch Panettone Paper Molds – classic paper molds.
- Kitchen Scale – a digital kitchen scale is must for any baker!
- KitchenAid Hand Mixer – this small but powerful mixer is perfect for smaller jobs.
- Glass Mixing Bowls – I love to have everything premeasured and ready to go!
- Rainbow Nonpareils – these are perfect for decorating this Easter bread!
- Copper Measuring Cups – I love anything copper and these are so pretty!
Ukrainian Easter Bread Recipe (video)
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp dry active yeast
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sour cream, not low-fat
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup mixed dried fruit, nuts, chocolate
For Royal Icing:
- 3 oz egg whites; about 3 eggs
- 3 ½ to 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 3, 6- inch paper bread molds
- Rainbow nonpareils
Instructions
- Bring the eggs, sour cream and melted butter to room temperature. Heat the milk in the microwave or on the stove top until it’s lukewarm, between 120 and 130F (49 to 54C). Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the dry yeast over the top; let the yeast proof for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, whisk the yeast and milk together and add the sugar, salt, eggs, egg yolks, sour cream and melted butter. Make sure the butter isn’t too hot, otherwise the heat can kill the yeast. Whisk the ingredients together for a couple minutes until smooth.
- Add 2 cups (250 g) of all-purpose flour to the batter and whisk it until it’s smooth; the remaining flour will be added later. Fill a large pot with hot water, not boiling, and place the mixing bowl with the batter over the pot, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Let the batter proof for 1 ½ hours and change the water when it cools down completely.
- While the batter is proofing, prepare the filling. If using dried fruit, place the fruit into a bowl and top it with warm water. Let the fruit stand and rehydrate while the batter proofs.
- Once the batter has proofed, mix in the remaining flour with a spatula or wooden spoon. Once the dough pulls together into a ball, turn it out of the mixing bowl onto the kitchen counter. Sprinkle the counter with a couple extra tablespoons of flour and knead the dough for 4 to 6 minutes, until it’s smooth and elastic. Watch my video recipe for extra tips! Don’t add too much flour; the butter in the dough will grease the counter, preventing the dough from sticking.
- Drain any remaining liquids from the dried fruit. Spread the dough into a small square and sprinkle the dried fruit, chocolate or nuts on top, then fold the corners of the dough over. Knead for about 1 minute, adding a sprinkle of flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth.
- Roll the dough into a thick log and divide the dough into three even pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Use a kitchen scale for accuracy.
- For the traditional round shape, use 6-inch Panettone paper baking molds, or shape a mold using a double layer of parchment paper: line the bottom and sides of two, 6-inch (15-cm) round baking pans with parchment paper reaching about 6 to 7 inches (15-18 cm) up the side. This bread can also be prepared in regular loaf pans lined with parchment paper.
- Next, prepare the oven for proofing. Fill a large casserole dish with boiling water and place it at the bottom of the oven. Place the baking sheet with the dough onto the middle rack of the oven and close the door. Allow the dough to proof for approximately 2 hours, or until doubled in size. Change the water every 45 minutes to ensure the oven stays warm and humid.
Baking the Bread:
- Once the dough has proofed, remove it from the oven and preheat the oven to 350F/177C. Once the oven is preheated, bake the bread for about 45 minutes. The tops of the bread will start to turn a deep golden brown. I recommend placing a sheet of foil very loosely over the bread around the 30 minute mark to prevent the bread from browning too much.
- Once the bread is baked, remove it from the oven and onto a cooling rack to cool.
For Royal Icing:
- For the royal icing, place the egg whites into a medium-sized mixing bowl and add just ½ cup of the confectioner’s sugar. Whisk with a mixer on medium speed and gradually add in the remaining confectioner’s sugar, about ½ cup at a time. If glaze becomes too thick, thin it out with a few drops of water. This recipe will make enough to generously coat all three loaves; cut the recipe in half if you don’t want too much glaze.
- NOTE: Royal Icing contains raw egg whites. You can also use pasteurized egg whites. Don’t want to use raw egg whites? Make a simple sugar glaze with 2 cups confectioner’s sugar and water or lemon juice. Add a couple tablespoons of liquid at a time and mix to the desired consistency.
- Drop spoonful’s of the glaze over the slightly cooled bread; remove the bread from the paper molds if you want the glaze to go down the sides of the bread as well. Sprinkle the top with rainbow nonpareils.
- This bread is best enjoyed the day of and the next day. To keep it for the next day, allow the bread to cool completely, then wrap very well in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.
Delicious bread! I made half the recipe. Next time I’ll do the whole recipe.
Hi Lizet! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
First recipe that I tried and turned out extremely good. Kids ate one right away. It almost tastes like challah. It’s sooo good. Will be using this recipe from now on.
Wonderful!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! I’m making some today, too. It’s my favorite bread and I look forward to making it for Easter every year! 🙂
Beautiful recipe, thank u very much 🙂 i couldnt find those molds, so i have to be a little bit creative, but overal it was so tasty!!!
Wonderful!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! You can use regular bread pans, too.
Tatyana, this is the first recipe that worked! The dough rose beautifully.
The only thing is куличи were very dry inside. I’m not sure why. I followed every step of the recipe and made them twice. Three with raisins and three with dries apricots and cranberries.
I’m definitely saving the recipe, but I’d love them to be more moist on the inside. Can you give me a few tips?
Thank you again. Have a blessed day!
Hi! I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t turn out perfectly for you. There could be a few things that went wrong – you may have overbaked the bread, which would cause it to dry out. Try baking for less time. Every oven bakes a little differently so I would start checking the bread earlier in your case. Did you soak the fruit in hot water prior to adding to the bread? That also makes a big difference. The moist fruit will keep the bread softer. Hope that helps!
I used this recipe for this Easter, and it turned out really delicious. I split the dough to make a Kulich with raisins, and a Kulich with chocolate chips. Both taste great. It was my first time working with yeast, and I appreciated the very easy to understand instructions. Thank you! Will definitely use this recipe again.
Wonderful!! I’m so happy you loved the recipe! I also made some of Easter this year. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Do you think it can be made ahead?
Hi! Yes, you can make the bread ahead of time; however, I think it’s best the same or next day.
To make the dough ahead of time – You can prepare the dough the day before and once proofed, place it into the refrigerator. Remove from the fridge about 1 hour before baking.
Thank you! ❤️