Easter Bread

I know that last blog I also wrote about the traditional foods of my background, being Italian, so I thought that this time I should do the other side of the family. Food is obviously a big part of our lives. Although my mom is Italian, my dad is Czech and Irish. Because Easter was coming up, I thought that I would share my Easter traditions. One of the biggest and longest traditions that has been going on in my family is on Good Friday we make a special Easter bread called Paska. Paska is different than other breads because it has a sweeter taste. Usually my sisters come home from college for their break and since I am off school on that Friday we spend all day as a family making this special bread. We make about 6 loaves of it and then over the weekend we bring it everywhere we go. My mom freezes it and we bring it out on other occasions as well. Making Paska is a long process but it is worth it in the end. We use the ingredients like most breads of flour, sugar, salt, yeast, milk, eggs and butter. We combine all of the dry ingredients together first and then scoop out a hole in the middle. Then in a separate bowl we dissolve the yeast in water and pour that water into the hole of the dry ingredients. We then let that sit in a warm oven for about fifteen minutes. When the yeast bubbles, we mix in the wet ingredients. This gets mixed together with a dough hook and kneaded together until it is not sticky. After the dough rests for two hours, it becomes three to four times its original size and this means that it is time to form the loaves of bread. To do this, you break the dough up into however many loaves you are willing to make and then break that into three pieces each. You have to braid each of the three smaller pieces together and then place them in circular baking bowls. It is funny when my sisters and I do this because we all of different techniques and each get our own loaf. After they are done we have competitions of whose Paska is the best. Although making Paska takes a lot of time and keeps us in all day, it is more than just making bread. The process of making this special Easter bread is a bonding experience for all of us and a family activity that helps us get ready for Easter. All of my cousins and aunts and uncles as well as my grandparents on my dad’s side of the family make Paska for Easter. I cannot wait until next week when we make Paska. During the two hours that we wait for the Paska to sit and rest we usually color eggs. We set up as many colors as we can and dip eggs in different patterns. There is also a prank that goes around my family every couple years that one of the eggs is not hard boiled. On Easter this gets put with all of the other eggs and it’s a disaster when someone gets it.

I think that it is very interesting how foods can bring people and cultures together. Easter is a universal holiday, yet there are so many different traditions that people do. Paska is a tradition that has been passed down for many years and it makes my grandmother so happy to see all of us continue it down from generation to generation. I really enjoy taking culinary because it expands my view on foods and cultures. Sharing my traditions with others will open it up for them to share theirs with me. 

Lindsey J.