Paska (new and improved)

This is a gluten-free adaptation of my oma's recipe.  A highly successful attempt this year!  : )

Ingredients:

• 1 cup scalded milk, cooled
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• juice and rind of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp yeast
• 3 - 4 cups white rice flour
• 3 - 4 cups glutinous rice flour

Directions:

1. Beat eggs well.  Add in sugar and butter, cream together.  Mix in lemon, vanilla, salt and warm milk.
2. Slowly add in 2 cups of each kind of flour.
3. Stir in warm water and yeast.  Mix well using dough hooks on your mixer.
4. Add in another cup of each kind of flour.  Add any additional flour at your discretion to achieve a light, slightly stickey dough (you don't need to use your hands, so don't worry about getting it too dry).
5. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place, best option is to heat your oven to 200 degrees F, then turn it off and put the dough in covered with a tea towel.  It will take about 2 hours for the dough to double.  Don't rush this step!
6. Scrape the dough together in the bowl, divide in half and pour into 2 greased or lined loaf pans.
7. Cover and allow the dough to rise again for another hour or until the pans look nearly full.
8. Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes.  Poke with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean.  If possible, turn the oven off and allow the paska to cool for a little while in the oven before taking the loaves out.
9. Paska is often iced with cream cheese icing and topped with sprinkles.  You can also toast it up and spread it with butter or cream cheese.  Any way you eat it - it's delightful!
   
   

Paska! (aka Easter bread)

Okay, so I'll be honest and admit this is not your mother's paska.  BUT, it's getting there!  Every year I struggle to refine my paska recipe a little more to get something that's not a dense, sticky loaf or a rock hard hockey puck of a bun.  This year...I made a break through!  I seem to have reached a new place with yeast, (as in one where I can actually get the dough to rise twice!) and the success has come from using instant yeast verses active dry yeast.  Anyway, whether it's the yeast or just me, with successes under my belt I decided to take a new approach with my paska...and I'm quite satisfied with the results.  It's not going to be my final version, but it's pretty close so I've decided to share it and hey, if you have more success or suggestions...please let me know!  I'm all ears!  : )

Ingredients:

• 3 cups white rice flour
• 2 cups glutinous rice flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 package Jello Instant Lemon Pudding mix (you could sub Vanilla Pudding for Lemon in a pinch, although the paska won't taste the same - but don't use Lemon Jello in lieu of Lemon Pudding)
• 2 tbsp instant yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Stir together flours, salt, pudding mix and yeast until well blended.
2. Add in warm milk and warm water.  Make sure it's warm enough to activate the yeast, but not so hot as to kill it. (optimum temperature is around 32 - 38 degrees C)
3. Mix in honey, butter and eggs until dough is smooth.  If it's still too sticky to handle, stir in up to another 1/2 cup of white rice flour so you can knead the dough properly and handle it easily.
4. Allow the dough to rise once in a warm place for about 15 minutes or until it's about doubled in size.  Then knead it and shape into loaves or buns.  Place in pans and allow it to rise a second time for about 30 minutes.  It may not quite double this time, but it should still rise significantly.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 - 25 minutes (depending on bun & loaf sizes).  Once the outside it golden it should be done.  Allow it to cool a bit before you take it out of the pan.  You may want to grease or flour the loaf pans to allow the paska to come out easier.
6. Ice with cream cheese icing and sprinkles for a traditional flair. 

NOTE: Be sure to serve it warm (30 seconds in the mic is sufficient for reheating...toasting is also a great option if it isn't pre-iced)

In retrospect, I would have put both loaves together into a single large loaf...depends what you like though.
The buns also spread quite a bit, so they are more of a biscuit than a bun, but they still have a nice texture.