- 1 cup Whole milk
- 1 cup Raisins
- 4 cups All-purpose flour
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 2 ¼ tsp Instant yeast
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 Eggs
- ¼ cup Buttermelted
- 1 tsp Orange zestgrated
- 1 tsp Lemon zestgrated
For egg wash:
- 1 Eggs
- a splash of Water
Ukrainian Easter Bread
Ukrainian Easter Bread, aka kulich, is a delicious, traditional bread made for Easter. To me, Easter is all about baking and enjoying the home-cooked feast. So, this kulich recipe hits the spot and remains a family favorite.
The recipe is simple to make and uses pantry staples like milk, flour, yeast, butter, eggs, and sugar. For a soft and airy, subtly sweet Easter bread, I add raisins, orange and lemon zest to a simple, milk-based yeasted dough and give it plenty of time to rise. I use instant yeast in this recipe to keep the dough-making process quick and easy. Eggs and butter add richness to the dough, and an egg wash gives the kulich a beautiful golden-brown sheen once baked. As for decoration, I opt for a simple two-strand braid for this bread. But it’s totally optional.
To make the Ukrainian Easter Bread, you will need the following ingredients:
Steps to make Ukrainian Easter Bread
1 | Heat milk and add raisins | 3 |
To a saucepan, add 1 cup milk and heat over medium heat until scalded, 180 °F, and remove from the heat. Add in 1 cup raisins and set aside. | ||
2 | Combine dry ingredients | 1 |
In a bowl of a stand mixer, mix together 4 cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup sugar, 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast, and 1 teaspoon salt. | ||
3 | Combine wet and dry ingredients | 8 |
Add in the milk with raisins, 2 eggs, and ¼ cup melted butter. Add 1 teaspoon each of orange and lemon zest. Use the dough attachment to knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes until a soft and pliable dough forms. | ||
4 | Shape dough | 1 |
Shape the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly greased large bowl. | ||
5 | Rise | 1h |
Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. | ||
6 | Divide dough | 5 |
Punch the dough down and cut off about 250 grams of dough for decorations if you wish. Grease a round baking dish, about 8 inches wide and 4 inches deep. Form the larger piece of the dough into a ball and place it into the dish. Divide the remaining dough into two pieces. Shape each piece into a long 25-inch rope. Twist the ropes together. | ||
7 | Arrange dough braid on top | 1 |
Lay the dough braid on top of the kulich. Cover and let the dough rise for 30 minutes. | ||
8 | Preheat oven | |
Preheat the oven to 350 °F. | ||
9 | Bake | 40 |
Whisk together egg and water and brush the dough gently. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cover with foil if the top gets too brown. | ||
10 | Cool | |
Once baked, remove from the oven and let cool in the pan. Once it's cool enough to handle, remove it from the pan. Cool completely on a wire cooling rack. | ||
11 | Serve | |
Slice and enjoy! | ||
Recipe Reviews
Great recipe! Followed exactly, turned out great. Thank you.
I have used this recipe over and over, it is simply the best.
So fluffy bread! I love it!
Great! I'm looking for traditional Ukrainian recipes! Thanks!
Reply to Lucy F:
"Great! I'm looking for traditional Ukrainian recipes! Thanks!"
Lucy F, welcome! We're happy to share with you our collection of traditional and popular Ukrainian recipes is here: Popular Ukrainian Recipes or Ukrainian Food.
Made this Easter bread, glazed ham loaf, garlic roasted potatoes, deviled egg chicks and Easter bunny tail truffles for Easter lunch and everyone was delighted!
I made this Ukrainian Easter bread. It turned out so buttery and delicious. Thanks!
I was looking for a traditional recipe as most have been modernized a bit now. Thank you for the recipe, the Kulich turned out to be very light, airy, not too sweet and tasty.
Happy Easter Jelena and your family!
Great recipe!
It's soft and delicious as well as impressive looking. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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