Paska is a FANTASTIC Ukrainian Easter bread, loaded with citrus flavor, sugar, butter, & eggs. These Paska bagels are inspired by that bread - all the flavour, just in bagel form!
It all started off with my gramma’s neighbour, Mary, who would bake Paska - Ukrainian Easter Bread for us every year.
It was an amazing bread - a bit sweet, citrussy, soft, and rich while ALSO tasting light. Seriously the most amazing bread I’ve ever had in my life.
Then, I developed a gluten allergy, and had to miss out. Ugh!
So, eventually I perfected a recipe for Gluten-Free Paska.
Very close on the flavour, not the same texture, but definitely scratched the itch.
THEN I had to go low carb, so my Keto Paska was an obvious solution.
I HAVE been on a bagel recipe kick for a while now, turning out a bunch of fun, seasonal bagel recipes:
Christmas Bagels
Gingerbread Bagels
Heart Shaped Bagels
Red Velvet Bagels
When it came time to think about an Easter bagel recipe, Paska was the first thing to come to mind* and here we are!
This makes a mildly sweet, citrussy bagel that is fantastic with some plain cream cheese. They’re a perfect addition to any Easter brunch or breakfast!
* Hot Cross Bun bagels were the second thing, and that one is still in the works!
Ingredients
Like most of my bagel recipes, this one takes only a few simple ingredients. If you don’t already have them on hand, you’ll easily be able to find them in any grocery store.
A few notes for you:
Milk & Butter
You can use whatever kind of milk you like. Lately, I’ve been using unsweetened almond milk.
If you need dairy free paska bagels, use margarine or vegetable oil in place of the melted butter.
Citrus Fruits
I use a lemon and an orange for this, mostly for the zest.
The recipe also calls for a small amount of “lemon and/or orange juice” - I juice the lemon and orange together and use ¼ cup of the mixed juice in the recipe.
After that, I usually just make some citrus simple syrup with whatever’s leftover, by measuring it and adding the same volume of sugar.
Simmer til it’s all dissolved, then chill until use - makes for great “sours” cocktails!
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
All Purpose Flour
Granulated Sugar
Large eggs
Active Dry Yeast
Salt
... I just don’t have anything to add, for these ingredients!
How to Make Paska Bagels
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through.
Make the Dough
Measure warm milk into a glass measuring cup or bowl, stir in 1 tablespoon of the sugar until well combined. . Stir in yeast, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
Pour in yeast mixture, juice, eggs, and melted butter, stir well to combine.
Note: If the dough is really sticky - sticking to the bowl, rather that coming together in a ball - add a small amount of flour. It should be slightly sticky, but still able to ball.
Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
Form the Bagels
Once dough has doubled, dump it out on a clean work surface, and divide it out.
We divided the mixture into 8 equal sized balls, for medium-large bagels – but you can make them smaller or larger by dividing into 6, 10, or 12 equal sized pieces.
Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole. Personally, I prefer the latter.
Boil and Bake the Bagels
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the sugar, and stir well to combine.
Turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil.
2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
Whisk egg yolk together with 1 tablespoon of water, brush over the tops and sides of each bagel.
Bake for about 38-40 minutes if doing 8 bagels, or 35-37 minutes (small - 10/12 bagels) or 40-45 mins (large, 6 bagels), until golden brown.
Once cooled to room temperature, paska bagels can be transferred to an airtight container or large ziplock bags.
They will keep in the fridge for about a week.
More Easter Content!
Looking for more fun / tasty ways to observe Easter? Here are a few suggestions:
Chocolate Zombie Easter Bunnies
Easter Creme Egg Brownies
Easter Pavlova
Easy Pysanky [Epic Easter Eggs]
Gluten-Free Paska [Easter Bread]
Keto Paska
No Bake Easter Chocolate Pie
Paska - Ukrainian Easter Bread
Southern Comfort Glazed Ham
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!
Paska Bagels
Equipment
Ingredients
Bagel Dough:
- ⅔ cup warm - not hot - Milk
- ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 3 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
- Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ cup Orange and/or lemon juice
- 2 Large eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoon Unsalted butter melted
Assembly:
- ¼ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 Large Egg yolk
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Measure warm milk into a glass measuring cup or bowl, stir in 1 tablespoon of the sugar until well combined.Stir in yeast, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, remaining sugar, orange zest, lemon zest, and salt.
- Pour in yeast mixture, juice, eggs, and melted butter, stir well to combine.
- Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
- Note: If the dough is really sticky - sticking to the bowl, rather that coming together in a ball - add a small amount of flour. It should be slightly sticky, but still able to ball.
- Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
Form the Bagels
- Once dough has doubled, dump it out on a clean work surface, and divide it out.
- We divided the mixture into 8 equal sized balls, for medium-large bagels – but you can make them smaller or larger by dividing into 6, 10, or 12 equal sized pieces.
- There are two main ways of forming bagels – with roll each lump of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together, or roll each lump into a smooth ball before poking a finger though.
- Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole. Personally, I prefer the latter.
- Once you have all of your bagels formed, set them on baking sheets to rise for another 10 minutes. As your bagels are resting, preheat oven to 350F.
Boil and Bake the Bagels
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the sugar, and stir well to combine.
- Turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil.
- 2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
- Drain well, place on lined baking sheets.
- Whisk egg yolk together with 1 tablespoon of water, brush over the tops and sides of each bagel.
- Bake for about 38-40 minutes if doing 8 bagels, or 35-37 minutes (small - 10/12 bagels) or 40-45 mins (large, 6 bagels), until golden brown.
Nutrition
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