I always feel very appreciative that my family has a strong food culture. I guess I just always assumed that every family has a food culture they practice and appreciate, and cook recipes that are not just passed down but also a part of their heritage. However, the older I get the more I am seeing that is not really the case for a lot of people and it’s kind of special to still hold to traditions like that. My Dad’s side of the family is Ukrainian and every Easter we have a Ukrainian Easter breakfast. We serve it just as my MomMom did, complete with ham, kielbasa, hardboiled eggs, horseradish, nut roll, and paska bread! The past few years I have taken on the task of making the paska bread. This year, my family was wondering if I could try something different and make the paska bread into small roll portions. I said I would give it a go, but I also decided that I was going to make it differently than the traditional recipes I have used in the past. I decided to skip the yeast (which is definitely used in all traditional paska bread recipes) but made sure to incorporate all other traditional components. What I found was that these biscuits tasted spot-on what paska bread is supposed to taste like (buttery and slightly sweet), but took way less time to make and also were the perfect size to serve at the meal. We have been enjoying them for breakfast in the days following Easter and I am looking forward to making them again next year because they were a huge hit. Hope you enjoy! 🙂

Makes Around 15 Biscuits

Recipe by © Alysha Melnyk 2018

Kitchen Tools:

Large Mixing Bowl

Medium Mixing Bowl

Liquid Measuring Cup

Dry Measuring Cups

Measuring Spoons

Parchment Paper

Sheet Pan

Oven, Preheated to 375°F

Whisk

Wooden Spoon

Pastry Brush

Cooling Rack

Ingredients:

3 and 1/2 Cups White Bread Flour (*And some extra for coating work surface)

1 Cup Cane Sugar

3 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Cup Yellow Raisins

3 Large Eggs, Beaten

1 Cup Whole Milk

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted

1/2 Cup Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt

*Optional for Serving: Jam, Preserves, Butter

Featured Artist:

Wooden Board by Brian Christopher, Creator of Bicyclette (based in Philadelphia, PA)

Instructions:

1. First, preheat the oven to 375°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Then, in a large mixing bowl combine white bread flour, cane sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda using a wooden spoon. Set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and whole milk, then reserve 3 tablespoons of this mixture to brush on rolls at the end.
4. Next, add in olive oil, melted unsalted butter and sour cream to this bowl. Set aside.
5. Flour work surface (liberally) with extra white flour.
6. Next, add the liquid components of the medium mixing bowl into the large mixing bowl and incorporate thoroughly using a spoon.
7. After that, stir in yellow raisins.
8. Next, transfer dough to well-floured work surface and knead for a few minutes until dough is well coated in extra flour and not as sticky.
9. Next, form baseball-sized rolls and place the rolls on the parchment lined sheet pan (I baked 6 rolls at a time so they had plenty of space).
10. Brush with reserved milk/egg mixture.
11. Bake rolls for 15 to 20 minutes, then sit on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
12. Repeat until all rolls are made.
13. Serve with butter, preserves and/or jam and enjoy! 🙂

*Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or bag at room temperature.*