Paska - Ukrainian Yeast Bread for Easter

Lightly warm the milk until lukewarm. Then stir in 20g white sugar and add the yeast. Weigh 400g flour in a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of this flour to the mixture and stir. Let the dough stand covered and rise for about 20 minutes.

Beat three egg yolks with the remaining sugar (180g) until creamy using a hand mixer. Then stir in vanilla extract and sour cream (To substitute, you can mix crème fraîche with sour half-cream in a 1:1 ratio). Add the yeast mixture. Gradually stir the remaining flour into the mixture. Cover the dough again and let it rise for about 1-2 hours.

Place the dough in a large bowl. Gradually knead in the remaining flour (170g). Then gradually work in the soft butter. Work the dough for about 15 minutes either by hand or with dough hooks. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and let it rise again for 2 hours until its volume has doubled. It may be necessary to let the dough rise even longer.