Slovak Braid (Paska)

May 8, 2020

This recipe is from the Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church Cookbook. My paternal grandparents were among the Slovak and German immigrants who founded this church in Chatham, Ontario in 1946.

This cookbook connects me to the culinary heritage that my mom couldn’t teach me because she died in 1982, when I was twelve. It was a church fundraiser. I remember Mom typing these recipes from handwritten notes entrusted to her from this community of women bonded in family, friendship, and faith.

Mom contributed a lot of recipes, but my favourites are the desserts. I make Slovak Walnut Crescents every Christmas. Slovak Walnut Torte is Dad’s favourite cake. He turns 80 next year and I hope to bake this cake for him when I go home for the celebration.

Chicken noodle soup was a staple growing up and Babka’s recipe is in the book. She made enough homemade noodles every week to share with her two sons’ families. I still make this soup, but without her noodles, it’s not quite the same. Palacinky (thin Slovak pancakes) sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon was the treat Babka made for us on Saturday afternoon visits. My youngest cousin Stephen loved them so much he named one of Babka’s cats Pancake.

There are two cabbage roll recipes in the book. I use Mary Gazarek’s Cabbage Rolls, which call for pork, beef, and veal. Mrs. Gazarek was from Bratislava, so this is a fancy recipe. Babka borrowed her wedding dress when she came to Canada to marry Dedko. The last time I made cabbage rolls my young neighbour Anna, who was already bored on the second day of the Christmas holidays, came to help. I learned all of the Grade 6 Ramsay School gossip that afternoon.

Aunt Cherie’s rhubarb squares are the best. She had a huge plant. My cousin Cathy and I used to happily munch on raw rhubarb while running around the farm. These squares are the first thing I bake when the plants in our Ramsay backyard produce the first crop. Even though it’s snowing while I write this, the first stalk is poking through the soil. Soon!

I don’t remember Mom making Paska, but it’s an important family food memory. Krsny (my godfather) and Mom died of cancer within three months of each other. Kresna (my godmother) was Mom’s childhood friend and maid of honour. And she’s been my stepmother since 1985. I associate Paska with Mrs. Kudroch – Kresna’s mother. I looked forward to Easter lunch at her place because her Paska was always delicious.

Kresna’s first tries were not successful. The dough didn’t rise enough and it was heavy. My brothers and I used to tease her: “Too bad Dennis (my younger brother) doesn’t play hockey any more. This Paska would make perfect pucks.” We were terrible. She persisted. The year that she perfected it we devoured it. And then we teased her for breaking the family tradition of not ruining the Paska. We teased her that perhaps aging was the secret to perfecting Paska. Like I said – we were terrible.

I have tried to make Paska many times. And have failed every time. I have tried fresh yeast, dried yeast, and consulted various Slovak Lutheran Ladies’ cookbooks (I’ve inherited my grandmothers’ collections). The dough never rises enough and there is always a heavy doughy lump in the centre of the bread.

I decided to give it another go for this project. The result: my track record remains the same. I suppose it was edible, but it wasn’t quite right. And, every morning after I baked it, for a week, my partner took just a bit too much glee in telling me how much he enjoyed the “tease-cake.”

4 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup warm water
2 pkgs. yeast
3/4 cup warm milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. lemon rind
1/4 tsp. mace
1/2 cup chopped candied fruit
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup nuts

Soak yeast in warm water. Pour milk over sugar and salt and stir til dissolved. Beat in melted shortening, eggs, lemon rind, mace, yeast and 1 cup flour. Stir in fruit. Add rest of flour and mix well. Knead til smooth (10 to 15 min.) and place in greased bowl. Let rise til doubled. Divide in 4 equal parts. Shape 3 into 14" strips. Divide remaining part into 3 9" strips. Braid. Place on top of the 14" strips. Tuck ends under. Let rise in warm place. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 min. Frost with vanilla icing and garnish with nuts and candied cherries. Serve thinly slices and buttered.