Pascha Sweet Bread

Warm 4 cups of milk with 1 pound butte, cool in large bowl.

beat 12 eggs with

1 Tablespoon salt and

2.5 cups sugar

Meanwhile mix

4 Tablespoons yeast with

1 cup warm water and

1 Tablespoon sugar and

1 Tablespoon flour

let proof

Add all the above together with about 19-21 cups of flour to make a very soft dough. Knead with up to 1/4 cup oil on hands. Let rise twice in its bowl. Form into loaves, or put in greased pans, brush with egg wash if you want to. Bake a 350 degrees

Small loaf pan;s about 35 minutes

Large loaf pans; up to about an hour.

Personally I found smaller loaves cooked properly while larger loafs had a tendency to stay raw in the middle.

Check with toothpick. If you didn’t use the eggwash, then brush with melted butter or oil. This keeps the crust soft.

(Posted by Anastasia Bartlett)

Cheese Pascha

You need a big mixer for this one, or cut the recipe down

3 pounds of room temperature cream cheese

1 pound room temperature butter

2 cups icing sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 pint sour cream (2 cups)

optional; golden raisins, slivered almonds

Cream the butter, add cream cheese, keep creaming add sugar, vanilla then sour cream.

Spoon into bowls and decorate with raisins and almonds if desired. Refrigerate for several hours before eating.

Blessed Pascha, everyone!

(Posted by Anastasia Bartlett)

Koliva

Koliva is a boiled wheat dish traditionally used for the commemoration of the departed. The wheat is symbolic of the resurrection of the dead, reminding us of the Lord's words: " Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. " (John 12:24) The koliva is brought to the memorial divine liturgy, along with a list of names of our departed loved ones. At the end of the service, it is customary for families to hold their bowl of koliva while we all sing "Memory eternal." Many recipes and variants exist. Here is a standard recipe.

Ingredients
1.5 lb. wheat berries
1/2 - 3/4 c. chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, pistachios, etc.)
1/2 - 3/4 c. raisins, golden or regular
1/4 c. chopped fresh mint (optional)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar or honey

For the topping:
1 c. fine crumbs of graham crackers
1 c. sifted powdered sugar
1/4 - 1/2 lb. white Jordan Almonds (sugar-coated almonds) or yogurt covered almonds

The day before the Memorial Service:
Rinse and drain the wheat. Cover with water and cook 3 hours or until tender, stirring often. Add more water if necessary. Do not overcook so that the grains explode.

Drain and rinse under cold water.

Allow to drain thoroughly. To dry wheat, spread out on double thickness of cloth. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Cover with another cloth and leave overnight.

The morning of the Memorial Service:
Grind nuts and 1/2 cup graham crackers. Combine with wheat, raisins, sugar and spices.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl to be taken to Church. Place a piece of waxed paper on top of the mixture and flatten the top so that it is evenly distributed.
Sprinkle the remaining graham cracker crumbs evenly over the wheat mixture. This keeps the moisture from the powdered sugar layer.
Sift the powdered sugar atop the crumb layer.
Use the Jordan almonds to form a cross atop the powdered sugar. The edge of the bowl can be lined with Jordan almonds if desired.

Plan to be at Church before Liturgy begins so that you can give the bowl and a list of names of your deceased family and friends to the priest. A candle is often placed in the bowl and lit during the memorial service.

(from old blog)