Bukovynian paska (Easter bread)

What it is

In Bukovyna, 'paska' is not just one bread, but a whole family of Easter pastries. The main one is the large festive paska, known here as 'dora': it is taken to be blessed at church. The particularly recognizable 'horned' paska is generously decorated on top with dough figures — horns, braids, birds, and crosses.

Alongside, high sweet babkas and simple unleavened cookies called 'kukutsi' are baked. Kukutsi are given to children on Clean Thursday when they go from house to house announcing the approach of Easter.

The dough for paskas is rich, yeast-based, made with eggs, butter, and milk; it is kneaded for a long time and allowed to rise several times. According to tradition, the success of the paska determined the family's well-being for the entire year, so baking was accompanied by signs and rituals.

In January 2026, 'Culture and traditions related to Easter ritual breads in Bukovyna' were included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine.

History and name

Originally, paska was a white wheat bread decorated on top with dough figures; it became sweet later with the spread of sugar. Bukovyna, where Ukrainians, including Bukovinian Hutsuls, Romanians, Poles, and Germans historically lived side by side, has preserved a particularly rich variety of forms and names of Easter breads.

Ethnographer Volodymyr Shukhevych described how in neighboring Hutsulshchyna, the baking of paska was almost a magical act: the hostess would draw crosses with the dough, first placing a small bread 'vikhotnyk' in the oven, and a cracked paska was considered a bad omen.

Intangible heritage of Ukraine. Element of the National Inventory of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine: Культура і традиції, пов'язані з Великодніми обрядовими хлібами на Буковині (внесено до Національного переліку НКС у січні 2026 року (за Вікіпедією — наказ від 05.01.2026 № 10; охоронний номер з офіційним текстом не звірено)). Sources

Ingredients and allergens

Variant: large paska 'dora'

Wheat flour1–1.2 kgFor the dough of varenyky, palačinky, bobalyok, and pasky.Contains allergens: gluten

Milk400–500 mlCow's milk for the dough of palachyntsi, machanka, and porridge.Contains allergens: milk

Eggs5–8 pcs.Chicken eggs — for the dough of hombovtsi, palačint, pasky, and deruny.Contains allergens: eggs

Also: butter (150–200 g), sugar (150–250 g), yeast (40–50 g fresh)

Contains allergens: gluten, milk, eggs
Diet: vegetarian

Variant: unleavened cookies 'kukutsi'

rye flour, water

Contains allergens: gluten
Diet: lenten · vegan

Ingredients of the traditional recipe; every cook and every place may do it differently — please ask when ordering. We cannot guarantee the absence of allergens or traces.

How it is traditionally made

Serves: 2–3 paskas

• Wheat flour — 1–1.2 kg
• Milk — 400–500 ml
• Eggs — 5–8 pcs.
• Butter — 150–200 g
• Sugar — 150–250 g
• Yeast — 40–50 g fresh

1. In the evening, prepare the dough starter: dissolve the yeast in warm milk with a tablespoon of sugar and part of the flour, cover, and leave in a warm place until it rises.
2. Beat the eggs with sugar and salt, then pour into the starter along with melted warm butter.
3. Gradually add flour and knead the dough for a long time until it no longer sticks to your hands; place it in a warm place for 3–5 hours, kneading once or twice.
4. Separate a portion of the dough for decoration. Place the rest in greased molds or on a baking sheet, filling no more than one-third to half.
5. From the reserved dough, shape crosses, horns, braids, or birds and decorate the top; allow the paskas to rise again and brush with beaten egg.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at moderate temperature until the paska is golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out dry; the time depends on the size — from 30–40 minutes for small ones to an hour or more for large ones.

How it is served

The paska is blessed on Easter night or morning in a basket along with cheese, butter, sausage, eggs, and pysanky, and is cut during the festive breakfast.

Variants

Proportions and decorations vary in each village and family; we provide a general method for sweet paska. Kukutsi are simple unleavened cookies made from rye or wheat dough.

The traditional method as described by our sources; every family does it its own way. We have not tested this recipe in a professional kitchen.

Where it is eaten

Chernivtsi Oblast — mountainous (Bukovinian Hutsulshchyna) and flat Bukovyna. The area is approximate, according to the description of the element of the National List.

When it is eaten

Occasions: Easter

In tradition

Paskas are baked on Clean Thursday or on the Saturday before Easter and are blessed in church. On Clean Thursday, children visit relatives and neighbors to receive kukutsi and pysanky. In neighboring Hutsulshchyna, a cracked paska was considered a bad omen, so when the paska was placed in the oven, the host made sure that no strangers entered the house.

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