Gluten Free Pascha Bread baked in the bread machine
Recently a reader, Amy, emailed me to ask if I knew of a gluten free recipe for Pascha Bread. Amy married into a Slovakian family and they have a long tradition of making and eating Pascha bread at Easter. This is Amy’s first Easter on a gluten free diet and she was desperately hoping that she’d be able to eat Pascha Bread with everyone else. (And after tasting this bread, I understand why she was looking so hard for a gluten free version)
The Pascha Bread recipe that Amy sent me has been handed down for generations, and each generation teaches the next generation how to make it. The recipe even has a curse that comes with it. The first time that anyone make the Pascha Bread it turns out as hard as a brick. Every succeeding attempt gets better. I was a little worried about the curse until Amy told me that the curse gets a little help from the older generation which purposefully doesn’t teach all the tricks of bread making in the first lesson.
For those of you who are ready to tackle a bread that is a little more difficult, give this a shot. The bread is delicious – rich and sweet – and perfect for a special holiday meal.
Slovakian Pascha (Easter) Bread
(two loaves)
7 c. (27 oz.) of Mary’s gluten free flour mix
1 Tbsp. salt
27 oz. milk
16 Tbsp. (2 sticks, 8 oz.) butter
1 c. (7.5 oz) sugar
3 packets of active dry yeast
4 (8 oz) large eggs
2 Tbsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Note: I tested this recipe using the weight measurements, i.e. ounces. I strongly encourage you to do the same, especially since this recipe uses so much flour.
I also replaced some of the masa harina in the flour mix with coconut flour. I did this because I ran out of masa harina, but coconut flour works well in this recipe since the bread is sweet. Masa harina and coconut flour can be used as a 1:1 substitution.
1. Measure out the milk and butter into a saucepan. Heat this mixture, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn, until steam begins to rise and bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Congratulations, you’ve just scalded milk. Set the milk mixture, stir in the sugar and then let the milk cool until it is lukewarm.
2. Preheat the oven to 350. Measure out the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
3. Beat eggs, then add vanilla, and xanthan gum to the eggs. Mix with a hand or stand mixer until this turns into pretty thick lump of stuff.
4. Check to see if the milk has cooled down enough. Once it has, stir in the yeast and let it proof for few minutes.
5. Add the egg/xanthan gum mixture and the milk/yeast mixture to the flour. Mix with a hand or stand mixer for 4 minutes.
6. Pour equal portions of the dough into two greased loaf pans. Set the loaf pans in a warm place to rise. Once they’ve risen to near the top of the pan, brush tops of loaves with egg yolk beaten with 1 T of water. Bake in a 350 degree oven. The original recipe says to bake for 45 minutes; I baked my loaves for an hour. Use your own judgment – I’m assuming that you’ve done some bread baking before if you’re trying this recipe.
A Sliece of Gluten Free Easter Bread