One Simple Thing: Kulich (and the Stories We Keep)
A story from my grandmother’s kitchen—and a bread for Easter
The Journal
There are certain recipes that feel less like something you make and more like something you remember.
Kulich is one of those.
It’s a tall, gently sweet Easter bread, baked in simple tins and finished with a soft white glaze that drips down the sides. You’ll find versions of it across Eastern Europe, each with its own variation, but always tied to the same season—spring, renewal, and celebration.
But for me, it’s also a story.
My maternal grandmother’s family were Germans living in Russia, and each Easter they baked kulich in saved metal coffee tins. Not special pans, not anything ornate—just what they had, carefully saved and repurposed for something meaningful.
I often think about those kitchens this time of year. The quiet preparation. The anticipation of the holiday. The way something as simple as bread could carry so much tradition.
There’s something deeply beautiful in that kind of resourcefulness—turning the ordinary into something celebratory.
And perhaps that’s what I love most about kulich.
Not just the bread itself, but the reminder that traditions don’t need to be complicated to be lasting.
One Simple Thing
This week, it’s this:
Bake something that carries a story.
It doesn’t have to be kulich.
It might be a recipe from your family, something you remember from childhood, or even a simple loaf of bread baked in whatever pan you already have.
The point isn’t perfection.
It’s the meaning we give to it.
In the Kitchen
If you’d like to try it, here’s my version of traditional Kulich Easter Bread—lightly sweet, rich with eggs, and finished with a simple glaze:
Serve it in slices with tea or coffee, or alongside a simple Easter table.
A Few More Easter Traditions
Thought for the Day
Tradition lives in the quiet things—
in what we make,
what we remember,
and what we choose
to carry forward.
Happy Easter, dear friend,
Stephanie
At the Table